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SALT WATER GAME FISHING

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by
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Author in a Santa Catalina fishing launch

SALT WATER
GAME FISHING

BY

1| CHARLES FREDERICK HOLDER
Author of ‘‘ Big Game at Sea,’ etc

OUTING PUBLISHING COMPANY
MCMXIV _

CopyRIGHT, 1914, BY

OUTING PUBLISHING COMPANY
Entered at Stationer’s Hall, London England

All rights reserved

APR 14.1914

no
af

©ciAg69688
CLA a».

U

PREFACE

N the present volume of this series I have
attempted to give the angler interested in
sea angling alone some general idea of the

marine fishes of the United States to which the
term game may legitimately be applied. ‘The
subject at best is an exhaustless one, and it is
somewhat difficult to condense to the essentials
and compress it into a little volume which the
sea angler can slip into his pocket. I am aware,
then, that my sense of proportion may be at
fault and that I may have eliminated or
omitted some of the very points the reader
may desire, but I have endeavored to put my-
self in his place and have given only the essen-
tials.

As an illustration, a large volume could be
written on tackle alone. A ponderous book
would be required to describe fully the fishing

grounds around New York, Fire Island, etc.

This is also true of Florida or California, so I
have only hinted at the details and fishes to be
found in certain localities.

5

6 SALT WATER GAME FISHING

For the convenience of the angler I have di-
vided the fields of angling into geographical
areas, and have given the fishes, the bait used,
the tackle to be employed, so that the angler
can go to the region knowing what to expect
and what to take, and arriving, can obtain the
lesser details from boatmen. I have fished
nearly all the seaboards from Maine to Ar-
ansas Pass, Texas, and from the Gulf of
California to Oregon on the Pacific slope, and
have taken, I think, all the fishes described or
mentioned in the volume. Two regions stand
out in strong relief—that of Florida and the
Southern California islands. In the former
the region one hundred and fifty miles north
or south of Cape Sable is the greatest tropical
sea angling ground in the world, as here the
angler floats over coral reefs and catches the
purely tropical game: jacks, kingfish, tarpon,
and snappers, yet is but a few hours from New
York. There is no place just like it, as a fishing
region does not depend on its fishes alone, but
must have comforts for your modern angler.
I fished the Florida reef in 1860, before there
was even a telegraph wire from Key West to
the coast. To-day you can go to Key West
by rail; the finest hotels in the world line
the east and west coast, and the day will come

PREFACE 7

when Key West, with its incomparable winter
climate and sport, will be a favorite for anglers
and tourists.

Equal to this, yet totally different, is the an-
gling region of Southern California islands—
Santa Catalina and San Clemente, twenty or
more miles from Los Angeles, a city of nearly
two-thirds of a million people. Here the catch”
is semi-tropic—the leaping tuna, the yellow-fin
tuna, the long-fin tuna, the white sea bass, and,
most important, the leaping swordfish, which
attracts to this region the anglers of the world.
Here the Tuna Club has taken form, including
some of the most influential and distinguished
men in America and England, who have con-
served the fisheries and elevated the standards
of sport. England has the lead in angling
clubs, due to its age and maturity, but America
is forging to the front, and scores of influential
clubs like the Santa Catalina Island Tuna Club,
the Aransas Pass Tarpon Club, the Asbury
Park Fishing Club, the Southern California
[Rod and Reel Club of Los Angeles, are
coming to the fore; not alone to catch fish, but
to establish standards of sport, conserve the
fisheries, and aid in the establishment of game
laws and see that they are observed. Upon
the intelligent angler depends the fish supply

8 SALT WATER GAME FISHING

of the future, as they stand for protection, and
without their intervention the alien market fish-
ermen would make desolate the seas, rivers,
lakes, and streams in less than a decade. The
sea angler of to-day is not only an angler, he
is a conservator of the people’s interest.
| C. By
Pasadena, Cal.

CONTENTS

CHAPTER

I.
TT.
II.

IV.

VI.

MAE GROUNDS 2 0 oes
TAGKLE SUGGESTIONS ... .
THE NEW ENGLAND GROUNDS
GRouP I—
THE SworpDFIsH (Xiphias)
Grourp 2—
THE PottockK anp Its FrRienps .

THE NEW YORK AND NEW JERSEY

GROUNDS

GrouP 3—

THe StrRirpED Bass AND ITs FRIENDS
Group 4—

THE CHANNEL Bass, Porey, ETC.
GrouP 5—

Tue WEAKFISH AND OTHERS .

THE FLORIDA GROUNDS .
GrouP 6—

Tae Bic BarrRAcuDA .
GRouP 7—

SAMGFISH AND AMBERJACK 2 4.) (si:
Group 8— .

THe SMALL GAME FISHES OF FLORIDA
GrouP 9—

THe TAarPon

GrouP 10—
THe JEwFISH AND BLACK GROUPER

THE GULF GROUNDS
Group II—

Tre KINGFISH AND ITs ALLIES, SPANISH

MACKEREL, ETC,

PAGE

83

VIII.

CONTENTS

CHAPTER PAGE
VII. THE PACIFIC COAST GROUNDS). = 773,
Group 12—
THe Leapinc ‘Tuna’. : .). 2
GrRouP I3—
THE YELLOW-FIN TUNA =... (eres
Grour 14—
THE Lone-rFIN: Tuna . . . .) 2 SU Son
Group I5—
THe Lirtte TuNNIES . . . . 50g re
Group 16—
THe Brack SEA Bass *.. 2. (2)05 eee
Group 17—
THE WHITE SEA Bass. 2 ss Sete
Group 18—
THE YELLOWTAIL 2.00.0 04 ee re
GrRouP 19—
SMALL GAME FISHES OF THE Paciric Coast. 124
GrouP 20—
THe SHORE FISHES OF THE Picke: Hern oe (8)
Group 2I—
STRIPED BAss IN CALIFORNIA . . . « « 133
GrouP 22—
THE SEA SALMON . . ss & @ Sie eeenenegs
GRoUE 23—
THE SANTA CATALINA SWORDFISH ol Vig te ee ae O
MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION . . 149
1. AN ANGLING ITINERARY . . . Lo ag
2. BIBLIOGRAPHY 2) 62.) 4 oe) eee
3.. ANGLING CLUBS 2005008) 65) eet ates
4. THE CLIMATE. 8) osc. 2 ee
5. EQUIPMENT) .00 060% [DRO oe tes
6. THe LocaLitiEs MP MR Ac Se
9. INDEX 90 fee BNO ee

ILLUSTRATIONS

Tue AUTHOR IN A SANTA CATALINA FIsH-

PGOIAUMCH 60) fk el.) Brontisbiece t-7
FACING PAGE

Bene, 0. Oi, Aa a Oa red ME eT a "oh

Rood: TELAT el Wee ener tem an UPD Ne.

Haas PAIN MLOOES) ) cvcuvica! Gone) ae tie Mer Sg hee a &

Porcy
STRIPED Bas- e ® e e e ° ry ® 2 s 2 “e 43 Yo
BLUEFISH

SPORE PEISUING 6 ie iis vale a IS Mee wee ee
BLACK GROUPER)

ae A e Siu ef VMOPh CoM esate eyu lite ilwiel fila) Nhl: 63 Ue
PoMPANO J :
MeO i a ort odo oy eh Oe,
Mee eee NO ge a ease Boke

ee ee Eee
MEIC UNA ce) a ee ah oe eo a ane Ok Me
MECC EMG A see Urey ele Pei el ea Shia gn Ody
Beige SEA BASS 6 ye. al) 5) fo) a ite lie 5) a ye, EI

SEE MSEA BASS Se aa ON em

YELLOW-TAIL . > . . . e ® e e e ° ° e TIQ uv
YELLOW-FIN TUNA VY

WHITEFISH 3/'i\) Bich ciwi aka araut eu ceren wl aripiiis 125
MACKEREL

CHAPTER I
THE GROUNDS

OR the convenience of the reader, the
kK angling grounds for sea game fish in

America may be divided into several
great divisions. They are so located that the
sportsman can begin at a definite point and
swing around an angling circle, covering the
entire field in a satisfactory manner and during
the trip traverse the most interesting portions
of America. They are as follows:

New ENGLAND

First. The New England fishing ground,
including the New England States and the
vicinity of Cape Cod, Block Island, etc. Here
we have the bluefish, the swordfish (Xiphias),
the striped bass, halibut, the pollock, blackfish,
and mackerel, distinctively game fishes, and
‘many more, such as tautog, cod, hake, had-
dock, all found in water of greater or less
depth, not always game, but valuable; and num-

13

14 SALT WATER GAME FISHING

bers of small fry, as the cunner, flounder, scul-
pin, and others, interesting at times with rod
and light lines.

This region, besides the coast from “ ’way
down East,” should embrace the mouth of the
St. Lawrence River, Nova Scotia, and New
Brunswick (for the tuna fishing), down along-
shore to Block Island, where there is excellent
sport with the bluefish, and at times tuna, while
the big swordfish also waits.

