



petitor, the tazpon, the tuna family is 
equipped with very tiny scales, and 
at first glance appears to be clad in 
a vari-colored skin minus the armor 
plate of most fishes. 
HE tarpon scale on the other hand 
is unusually large and flint-like. 
The Lord knows I love them both, but 
this is a Block Island story and only 
one tarpon has been landed in these 
waters in something like fifty years. 
And we had thirty minutes of real 
sport to be lived over and over again 
'in my thoughts of leisure moments. 
_ My fish was good for sixty-five pounds 
at the pier, probably seventy pounds 
when first landed, and incidentally the 
heaviest of the day. 
| The landing had been witnessed by 
' the crew of a trim, freshly painted, 
_four-mast rum schooner less than the 
| distance of two city blocks to our port. 
It apparently was not a busy day and 
/ about a dozen clean shaven men lined 
| the rail, several even wearing white col- 
‘lars. The real Block Island fishermen 
| will not approach one of these ships 
except in the regular line of their fish 
business. Tobacco and ice-cream ap- 
pear to be their 
worst vices. 
We had lost the 
school and with a 
wave of the hand 
to the rum ship, 
}which was re- 
_ turned, we moved 
on. 
We were then 
about fourteen 
‘miles directly 
southeast of Block 
| Island Light. Be- 
fore we returned 
that night we cov- 
ered probably six 
| ty miles, but with- 
out leaving the 
‘vicinity of our 
(first catch. By 
five o’clock we had 
approximatety twenty-five strikes and 
we landed six fish. This rather low 
/ average was due to two lines which 
often became crossed when _ simul- 
taneous strikes occurred resulting in 
both fish being lost, but we had a big- 
ger thrill to come and probably one 
that will never again be experienced 
by me around Block Island. 
Suddenly a large, long, fan-like dor- 
sal fin appeared dead ahead, coming 
at us with express-train speed. It was 
a new type of fin to me, not as high 
as the Florida sailfish but just as long 
and at all times practically clear of 
the water except for the spray which 
was thrown up as if from a tiny mo- 
tor boat. Our tuna squid was in its 

Drawn by Louis Rhead 
This is the Pacific tuna. Tho prac- 
tically identical, unfortunately the 
Atlantic fish do not leap. 

Here is a typical photo of a bunch of anglers landing at the station. 
Note the smiles. 
usual place on the crest of the second 
roller astern and [I let it stay there. 
The fin disappeared for a moment, 
and then a beautiful marlin swordfish 
appeared, the species that has been 
made famous by the writers of the 
Catalina clubs. 
We landed it, but only after one 
of the most strenuous battles I have 
ever participated 
in. On two dif: 
ferent occasions 
he took all of my 
line and he car- 
ried away two 
gaffs. He ripped 
his sides wide 
open in_ several 
different places, 
these rips. being 
from six to twenty 
inches in length. 
After being gaffed, 
he would literally 
lacerate himself 
to pieces in tear- 
ing loose, but my 
hook always re- 
mained solidly in 
position. 
Finally, as a 
last resort, we “gave him the iron,” 
which is the vernacular for throwing 
the harpoon. Our captain made a 
beautiful shot of about thirty feet. He 
was then pulled in without further 
ceremony. When we took him to the 
fish pier that evening, the market fish- 
ermen did not know what to call him 
and I consulted a number of very good 
authorities, all stating that it was the 
first marlin ever taken in those wa- 
ters. He was seven feet four inches 
in length and his weight was eighty- 
five pounds at the pier. 
I am thoroughly convinced that a 
marlin is a fighting fool and sincerely 
hope that others in the Summers to 
come will stray away from the Gulf 
Stream and find their way to the feed- 
ing grounds southeast of Block Island. 
It was time to return and on our 
way back to the harbor, which is in- 
side of a huge breakwater on the Block 
Island Coast, my “landlubber” com- 
panion began to express his opinion 
of fishing around Block Island. 
WISH I could remember some of 
his enthusiastic comments on his 
experiences that day. In true college 
professor dignity, and with words and 
phrases entirely new to fishermen, he 
made a speech to the captain and my- 
self which must have lasted for at 
least twenty minutes or half an hour. 
He later spent the entire evening mak- 
ing careful notes of his observations 
and sent these notes in a form of a let- 
ter to his wife in order that they might 
be preserved for a ready reference 
when any of his friends or pupils had 
occasion to start a possible argument. 
The next morning a northeaster set 
in and it was two weeks before Cap- 
tain “Harry” reported in his mail bul- 
letin that tuna were again taking the 
squid. Needless to say I left when the 
storm arrived and the unfortunate 
necessity of “making a living” made it 
impossible to return before the com- 
ing Summer. 
I have had many inquiries as to the 
ways and means of participating in 
the Block Island sport, and I am con- 
fident more people do not go there be- 
cause they do not know how to reach 
the locality and little or nothing of the 
accommodations. 
HE most satisfactory way is to 
take the Steamer Nelseco II., leav- 
ing New London, Connecticut, at nine 
A.M. standard time, and arriving at 
Block Island around noon. It is im- 
possible to do any fishing until the day 
after arrival. There are a number 
(Continued on page 498) 
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