Various steamers from Boston reach Nova
Scotia. [he mouth of the St. Lawrence and
Prince Edward’s Island are available from
Montreal, Quebec, and Boston, the trip being
easy and interesting. The coast of Maine near
Booth Bay, Squirrel Island, and Ocean Point
abounds in excellent fishing from the rocks,
though it is not over exciting. At Ogunquit Ll
have had excellent sport for pollock with a fly
and trout rod. From here I went out to the
vicinity of Boon Island, ten miles offshore, for
halibut, cod, tuna, swordfish, sharks (dogfish),
the latter and cod predominating. Not far
from here some years ago one hundred tunas
were taken, each of which weighed over one
thousand pounds. ‘They were caught in a net in
Gloucester harbor. |

All alongshore there are fishes of some sort,

THE GROUNDS 15

from the dainty cunner I caught when a boy at
Red Rock, Lynn, Nahant or Swamscott, to the
larger fry off Egg Rock. Excellent fishing is
found down by Buzzard’s Bay. From New
Bedford a steamer may be taken to Nantucket,
where most invigorating bluefish trolling may
be had and a variety of game, including big
sharks not found inshore.

On the strangely named islands off New
Bedford, as Cuttyhunk, there are still some
striped bass, but not to compare with the sport
thirty or forty years ago, when many clubs
made these islands famous. Block Island is
within easy reach of New Bedford, Providence,
and Newport, and may be termed the head-
quarters of the bluefish and the swordfish
industry.

The Tuna Club of Santa Catalina Island set
a new pace for anglers in taking a 355-pound
swordfish, the feat being accomplished by Mr.
Boschen of New York. This was the first
Mediterranean, or what is known as the Atlan-
tic, swordfish (Xiphias) ever taken with rod
and reel, although Dr. Gifford Pinchot played
one four hours in 1910. It is particularly
interesting that this fish should have been taken
at Santa Catalina. Why this has not become
a sport in the Block Island region long before

16 SALT WATER GAME FISHING

lies in the fact that to take the fish in the At-
lantic one must go to the open and rough
water, while at Santa Catalina the game is
played in the lee of the great islands, though
twenty or more miles at sea and often in water
as calm as a lake, an essential when the game
is large and menacing.

Fisher’s Island, in Long Island Sound, is
reached from New London by steamer, and
some of the best bluefish, blackfish, and bass
fishing I have ever had has been about this
island. I often went out and landed my blue-
fish in the blue, swift-running currents, and half.
an hour later had the game served for break-
fast in the little inn—a dish for the gods, and
no one knows the real bluefish unless he has
had this experience of immediate eating. With
the pollock this rule is even more imperative;
it should be eaten at once when taken from the
water.

New YorK AND NEw JERSEY

Second. The New York and New Jersey
region. ‘This includes the blackfish, the bass,
the tunny, weakfish, drum, striped bass, blue-
fish, mackerel, channel bass, sea bass and many
smaller fishes. New York ranks next to Lon-
don in its interest in angling.

THE GROUNDS 17

Every wharf has its devotees, and special
steamers run out to the banks, loaded with an-
glers, during the summer, and the pastime has
its Own patrons, its deep-sea tackle, its rods,
reels and lines. ‘Then there are numerous places
down the harbor where the weakfish and the
drumfish are taken from boats. In the bay
near Coney Island I have watched the hauling
of a fyke-net and noted the extraordinary va-
riety of fishes caught prowling about the shal-
lows at night, ranging from an occasional tar-
pon to the channel bass and striped bass, with
sharks, rays, and goosefish.

The various inlets on the outer coast of
Long Island afford good fishing, easy of access
from New York by various lines. The cream
of the fishing of this region is that which has |
the Asbury Park, N. J., Fishing Club as a
center of radiation. ‘The fine channel bass or
spot comes into the surf to feed and the angler
fishes standing on the beach or in the waves.
Asbury Park is within a short distance of
New York. An important center for striped
bass is Harvey Cedars. Following down the
coast we come to the great Chesapeake Bay,
which abounds in fine fish, as the triple-tail.
From here on a change is evident, although
some of the Florida fishes, as the tarpon, mi-

18 SALT WATER GAME FISHING

grate north, perhaps in the Gulf Stream. To
reach the bay, steamers can be taken at Balti-
more, or there are boats which leave New York
direct for Norfolk. At Old Point and towns on
the east shore, boatmen or professionals can
be found who will take the angler out.

FLORIDA

Third. The Florida region, which extends

from Virginia to Cuba, includes the tarpon,
amberjack, sheepshead, barracuda, ladyfish,
bonefish, jacks, snappers, kingfish, cero, sailfish,
parrot-fish, and an endless variety of small fry,
from the angel- and parrot-fishes to the grunts
and porgies.

The angler who proposes to make the Flor-
ida trip can now reach Key West in a Pullman
car in practically two days; if in winter he
can almost go to sleep in a winter land and
awaken in summer. ‘This is due to modern
facilities and the new Flagler railway, which
extends out over the reef to Key West, open-
ing up one of the greatest angling regions of
the world—that of the Florida reef.

Good fishing is found all along the coast of
Florida and Georgia, especially at the mouth
of the St. Mary and St. John rivers, and all

THE GROUNDS 19

down the Indian River country, where there
is a chain of beautiful hotels, from St. Augus-
tine, Miami, and around the Cape, up the in-
side of the Gulf to Tampa; the entire region
forming a real angler’s paradise. An angler’s
camp or headquarters has been established at
Long Key, where launches, rowboats, and sail-
boats can be obtained for the outside big game
fishing.

THE GULF

Fourth. There is a peculiar fascination
about these islands, at least to me, as I knew
them well years ago, when they were a terra
incognita to the world and only reached by
boat from St. Augustine or from Key West by
sponger. Now steamers run up and down the
coast from Tampa to Key West and Cuba, or
from New York to Key West. So, too, with
Galveston. Steamers connect it with New
York, and it is a short and agreeable trip in
the cars via the Southern Pacific or Sunset
route. Here is the Galveston Tarpon Club and
an extraordinary breakwater or jetty that ex-
tends out into the Gulf affording fine sport to
the most exacting angler.

About one hundred miles south of Galves-

20 SALT WATER GAME FISHING

ton, on a big inland sea like the Indian River,
is Port Aransas, where the Tarpon Club holds
forth. This is reached by rail from San An-
tonio, Texas, and is, all things considered, one
of the best sea angling points for tarpon on
the Gulf. It is comfortable, on the water, and
not too hot ashore in August. Tampico can
be included in this region from an angling
standpoint, and can be reached by rail from
the interior and by boat from New York and
possibly New Orleans.

THE PaciFic Coast

Fifth. The Pacific coast can be divided into
two distinct fields of sea angling: one from
Alaska and Vancouver to about San Francisco;
the other from Monterey to San Diego. In
the north the sea angling is mainly the salmon,
which is taken trolling at Vancouver with a
spoon; sea-trout at Eureka; halibut, rock cod,
striped bass, salmon, etc., in San Francisco
Bay; while at Capitola, Santa Cruz, and Car-
mel there is excellent trolling for salmon in
July, August, and September. Good and often
palatial hotels are found, and the angler, par-
ticularly at Del Monte, where there is a sal-

THE GROUNDS 21

mon cannery, finds all the facilities for angling
for the great Chinook salmon.

Going south into the last field, angling is
to be had at various points, as San Luis
Obispo, where there is excellent sport with
white sea bass—a giant weakfish, and all along-
shore in season the steelhead is in evidence.
At the Santa Barbara Islands we shall meet
the bonito and albacore in numbers, and when
we arrive at Santa Catalina and the U. S.
Government island—San Clemente, one hun-
dred miles south, we are in the heart of
a wonderful sea angling country, justly fa-
mous all over the world. This is due to the
abundance of large game fishes on their
spawning-beds, which Dr. Jordan states are
about the islands, and the fact that Santa
Catalina, twenty-two miles in length, lies so
that it constitutes a lee and smooth, lake-like
water twenty or thirty miles out in the Pacific.
This permits the use of light tackle, and to-
gether with the fact that the region three miles
from shore cannot be netted in the future,
gives the angler the promise of the best sport.

The great current, Kuro Shiwo, the Black
Current of Japan, sweeps across the North
Pacific and down the coast, and to this, doubt-
less, is due the presence at Santa Catalina and

22 SALT WATER GAME FISHING

San Clemente of many semi-tropic fishes or
fishes common to Japan. The swordfish,
taken here in large numbers with rod and
reel, is so common in Japan that it has a
Japanese name, Tetrapturus mitsukuit.

The game fishes found here are the leaping
tuna, two swordfshes—Xiphias and Tetrap-
turus—the yellow-fin tuna, the long-fin tuna,
two bonitos, the barracuda, sheepshead, rock
bass of many varieties, the black sea bass,
white sea bass, sea-trout, roncador, halibut,
surf-fish, bony fish, and many more.

The best fishing has been at Santa Catalina,
San Clemente, and the Coronado Islands, one
hundred miles to the south; but the latter are
barren rocks, in Mexican waters, while Santa
Catalina has two fully equipped towns, Avalon
and Cabrillo and a summer population of ten
thousand or more.

One can reach this region from London or
Paris in two weeks; from New York in five
days. Los Angeles, a modern city of 600,000
inhabitants, is the central point, having vari-
ous lines of railroads, and there are various
lines of steamers to it through the Panama
Canal from the great ports of the world.
Arriving in Los Angeles, the angler rides to
the port in half or three-quaterrs of an hour,

THE GROUNDS 238

there taking the steamer Cabrillo or Hermosa
to Santa Catalina. If the destination is San
Clemente Island, twenty miles further out, a
launch must be chartered, as there is often a
heavy sea going or coming. This can be
avoided by making the trip early in the morn-
ing, leaving either island by four or five A. M.,
the voyage requiring about three and a half
hours.

In a general way these fields of angling
activity include all the sea angling in America.
But we have Hawaii and the Philippines, and
Bermuda and the Windward Islands are near
at hand. In the Florida reef and the two
islands—Santa Catalina and San Clemente—
we have the best sea angling grounds in the
world. :

CHAPTER II
TACKLE SUGGESTIONS

R. SAMUEL G. CAMP) ana
“Fishing Kits and Equipment” *
has so thoroughly exhausted the sub-

ject of tackle that I can not do better than to
recommend the book to the angler, and also re-
fer briefly to the specific tackle used in the vari-
ous sea angling fields indicated in the follow-
ing pages.

A revolution has taken place among the sea
anglers of the world, and to-day fishes are
taken on tackle so light as to have been consid-
ered impossible fifteen years ago. This refor-
mation was brought about by the Santa Catalina
Island Tuna Club. In 1886 I took a black
bass rod with a light trout line to Santa Cata-
lina. It was the first ever seen in these dulcet
waters. At that time, or soon after, it was
the custom to go out with big hand-lines and

* OuTING Handbook No. 7.
24

qoyyny 043 fq pesn spor Sulpsue vag

TACKLE SUGGESTIONS — 25

catch half a ton of splendid yellowtails, a fish
that resembles a salmon and tips the scales
at from twenty to fifty pounds.

It was to regulate this sport, establish a
high standard, that I established this club,
which has become famous the world over.
The club has given tournaments to encourage
the use of light tackle, and its influence has so
spread over the world that nearly everywhere
light rods and fine lines are now used. With
such tackle I landed a 183-pound tuna. I
killed a 95-pounder with a twelve-ounce yel-
lowtail rod and a No. 18 line. I took a 17-
pounder on an eight-ounce ten-foot Divine-
made trout rod and an E enameled line.
Others, among them Mr. T. McD. Potter, Col.
John E. Stearns, Dr. Gifford Pinchot, Mr. J.
Pe) Coxe, Mr Boschen, and Mr. Arthur J,
Eddy, took fishes of large size with No. 21, No.
18 and No. 6 lines and so revolutionized the
sport.

The Tuna Club collaborated with a num-
ber of clubs in America, France, and England
to make this universal, and so the tackle re-
form went around the world, and to-day the
anglers of the Tuna Club all over the country
have had the satisfaction of securing from the
legislature a law recognizing Santa Catalina,

26 SALT WATER GAME FISHING

or its shore and three miles off, as a spawning-
ground; a movement not in the interest of the
angler alone, but the consumer, as the market-
men were, as is always the case, overdoing the
netting and fast driving off the big market
fish, particularly the leaping tuna, which was,
before the netting, the great game fish here,
but now is rare. It is expected that the non-
netting law will bring them back.*

All the angling done in Southern California
waters is of this light tackle persuasion, and it
has resulted in much new business for the
great houses, as the rods demanded are the
finest split bamboo, greenheart and noibwood
(or hickory). and of a light, small size.

The Tuna Club advocates for the tuna and
fish of over one hundred pounds a rod not over
sixteen ounces in weight; the tip not less than
six feet. The line permitted is of twenty-
four strands, which has a breaking strength of
two pounds to the strand; hence such a line
will lift a dead weight of forty-eight pounds.
This is seldom used. I took my 183-pound
tuna with a twenty-one-thread line, the break-
ing strength forty-two pounds. With this
tackle the late Col. C. P. Morehous took a

* The season of 1913, two months after the law went into
effect, saw the finest yellow-fin tuna angling in ten years.

Right view of reel in readiness, right thumb resting
on the leather brake, left hand grasping
upper cork grip.

Tuna or Tarpon reel showing position of the thumb
pressing the leather brake.

Socket for the butt of the rod.

TACKLE SUGGESTIONS — 27

251-pound tuna, and Mr. W. C. Boschen of
New York in 1913 took a 335-pound sword-
fish (Xiphias), which is now the record fish
of the Tuna Club and the world’s record.

The reel used in this sport is large, gener-
ally an Edwin Vom Hofe make, and holds six
hundred feet. Economy in tackle consists in
buying the very best, and while a good outfit
can be had for less money, the angler had
better pay thirty or forty or more dollars for
his reel, fifteen or twenty for the rod, and
three or four for the line, as it will be put to
_ the extreme test. The latest reels are as finely
made as a watch and have abundant combina-
tions—brakes, etc. The line for tuna or black
sea bass should have a fine piano-wire leader
eight or ten feet long, with several swivels, —
and the line for six or eight feet should be
doubled. The hook is a No. 10 O’Shaugh-
nessy, though if live bait is used it is smaller.
If a flying fish or skipjack, it should be
Jarger.

The rods are beautifully made, of split bam-
boo or noibwood, ironwood, greenheart, or
hickory; have agate guides and just the right
resiliency. The reel is set above the grip or be-
tween the butt and the left-hand grip, and should
be on the upper side of the rod. The reel should

28 SALT WATER GAME FISHING

always be lashed onto the rod, and the line
should be run out and wet before fishing, as
the friction will set a dry line afire, and line
and hopes will go up in smoke. Sometimes a
lead sinker is used to get the line down if the
fish are low, as the salmon generally are at
Monterey. The butt of such a rod is twenty-
four inches long, with a tip seven feet long.
On the silver tip of the butt fits a rubber pad,
something like the rubber tips on a chair or
crutch, but they come flat. In playing a large
fish the angler should have a leather belt with
a butt cap and use this as a fulcrum. All
launches are rigged with a leather cap, fast-
ened to the seat between the angler’s knees.
Nearly all the very large fish are caught from
the seat fulcrum or base.

In this sea angling the tackle has a relation
to the boat and is the result of evolution, the
survival of the most desirable. ‘The result is
a perfect boat and perfect tackle, having in
view absolute fair play and all the advantage
on the side of the game.

The Santa Catalina boat is a launch eighteen
or twenty feet long and wide of beam, built
for safety, not for speed. An eight- or ten-
horse power gasoline engine is placed amid-
ships, and the wheel is on the right rail on

TACKLE SUGGESTIONS 29

the inside, so that the boatman, who is also the
gaffer, can sit with his right hand on the
wheel, his left on the bar of the engine. The
anglers must sit side by side, facing the stern
and in it; one fishes to the right, the other to
the left, and when either has a strike the boat-
man stops the engine and the other angler
reels in if it is desirable to give his friend the
field. Then with the butt of his rod in the
socket attached to the chair between his knees,
the angler is in a position to play the largest
game.

This is the so-called tuna tackle. Then
comes what is popularly known as ‘‘ 9-9.” The
line is a number nine. The term “‘9” means
that the line has nine threads or strands. Each
strand having a breaking strength of two
pounds; the entire line having a breaking
strength of eighteen pounds. ‘The rod must not
weigh over nine ounces, nor can it be less than
six feet in length. It is made of split bamboo,
noibwood, greenheart, and various woods. A
Shaver split bamboo ‘9-9’ can be had for
$20. It has agate guides and German silver
mountings, and with it the angler can land a
very large fish—up to one hundred pounds.
Edwin Vom Hofe builds a “ 9-9” rod of noib-
wood which costs from $10 to $14. Any reel

30 SALT WATER GAME FISHING

can be used, but usually a smaller one is em-
ployed that will hold 300 or 400 feet of No.
9 line.

Another grade of tackle in use by the Tuna
Club in its tournaments, and invented by T.
McD. Potter, a retired capitalist of Los An-
geles, is known as “3-6.” Hlere tie “rad
weighs six ounces. ‘The rod cannot be less
than six feet; the line has 6 strands, and a
breaking strength of twelve pounds, which ex-
plains the name ‘‘three-six”’; viz., 6 feet, 6
strands, and 6 ounces. With this extraordinary
rod, like a trout rod cut off, I saw Dr. Gifford
Pinchot play a giant yellowtail five hours; and
fishes up to sixty pounds, and doubtless over,
are taken with it, the idea of the club being to
prevent the slaughter of game fish; as it is
impossible to land a fish on this tackle within
fifteen minutes or half an hour, the result is
most satisfactory.

The Tuna Club has a “sled” anda. sae.
which are employed with the tuna tackle. The
former is to keep the bait away from the boat
in trolling, while the kite makes the bait imi-
tate the leap of the living flying fish when
that lure is used. Tunas and swordfishes are
often taken in this manner when they will not

* See pages 143 and 146

TACKLE SUGGESTIONS — 31

touch anything else. ‘This tackle is now used
at Aransas Pass in the Gulf of Mexico, where
nearly all the tarpon are taken on the “9-9”
tackle of the Tuna Club. As it is based on
sportsmanship and humanitarian ideas, it is
gradually spreading over the country where
sea angling holds.

Surf casting, whether on the California or
New Jersey coast, requires different methods,
and a stifler rod is employed so that a heavy
bait can be cast a long distance out over the
waves. The casting tackle on the Jersey coast
for striped bass or channel bass is a stiff 16
ounce or over rod; the line a No. 24 or No. 30,
according to the angler’s taste.

The surf fish or roncador tackle on the sandy
beaches of California, where the game is small
or from one to three or four pounds, is a 9-
ounce rod and No. 21 thread line or a No. 9
line. |
Along the Florida coast and at Long Key
Fishing Camp the all-around tackle used is
tarpon tackle, so near the sixteen-ounce tackle
of the Tuna Club that a description is unneces-
sary.

There are three general methods of angling
deserving attention.

First.—T rolling, when the bait, generally a

82 SALT WATER GAME FISHING

fish or a bone jig or a spoon, is hauled or
trolled after the boat from fifty to one hun-
dred and fifty feet astern. If it is necessary
to go fast, as for kingfish about Nassau, then
a good pipe or wing sinker is needed to keep
the bait down below the surface; but if the fish
does not require speed to delude him, as in
swordfish angling, a light one is used.

Second.—Still fishing. This in California is
when the angler sights a school of fish—yel-
lowtail or mackerel—and keeps them about
the boat by (chumming) tossing over broken-
up fish. Here the angler reels in his line and
casts, long or short, as the case may be, with
or without a sinker. ‘This is one of the most
fascinating methods in California, as the water
is perfectly smooth and one can pick out the
fish he wants.

Third—Beach casting. Here the angler
wades out into the surf with high boots or
stands on the sands and casts. ‘The rolling
surf lends additional fascinaton to this method,
which I have tried for the big Florida barra-
cuda, channel bass, etc.

There is another method employed by
thousands—that of wharf fishing, and South-
ern California has scores of angling piers
along her coast, of no use for commerce, but

TACKLE SUGGESTIONS — 33

patronized by anglers every day in the year.
They use a long bamboo pole, with a stout
line and many hooks, adapted to the height
above the water. If a large fish is hooked
the angler lowers down a grapnel and endeav-
ors to hook the fish up, or gaff it. If it is too
large to lift, it is led ashore and landed on the
beach in the surf.

CHAPTER III
THE NEW ENGLAND GROUNDS
GROUP I

THE SWORDFISH
(Xiphias)

T remained for the Tuna Club to put the
swordfish of two species on the angling
map as a game fish. ‘The first Tetrap-

turus was taken with rod and reel by Mr.
Llewellyn in 1896, and the first Xiphias by
Mr. W. C. Boschen, a New York member, in
1913. The latter fish weighed 355 pounds
and was one of three hooked by Mr. Boschen
at Santa Catalina.

The Xiphias, like the tuna, is really a world-
wide roamer, but is not common, and I think
it varies according to season. The two locali-
ties where its catch can be depended upon, as a
business, are south-eastern Massachusetts,
around Block Island, and in the Mediterra-
nean Sea, both, in all probability, spawning and
feeding grounds for the fish.

34

NEW ENGLAND GROUNDS 35

Within the past ten years a number of speci-
mens of Xiphias have been taken in nets or
harpooned in southern California waters, and
in 1913 the first one was taken with rod and
reel. Xiphias is larger, heavier, and more bulky
than Tetrapturus. It has a longer and wider
sword and is more vicious. It attains a large
size, running up to fourteen or fifteen feet, and
a weight of one thousand pounds. Off the
Massachusetts coast there is a fleet of schoon-
ers which follow it and bring scores into the
market at Boston, where they command a
good price as a market fish. They are all
taken with a harpoon or lily-iron. ‘The
schooners sail about, keeping a man in the
foretop, who, on seeing a fish lying on the
surface with dorsal out of water, sings out,
and the man at the helm runs for it. There
is a ‘‘rest’”’ or nest on the end of the jibboom,
and here the harpooner stands and hurls or
‘jabs ”’ his lily-iron as the jibboom moves over
the fish. ‘This swordfish is ugly and vicious,
and many accidents have occurred, the fish
sending its sword through the heaviest planks,
smashing dories.

Up to date none of these fishes have been
taken with a line in the Atlantic, but Dr. Gif-
ford Pinchot hooked and played one four hours

36 SALT WATER GAME FISHING

in 1912, when it broke the steel wire leader.
This swordfish preys upon mackerel, dashing
into a school, cutting the fishes down with its
sword, then picking up the silvery pieces.

To try this game, either ship as a passenger
on board one of the swordfish fishermen from
Boston or go to Block Island or Santa Cata-
lina and charter a cruising launch. When the
fish is hooked get into a dory and play it to
a finish, the launch following in case of acci-
dent.

Off Palm Beach and at Long Key Camp,
Florida, there is an attractive little swordfish
running up to 150 or so pounds. It rejoices
in the title Histiophorus, and has an enormous
dorsal fin, like a sail. This is a more or less
common catch with tarpon tackle—a sixteen-
ounce rod and a twenty-one or twenty-four
line; but it can be, and should be, taken on
‘““g-9.” This fish is beautifully colored and
leaps in joy in the blue waters of the Gulf
Stream. ‘There are one or two other sword-
fishes about Florida, where I have taken them
with grains, but they are not common enough
to mention.

The big Xiphias has left a long trail of
devastation in its wake, of wrecked ships and
boats. The most interesting was the case of

NEW ENGLAND GROUNDS 37

the sloop “‘ Red Hot.” This vessel belonged
to the U. S. Fish Commission; she was started
upon a voyage of investigation, the Xiphias
being one of the objectives, as at that time
nothing was known of its young. The sword-
fish tribe must have resented this. In any
event, before she got well started, a big fellow
rammed the “ Red Hot,” and, according to
report, sent her to the bottom.

For some reason the Atlantic tuna and the
Atlantic swordfish attain a larger size than in
California waters. The Florida sharks are of
two or three times greater bulk than the sharks
of California. Perhaps it is the heat. The
waters of Florida are very warm, while those
of California are cool.

This difference in bulk has made this angling
possible in California. The tunas here aver-
age about one hundred and fifty pounds, and
- six and eight hundred pounders are very rare.
So with the Xiphias. ‘The average in the
Atlantic is a six- or eight-hundred-pound fish,
almost impossible to the angler with rod and
reel, while the same fish in the Santa Catalina
channel averages two hundred and fifty pounds,
the rod record, by Mr. Boschen, being 355
pounds.

In angling for Xiphias, as it is out at sea,

388 SALT WATER GAME FISHING

the fish should be hunted up, the tall dorsal fin
being the beacon which it exposes when lying
on the surface. Once found, the bait, a fresh —
mackerel, should be trolled across its path; the
launch may go ahead and gradually slow down
until the lure is just ahead. The line should
have a ten-foot wire leader jointed with swivels
at intervals. “The hook should be generous—
No. 10-12—and when the strike comes, the
swordfish should be given time, as he has a
hard, bony, toothless jaw, difficult to hook.
When playing the fish from the dory it is well
for the oarsman to be an observing person, as
some years ago, off Long Island, a man was
sitting in his dory when up through the bottom
came four feet of a swordfish rapier, nearly
spitting him. ‘This, of course, will but add to
the zest of the chase in the eyes of the sea
angler. ‘This fish is taken at Santa Catalina
by using the kite invented by Captain George
Farnsworth. By using this, the flying fish bait
is made to leap—a proceeding which excites
the big swordfish.

With the catching of this fish at Santa Cata- —
lina a new and exciting and risky sport has
been discovered. ‘The 355-pounder taken by
Mr. Boschen repeatedly tried to ram the boat.

GROUP 2
THE POLLOCK AND ITS FRIENDS

F I am not greatly mistaken, the finest of
| the inshore game fishes north of Cape

Cod, the pollock, is neglected and not well
known. We begin to hear of it north of Ports-
mouth, and at the entrance of some of the
rivers knowing ones angle for it. I do not
know very much about the fish, just enough
to commend it to the light-tackle angler as a
fine, sturdy game fish. I knew it best at Ogun-
quit, on the southeastern coast of Maine,
where I fished for it from the rocks with my
eight-ounce split bamboo trout or bass rod,
using crab, lobster, shell, or fish bait. At the
entrance of the little harbor, off the rocks, was
the best ground, and here I made the discovery
(to myself} that the pollock will take a fly.
Doubtless someone else had made this wonder-
ful discovery before, but it had not reached
me, and one day, when I could find no crabs
in the crevices, or was not active enough to
catch them, I bethought me of a fly in my hat-

39

40 SALT WATER GAME FISHING

band, a relic of an angling trip to Blue Moun-
tain Lake, in the Adirondacks, a few weeks
previous.

It was a dilapidated Royal Coachman, but
as I cast and it sank a foot, up rose a splendid
five- or six-pound pollock and seized it. I was
so surprised that I broke my tip on him, and
confess that I broke two more tips on these
Ogunquit pollocks before I learned that they
were too big and heavy, too hard fighters, for
my trout rod.

They made fine runs out to sea, nearly ex-
hausting my reel; then would come in, like
arrows from a bow, until they almost touched
the rocks, to turn and dash away again, to
the music of the reel, coming to the gaff or
net only after a hard and splendid fight.

Use an eight-ounce trout or black bass rod,
E line not enameled (raw silk) ; a small hook,
No. 6 O’Shaughnessy; a triple-gut leader, and
crab bait, if you must, but a fly if you are a
sportsman.

So much for pollock, or coalfish, as the
British Sea anglers call him. I know of fifty-
four other names that he goes by, ranging
from saithe to rock-salmon. All royalty are
addicted to this multiplicity of names, and
since the pollock, as we know him in America,

NEW ENGLAND GROUNDS 41

is a royal fellow, he should be allowed a hun-
dred names if he can get them. ‘The fish has
a wide range in Northern Europe, up as far
as Spitzbergen, and has been taken in the Baltic.
Its American range may be said to be from
the mouth of the St. Lawrence to Nantucket.
It is found in schools, generally on the surface,
and in a general way has the habit of the blue-
fish, and its vigor. As a devourer of little
fishes it is pre-eminent.

The pollock ranges up to ten pounds, and
six pounds is a good average, explaining its
strength on a trout rod. ‘‘ Down East,” or
along the Maine coast and the Bay of Fundy,
the fishermen call it the ‘‘ quoddy salmon,” and
it affords fine sport from the rocks. In Eng-
land the members of the British Sea Anglers’
Society prize it highly as the coalfish, and
there is an Alaskan species also called the coal-
fish by the Canadians. It comes south, and I
have seen several specimens in the tanks of the
Avalon, Santa Catalina, Aquarium. But it is
rare and a straggler in these latter waters.

In my experience the pollock deteriorates
verv rapidly when taken from the water, and
if it is not salted it should be eaten as soon
as possible. J commend it as a fine fly-taking
game fish,

42 SALT WATER GAME FISHING

When angling for pollocks you will take
gurnards and sculpins, often ignorantly thrown
away; but they are among the delicacies of the
sea. The cod, hake, haddock, and halibut are
taken in the deeper fields of the pollock, and
a variety of small fry; also silver hake or
whiting, the turbot, and the ling. The Cali-
fornia hake is a good fish, taken by anglers
in Monterey Bay when angling for salmon.

Bluefish

Striped Bass

CHAPTER IV
NEW YORK AND NEW JERSEY GROUNDS
GROUP 3
THE STRIPED BASS AND ITS FRIENDS

NE of the most successful instances of
transplanting a fish is seen in the striped
bass. The U. S. Fish Commission

brought some striped bass to the Pacific coast
some twenty years ago and placed them in
the mouth of the Sacramento. ‘They increased
so rapidly that the fish is now one of the
choice market fishes of California, a splendid
addition to sport. Wanderers have reached
Santa Catalina Island and Alamitos Bay, Los
Angeles County, five hundred miles to the
south. :

The striped bass is one of the most beauti-
ful of all fishes, pure silver with longitudinal
stripes. In general appearance it is sturdy, the
ideal game fish, attaining a length of five feet
and a weight, under the most favorable condi-
tions, of one hundred pounds. |

“The stately Bass, old Neptune’s fleeting Post
That tides it out and in from sea to coast.”

43

44 SALT WATER GAME FISHING

This bass unquestionably has decreased in
numbers during the past century on the Atlan-
tic coast, as formerly it was a common fish
near the St. Lawrence and particularly off New
Bedford. The striped bass clubs that were
formerly maintained on the southeast New
England coast have in many instances been
given up. The striped bass has practically
disappeared or is much smaller. If the New
Englander would find his old game, I would
suggest the Asbury Park Fishing Club, as here,
on the Jersey coast, the striped bass is still
found in all its former splendor, and is taken
by casting from the beach and wading out into
the surf. In New England the bass anglers
had iron docks built out from the rocks over
the breaking sea and played their game from
the stand, the gaffer standing on the rocks
below. The rod used was a twelve-ounce split
bamboo or some good wood, heavy and stiff
for casting the lure—that bonne bouche, the
tail of a lobster (when lobsters were five cents
apiece and menhaden was the “chum”’). I
have seen forty-pound striped bass taken
through the ice at Fishkill, Hudson River, in
February, which suggests the dual nature of
the striped bass—living in the ocean in sum-
mer, going up the rivers in winter, and living

NEW YORK GROUNDS 45

about their mouths at all times. In a word,
they do not migrate or go south or off shore at
the approach of winter, but remain in one gen-
eral location all the time. ‘They are more or
less gregarious in their food, lobster, clam, and
crab ranking first; but I have taken them with
menhaden and fish bait, and while crustaceans
are the game of their choice, they will chase
small fishes, as minnows, squid and shrimp,
into the breakers. The striped bass spawns in
May and June, often in rivers, but doubtless
also at sea. The record rod fish, so far as
known, is one taken at Cuttyhunk, weighing
104 pounds. A 112-pounder, nearly six feet
in length, was taken at Orlean, Mass., with
a harpoon.

The striped bass is the embodiment of
power and strength, and when played, as at
Cuttyhunk, from a pier chair, with the butt of
the rod in a belt, with waves breaking all
about, the sport is of a stimulating, exciting
character. Pasque and Cuttyhunk of the Eliz-
abeth Islands, between Buzzard’s Bay and
Martha’s Vineyard, were formerly fine localli-
ties. The members of the Asbury Park Fish-
ing Club still find this fish in fair quantities and
have famous sport along the coast wading out
and casting, taking the game amid surround-

46 SALT WATER GAME FISHING

ings calculated to arouse a fine sporting spirit.

In San Francisco the striped bass is the
game fish of the region. It has increased so
that it is found all over the great bay and up
in the flats, where it is taken trolling and still
fishing. Specimens of eighteen or twenty
pounds are not uncommon.

On the Atlantic coast is found the sea bass,
‘Another gentleman among his finny com-
rades,” according to Frank Forester. This
bass is a dark, leaden-hued fellow, with.a light
dorsal fin and a filament extending out from
the upper tip of its tail. Like many fishes, it
has many names, but where I have known it
best—Fisher’s Island and vicinity—it was the
sea bass. Rock bass, blackwill, hannahell, blue-
fish are other names, but sea bass suits it best.
I frequented the dulcet waters near the en-
trance to the Sound for the bluefish, and we
took our bass with black bass tackle, an eight-
ounce split bamboo, and lobster or crab for
bait.

A large sea bass is a very powerful fish,
affording the angler sport, exercise, and enter-
tainment of a varied character. This fish has ©
a wide range. I have taken it in Massachu-
setts, Virginia—at Old Point Comfort, in
Florida, and I am told that it has been caught

NEW YORK GROUNDS 47

at Aransas Pass, Texas. I have also seen it
it off Madison, Conn., and it has a habit of
hovering about certain points or ledges. It is
not a large or startling fish, but a good fighter.
A pound or two is the average, and five or six
pounds is a good fish. If I am not mistaken,
I have seen ten-pounders brought into Madi-
son. But I was not the angler, and I was
‘* guessing.”

The sea bass is the fish of the people of
New York, and steamers go out to the bass
banks with crowds, lined up and down the rail,
to angle for them. Many anglers pursue the
sport, and no other, and have been at it half
a century. [hese anglers use a short, thick-
set club rod, made for the purpose, and a big
reel, often an English ‘“ wood winch,” as the
Passeane taken iin deep water. When the
steamer finds the place off Long Branch she
stops; the sea bass soon begin to come in and
are hoisted out of the deeps.

The fishing ground is Cholera Banks, about
twenty miles from Sandy Hook. Another fav-
orite ground extends from off Navesink down
the coast as far as Squam. ‘This is fishing, in
contradistinction to angling. ‘The water is
fifty, sixty or more feet deep, so a heavy sinker
is essential, taking the lure down quickly to the

48 SALT WATER GAME FISHING

region of sea bass, blackfish, fluke, rock cod,
porgy, weakfish, and many more, by whom a
hard clam or menhaden bait is not to be de-
spised. At Charleston, South Carolina, there
is a smaller species of sea bass, and here the
angler may take the beautiful squirrel-fish, also
of the sea bass tribe. ‘The tautog or blackfish
is often confused with the sea bass, as both are
called blackfish in certain parts of Long Island
Sound. One, the tautog or chogset, is a very
different fish and a kinsman of the beautiful
parrot-fishes of the South. Certain species
were greatly esteemed by the ancient Greeks
and Romans. “ Brains of Jove,” Numa called
the scarus. In a general way the fish ranges
in shallow water from New Brunswick to
South Carolina, being the fish of the people in
New England, where it is known as the tautog,
a Narragansett word, but in New York it is
the blackfish, in Virginia the chub, in the Caro-
linas the oyster-fish.

When I was a boy this fish was taken in
great numbers from the Red and Nahant
rocks with long bamboo poles. The small
fishes were called ‘“nippers,’ a term which
should apply to the real nippers; and nipper
parties, in which ladies and whole families
took part, near ‘‘ Tudors,” were the vogue. A

NEW YORK GROUNDS 49

long slender bamboo rod to reach out over the
water, a light line, small hook, and almost any
bait will lure this fish, which makes a vigorous
fight when given fair play with light tackle.
It is a game little fish from ‘half a pound up
to two or three, occasionally more, and one of

the best edible fishes of New England.

“When chestnut leaves are as big as thumbnails,
Then bite blackfish without fail;
But when chestnut leaves are as large as a span,
Then catch blackfish if you can.’

In other words, the tautog is a summer fish,
but does not go far from its haunts in winter.

The chogset, cunner or bergall, is a summer
fish, and under the title of nipper is taken from
the Nahant, Lynn, and Cape Ann rocks, as in
the case of the sea bass. Back in the seventies
I spent the summer on the Maine coast, near
Mouse Island. As only one fish was to be
had from the rocks, we organized the Nipper
or Cunner Club, and Dan Beard and I fought
piscatorial battles for the presidency.

The nipper (Ctenolabrus) is a long, slen-
der, light-green little fish, with a long sea bass-
like dorsal. It swims by its pectoral fins, like
the parrot-fishes, and has an inordinate passion
for soft clams; hence anyone can take it on

50 SALT WATER GAME FISHING

light tackle, and it is a very delicious little fish.

My first angling was had on Red Rock,
Lynn, standing among the flying spume, when
the sea was on, fishing for nippers, gradually
retreating, as the tide rose, before theyarea:
waves which, at the flood, often drove us to
the land. Fried cunners cooked in the old
Nahant fashion ought to go down the ages
with white bait, Santa Catalina sand-dabs, and
the murries of Cesar.

GROUP 4
THE CHANNEL BASS, PORGY, ETC.

NE of the finest game fishes in Ameri-
can waters is the channel bass, or red
drum; just as game by any other name,

and he has one for every State from New
York to Texas, and some to spare. I have
angled for him off Asbury Park, N. J., at Old
Point Comfort, in the entrance to the St.
Mary’s, in Georgia with fiddler-crab bait, at
the mouth of the St. John’s, at Mayport,
where the ebb tide is so violent that my heavy ©
sinker floated, and again in shallow pools in-
side Aransas Pass, Texas, and everywhere
the fish is game, good, and wholly acceptable
if not murdered on heavy tackle.

The channel bass may be known at once by
the spot on his tail like a big period. Ran-
dolph describes him in verse as

“Long as a salmon, if not so stout,
And springy and swift as a mountain trout.”
yt

52 SALT WATER GAME FISHING

The fish has a superficial resemblance to the
salmon, and has a very wide range in many
waters. He is a bottom-loving fish; hence is
found in the surf along sandy beaches, and is
one of the great game fishes of the famous
_ Asbury Park Club. In Florida I found good
fishing in the St. John’s River, at the mouth,
using fiddler-crabs for bait, a nine-ounce split
bamboo rod, a No. g line, and triple-gut leader.
I had the promise of a fifty-pounder and caught
one of twenty or thirty pounds, and a harder
fighting fish it would be difficult to find. The
moment I had a strike, out into the stream
would go the fish, plunging down and up, in
and out, in a series of gyrations which, when
taken in conjunction with the tide, made hard
work.

The best fishing for this game creature is on
the Jersey coast, in the surf, where the anglers
- wade in and with stiff rods cast far out into the
boiling water. A No. 21 or a No. 24 linen
line is the thing for this work, a good multi-
plying reel, a 10/o hook, and fairly heavy
sinker. Clam or crab bait is commended by
experts. At Old Point Comfort I used soft
shell crabs, ‘‘ shedders,”’ which old Sandy used
to peddle around at two-bits a dozen, yelling
at his mule, ‘‘ W’at I feed yo’ fo’?”

ysvor) Aostopr oy} uo SuLysy Jang

NEW YORK GROUNDS — 53

The Jersey anglers speak of the fish as the
channel bass, but in Texas he is the drum. The
term drum comes from the sound the fish
makes, due to its curious air-bladder. In Texas
I found the fish in holes in shallow water, often
among the reeds or tulles, and here shrimp
was the bait, or young mullet.

There is a certain amount of expectancy in
this sport, as one always hopes to hook the
one-hundred-pounder that is said to have been
seen, but fifty pounds is large for the fish and
the average is under twenty pounds. In ap-
pearance the channel bass is very attractive, as
its upper scales are bronzed and often of a
deep-red hue. Some fishes have two spots
instead of one. In the same general localities
the angler will find the black drum fish, which
attains a weight of eighty or more pounds.
The banded drum fish is the young of this
species. ,

The sheepshead is an interesting fish that
wanders up to twenty or more pounds in old
specimens, and with its twelve or thirteen black
and white vertical stripes is very attractive,
while its high-domed shape makes it a hard
fighter. It has a very wide range from Block
Island to the Rio Grande. I believe I have
taken it in every State alongshore; but, as I

54 SALT WATER GAME FISHING

recall it, Florida holds the palm for numbers.
I have had my best sport with this fish with
an eight-ounce rod, eight or more feet in
length.

In angling for these fishes the true game
qualities are lost by the use of heavy and really
unreasonable tackle or hand lines. A five-
pound fish has no chance on a sixteen-ounce
rod, any more than a one-pound trout on a
nine-ounce rod.

GROUP 5
THE WEAKFISH AND OTHERS

4 N the New England coast most of the
well-known fishes were given Indian
names. One, the squeteague, is one of

the most appreciated fishes in the country, as

its family or allies include some of the really
great game fishes of the world, from the weak-

fish of New York and the great white sea bass
of California to the Kabeljou of Cape Colony.
All and many more belong to the clan Cynos-
cion. |

The majority of anglers who go down New

York bay a-fishing, are weakfish anglers. You

may find the species nobile from New York to
the Gulf of Mexico, and everywhere it is a fine
fish appealing alike to the angler and the epi-
cure. It is called “ sea-trout,’’ as it looks very
much like a lusty steelhead trout, with its sil-

very sides and fine spots; and in its best condi-

tion the fish is not far behind this great game
fish of the sea and river.
99

56 SALT WATER GAME FISHING

Each state on the Atlantic seaboard glories
in the possession of this fish, and each has a
different name for it. Around Nantucket it is
the drummer. President Cleveland and Joe
Jefferson fished for ‘“ yellow-fin”’ in Buzzard’s
Bay. At Old Point, Virginia, my boatman
took me out after bluefish. In Georgia my
man gave me sea-trout; on the St. Mary’s
‘“spot.”’ But it was all the same fish, the sque-
teague or weakfish. When the bluefish season
is a great success the weakfish are not out in
force, or vice versa. I have often been told
this, and it may be that it is not so; but the two
fishes have very much the same habit though
the bluefish is the hardest fighter.

Professor Baird wrote of the weakfish as
follows: ‘“‘ The sport of catching the Sque-
teague is very great, and is highly enjoyed by
many fishermen, on account of the great number
that can be taken in a very short time. They
swim near the surface and require a line but
little leaded. ‘They take almost any kind of
bait, especially clams, soft crabs or pieces of
fish. They take the hook with a snap, rarely
condescending to nibble, and constant vigilance
is necessary, as well as extreme care in hauling
them out of the water, on account of the ex-
treme tenderness of the mouth. During the

NEW YORK GROUNDS — 57

flood tide they keep in the channel-ways of the
bays, and at the ebb they generally settle in
some deep hole, where they remain until the
flood entices them out again. In the night
they are much in the habit of running up the
creeks in the salt meadows, where they are
sometimes taken in great numbers by interpos-
ing between them and the sea, just before the
period of high water. ‘This experiment is not
very satisfactory on the coast of New Jersey,
in consequence of the abundance of crabs. The
smaller fish become gilled in the net-meshes,
thus inviting the attacks of the crabs, which cut
the nets to pieces, often ruining them in a single
night.”

I have had ideal sport at the old fort at the
entrance of the St. Mary’s River. Between
the town and the fort is a fiddler-crab town,
and not far away sea-trout are found, affording
splendid sport. I have also taken them in the
St. John’s at Mayport and Pilottown. I well
remember the porgies, fine sea-trout, the big
channel bass, and the enormous sharks I hooked
from the beach, with the Minorcans, near Pilot-
town, and one day a huge sunfish sailed into the
river and ran aground on the bar where we
wrecked it, after the fashion of the country.
(1876).

58 SALT WATER GAME FISHING

The bluefish is occasionally found with the
squeteague, sometimes as a boon companion,
and again as a pursuer and false friend. It
can truly be said that the bluefish is the finest
game fish of the sea in New England waters,
and that it is thoroughly game, and a hard
and fierce contestant. Its entire appearance
indicates the game fish, strength, agility and
quickness, and when we add to these qualifica-
tions ferocity we have the bluefish, one of the
hardest fighters in the Seven Seas.

The bluefish is blue above and silver below.
His eye is big, lustrous and beautiful. When
he sweeps in out of the unknown, an invading,
exterminating army, the whole country knows
it, as aside from being a game fish par excel-
lence, it is a dish from the gods when broiled
just out of the water. Years ago when I went
to Fisher’s Island to try the bluefish with rod
and reel I lived at a little inn near the landing,
where the attraction was the negro cook who
specialized on bluefish. The fish were caught
hardly six hundred feet distant, rushed in, and
I was awakened by hearing them flopping
about in the wheelbarrow as my man wheeled
them up.

This was the signal to rise, and half an.
hour later to the dot came, “ Bluefish am
served, sah!” I was there, and if the en-

NEW YORK GROUNDS _ 59

vious shade of Lucullus was not hovering about
I am greatly mistaken. My Yankee taste may
be perverted, but bluefish, fresh mackerel, shad.
shad roe, and Atlantic salmon, are in a class
by themselves, and if the angling reader does
not know them fresh, as above, he has never
eaten them at their best.

The bluefish is found well distributed over
the globe, a wanderer in many seas, but it ar-
rives in New England in May or June and re-
mains until October; its movements, to some
extent, depending upon those of the menhaden,
its natural prey. The bluefish apparently does
not like water colder than 40°, nor is it at home
inthe Tropics. In the cold months it probably
goes to some offshore deep-water-ground as it
slopes into the deep Atlantic. The fishes are
subject to singular migrations and appear in a
certain place one year and do not visit the lo-
cality again for ten years. Off Block Island,
the entrance to Long Island Sound, around
Nantucket, is a summer home of the fish, and
here hundreds of fishermen enjoy the sport of
trolling for bluefish in catboats, with a hand-
line and jig. The fresh breeze, the blue water,
the pure air, the overpowering strength of the
fish makes the sport exciting and in a class by
itself. )

The bluefish is one of the finest rod catches

60 SALT WATER GAME FISHING

known. It ranks with the California yellow-
tail. The Santa Catalina Island launches
should be introduced in the East as they are
seaworthy and made to meet the exact require-
ments of the bluefish, which has many of the
habits of the yellowtail. Usually the boat is
anchored, and menhaden (chum) chopped fine
are thrown over to attract them. The angler
may use his taste regarding rods, but a nine-
ounce rod eight feet long, with a 9 line and No.
10/0 hook, with piano-wire leader is sufficient
as the fish does not run over fifteen pounds and
the average fish weighs about seven or eight.

A strip of menhaden, a bone ig; a pearl jig,
or any small fish is eed.

Around New York the young bluefish are
favorites among anglers, who call them snap-
pers and take them with a trout rod, No. 6
linen line, click reel, No. 4 hook. ‘The little
fishes make a remarkable fight.

CHAPTER V
THE FLORIDA GROUNDS
GROUP 6
THE BIG BARRACUDA

HEN the angler arrives in Florida, as

he now can with the ease and com-

fort of well-equipped Pullman cars,

he finds among the marine game fishes a long
slender fish that calls to mind the muscallunge.
It is the big barracuda, the muscallunge of the
sea, a totally different fish, but just as game, a
fierce, and hard fighter. Barracudas can be
found all over the world, but this species,
(Sphyraena barracuda) is a giant running up to
sixty or seventy pounds, more or less, and from
four to six feet in length; in his prime condition ~
calculated to give the angler a splendid contest.
In appearance he looks the piratical part he
plays on the Florida reef. He is a wrecker,
a cannibal. He is greenish above, silvery be-

low, with big black eyes, a long rakish jaw filled
61

62 SALT WATER GAME FISHING

with sharp fang-like teeth. He might be a
shark, and, according to Jordan, is in some
waters, a menace to bathers.

If the angler goes down to the sea with a
rope or a club rod for this fish he may be dis-
appointed; also the fish will not shine as a
fighter if taken on a big cod-line on a bone jig,
though if he is big enough and the launch is go-
ing too fast he will almost pull a man out of a
boat. But if one goes out with a nine-ounce
seven-foot rod, with just the right sort of
resiliency to give the fish fair play, yet lift him;
if a No. g line and a No. 10 hook, with mullet
bait or some shiny fish is used and the game is
played from a dinghy or small boat, the angler
will have the time of his life with the big bar-
racuda.

I am told that great numbers are taken at
Long Key Camp and all along the upper
Florida coast, but my home was at Garden
Key, Tortugas, sixty miles beyond Key West,
where the big fish lived in the deep blue chan-
nels and the smaller ones on the shallow reef.
Here I waded for them with my light tackle
and enjoyed the true delights of barracuda ang-.
ling, though I am not throwing cold water on
the big fish which I took in the channels troll-
ing. ‘The argument I make is, that more sport

Black Grouper

reat Barracuda

G

Pompano

ish

rod 1)

Ho

THE FLORIDA GROUNDS 63

is had from a dinghy or small boat, where the
fish has a chance to pull his enemy overboard
and reduce his pride.

Nearly all fishes will sound when hooked
in deep water, and the angler must pump them -
up, whether it be tuna, black sea bass or blue-
fish. But on a shallow reef, where the water
was not over ten feet deep and mostly four
feet, I played the ten and twenty-pound bar-
racudas and found them the finest of fighters.
Five and six-pounders are often found in the
shallows, and I commend for them an eight-
ounce trout rod with live bait.

This Florida fish, (and he ranges all over
the Gulf region) in a general way, is a solitary;
that is, he is not found in a school, and to see
and watch him, as I have many times, sneak up
on a school of mullet is worth while. He
stalks them as a tiger does its prey, and plays
with the victim as a cat will a mouse. I have
seen a young barracuda catch a sardine by the
tail and hold it ten minutes without moving, ap-
parently to enjoy its struggles.

The California barracuda, S. argentea, is
caught in great numbers in the Santa Catalina
channel, in schools. It comes in from the outer
sea in April or May in vast schools; in a sense,
breaks up, and is found with yellowtail, and

64 SALT WATER GAME FISHING

is caught in the same manner—with a nine-
ounce rod, number nine line though the 3-6
tackle, previously referred to, is the best. I
have taken these fish at twelve or fifteen pounds
and had what might be termed sport; but on
heavier tackle the fish soon gives up and dis-
plays an amiable desire to come aboard. It is
only fair, however, to this barracuda, to say
that he is nearly always taken when angling for
larger game and considered a nuisance. If the
angler is using very light tackle he will find
the fish better than nothing, and as an edible
fish he ranks with the first fish families of Cali-
fornia.

Another small species of barren Sphy-
raena borealis is found along the South At-
lantic coast, but rarely caught or seen by the
average angler. The British sea anglers off
Cape Town include among their game fishes a
small barracuda, and off Portugal one hears of
Aflalo catching the “‘ bicuda,”’ probably a cousin
of our grim, ugly fale of the Florida and
Bahama reefs.

GROUP 7
SAILFISH AND AMBER-JACK

FE, read of the Paradise of the angler,
and the writer, who really loves fish-
ing, falls into the habit of calling

every place where he has had good luck a
paradise. Along comes a victim, lured by the
description and has the antipodes of this luck
and does not see where the description fits.
But Florida, and the Santa Catalina channel,
including San Clemente, California, may truth-
fully be given this term, due to the great variety
of fishes and the splendid sport to be had.

The Tuna Club, as stated in a previous
chapter, now counts the swordfish in the class
with the tuna and admits anglers who take a
fish weighing 200 pounds with rod and reel to
their active membership list. They have a
swordfish insignia which the victorious angler
can wear if he is so disposed, all of which sug-
gests not vain display, but the respect. with
which the swordfish is held by these veterans of
the rod and reel.

In Florida there are three distinct species
65

66 SALT WATER GAME FISHING

of swordfish,* one of which belongs to the Santa
Catalina genus (Tetrapturus imperator). An
other is known as the Cuban swordfish (Tet-
rapturus amplus), which I have taken with the
grains after a hard fight; while the third (Js-
tiophorus nigricans), is the common catch of
the reef and of the anglers at Long Key Camp,
upper Florida, and is a relative of the great
sailfish of the Indian Ocean, which attains a
length of twenty or thirty feet and has a dorsal
fin that when erect resembles the sail of a boat
painted after the Venetian fashion. These
magnificent fish are harpooned by the natives of
Madagascar and often wreck the boats and kill
the men. An American consul saw one leap
through the sail of a native proa—and de-
scribed the flight to me. |

The fish in Florida is called spearfish, sail-
fish, aguja voladora and by other names, but it
is a swordfish, and like its African cousin, has a
magnificently colored fin nearly as long as the
fish and rising like a sail above it. Here the
resemblance ceases as it rarely attains a weight
of two hundred pounds, the average being one
hundred, which makes it a good game fish for
the rod and reel.

The fish appears to like the warm waters of

* Some are called sailfishes, others spearfishes, but all
are really swordfishes in the use of their weapon.

THE FLORIDA GROUNDS 67

the Gulf Stream as they sweep up the coast and
are often found in schools. Down the reef
(Tortugas) they are not so common, nor have
I ever noticed them in very shallow water. The
approved method is to anchor, as at Palm
Beach, off the pier, and cast with live bait or
troll from a launch. The tackle should be a
g-ounce, 6 or 8-foot rod, No. g line, or if de-
sirable the typical old-fashioned tarpon tackle,
a 16-ounce rod and No. 24 line; to use a larger
line would be to take an unfair advantage of
the game.

The fish is very active, a great jumper at
all times, and when hooked makes a savage
play about the boat, folding its big fin flat; but
sometimes when hooked in deep water it erects
this sail and to lift the fish against it is a most
back-breaking operation. Witha “9-9”? tackle
a one hundred-pound fish should be taken in
less than thirty minutes. Every day in season
these fishes are taken off Palm Beach and other
localities, especially at Long Key Camp, in the
center of a wonderful angling region.

Caught in the same waters and under similar
conditions is the Florida yellowtail or amber-
jack. It is a typical Santa Catalina yellowtail,
only heavier and deeper, this and other pecu-
liarities making it a totally different species.
The California fish is longer, more slender,

68 SALT WATER GAME FISHING

more graceful and attractive, and known as
Seriola dorsalis from its long dorsal fin. ‘The
Florida species is Seriola lalandi. It is one of
the finest of all game fishes; fights to a finish; is
not caught until it is in the boat, and is a master
of strategy, finesse and bulldog strength. Fifty,
sixty or eighty pounders are taken off the coast,
and if the angler uses fair tackle he will have
the time of his life. Specimens of this fish
have been taken weighing nearly one hundred
pounds. The largest specimens will be six feet
in length, a ponderous game to handle on any
tackle. . |

Ideal fishing for amber-fish is that from a
drifting rowboat or a boat held by the oarsman
and allowed to drift; but often, as at Palm
Beach, the boat is anchored beyond the surf.
If large fish are desired it is better to use a
tarpon rod, sixteen ounces, and No. 21 line
and No. 10 hook, with live mullet or some
attractive fish. The amber-fish is also taken
trolling. The angler should wear a leather
socket belt, if a light rod is used, into which he
can insert the butt of the rod, and stand and
play the fish. If a heavy rod is employed he
should have a socket screwed onto the seat;
this is necessary in playing a large fish though
of course the butt can be placed under the leg.
A good contrivance when using the light rods,

THE FLORIDA GROUNDS 69

advocated in this book, is the flat rubber tip for
the butt of the rod. In using this the angler
can stand in the boat and press the rubber
against the body and employ it as a fulcrum.
In all these rods the reel is on the upper side
and above the right hand grip, and has a left
hand smaller grip of cork cr cord above the
Teel:

If the weather permits, the angler who goes
outside of Biscayne Bay should insist on a light
boat being towed or carried, and when the am-
ber-fish are found, at Fowey Rock Light or
elsewhere, the angling should be done from the
small boat, or the angler can sit in the small
boat facing the stern, his boatman at the oars,
ready. When the strike comes (assuming that
they are trolling from a launch) the painter
is cast off and the fish is played from the small
boat.

The amber-fish has the habit of a number of
large fishes, as the yellowtail, white sea bass
and others. It will lie beneath a school of an-
chovies, sardines, or bluefish, and while it does
not appear to molest them if the angler will
drop his hook into the throng and can hook one
of the small fry, it is almost certain that the
-amber-fish will take it. Few if any of the
Florida fishes makes the splendid and vigorous
play of this silver, green and yellow game.

GROUP 8
THE SMALL GAME FISHES OF FLORIDA

N drifting over the Florida reef from Log-
gerhead to the St. John’s the angler is al-
ways finding some new and _ interesting

game, and a volume could be filled with descrip-
tions of them. Two interesting fishes impress
themselves on the memory. One is the lady
fish, Albula vulpes, found also in California.
This fish can be taken trolling or still fishing,
and it requires very fine tackle though it attains
a length of three feet and a weight of twelve
pounds. It is a long slender, slippery, sardine-
like fish, built something like a tarpon, with a
powerful tail which enables it to take stupen-
dous leaps often amazing the angler.

The other fish is the ten-pounder, Elops sau-
rus; a silvery, long-headed fish which also at-
tains a length of three feet or so and maximum
and not unusual weight of ten pounds. To
catch the fish it is well to hunt out some one
who knows its particular haunts, as it is a weird

: 79 : :

THE FLORIDA GROUNDS 771

creature, often found coming in onto shallow
flats with the flood-tide, its big dorsals out of
the water, yet so timid that the slightest noise
will alarm it.

A good stiff eight-ounce split bamboo black-
bass rod ten feet in length is the tackle, with a
No. 6 line if you wish to give the game fair
play. The hook should be a No. 3/o or No.
4/o with a long double or twisted gut leader.
The bait of its liking is fiddlers, spirit crabs
or even the red grapsus, or the soldier crab,
and I have taken them with crayfish. They
come in like mullet, in schools, but not stirring
up the mud, and when hooked, they make a
splendid, even remarkable play for so small a
lige ares gives Norris: Cut, Bears Cut,
Soldier Key and various passes as good locali-
ties on the east coast.

These two fishes will afford the angler no
end of pleasure, as to take them requires skill
and prescience of the angling variety, and they
never will be taken unless the angler knows
something about their habits. By this I mean
that an angler could not learn to take a ten-
pounder from a “correspondence school” or
from a book. He must find out from some
one who knows where they are found and then
watch them.

72 SALT WATER GAME FISHING

There are scores of grunts in Florida waters,
charming little fishes if taken with light tackle.
Then come the snappers,—mangrove, gray, red
and many more; beautiful fishes calling to mind
the black bass, having all its game qualities
and beauty. The red snapper I would not in-
clude as a game fish as it is taken only in deep
water. The king of the snappers from the
angling standpoint is the gray snapper, Luii-
anus griseus, to my mind one of the most at-
tractive of all fishes and certainly the cleverest,
and in my experience the most difficult to catch.
I fished for it daily for several years, winter
and summer, on the extreme outer Florida reef,
hence this opinion is based on mature experi-
ence.

In weight the gray snapper runs up, though
rarely, to twenty pounds; the average catch is
from three to six pounds. A six-ounce split
bamboo with a No. 6 line, small but stout hook,
sardine or crayfish bait. I used a very fine cop-
per leader three or four feet long that would
settle in the sand, and often took them by
manipulating the bait. When the gray snap-
per is hooked it makes an incomparable play,
if one remembers that it must have light tackle.

With the snappers I would class the beauti-
ful little yellowtail, Ocyurus chrysurus, a dainty

THE FLORIDA GROUNDS 73

little creature ranging up to three or four
pounds. I always found it outside the break-
ers in groves of coral and gorgonias or sea fans.
A five-ounce trout rod is fair for this fine little
game fish that is known as the rabirubia at Key
West and which is one of the delicious pan
fishes of the region, a hard fighter and gallant
game.

With the yellowtail comes the angel- and
parrot-fishes, all brilliant and beautiful. Both
must have a very small but very strong hook
as the parrot-fish particularly will bite off the
shank of the average hook. These wonderful
fishes—the black angel, the green parrot—
make a remarkable play and will repay the ang-
ler. If he is told they will not bite he must
disregard it and use hooks advised, and dis-
cover two of the finest of the small game fishes
of Florida.

There is another yellowtail caught here,
Bairdiella chrysura, also the Catalineta or
bandfish, and the sumptuous porgy (Calamus)
of several kinds, and the little bream (Lago-
don) are all game fishes if taken with light
rods. | |
One of the most sturdy of all these fishes
is the tripletail, Lobotes, which is taken up to
ten or twelve pounds. No. 4g line, No. 4 hook,

74 SALT WATER GAME FISHING

shrimp or crab bait. This fish has a wide
range, and at times is common in the Chesa-
peake Bay where thirty pounders have been
caught by anglers.

The common chub, Kyphosus, is no mean
game. It has a very small mouth, which ex-
plains why so few are taken with rod and reel
as grunt and snapper hooks are altogether too
large for it and a very small No. 2 hook, but
stout, should be used, and a small bait, the red
meat of crayfish preferred. I have taken this
fish up to eight pounds and include it, so far as
my own experience goes, with the finest of the
game fishes. It has no little individuality and
swims with a vigorous and powerful movement
of the tail.

One of the most interesting of the Florida
fishes is the large mouth, brilliantly colored
hogfish, Lachnolaimus falcatus, the courtier of
the reef. It is a fine game fish when treated
properly; that is, caught with light tackle, a six-
ounce rod and a No. 6 line, a large hook No. 5,
crayfish bait. It is also one of the timetable
fishes of Florida. In appearance it is most
striking; a brilliant red color, its three first dor-
sal spines very long, and all its fins long and
exaggerated. ,
_ | have always found the fish in rather deep

THE FLORIDA GROUNDS 15

water in coral patches on the sides of channels.
A ten-pounder will be a revelation to the man
with a rod, though the average fish is not over
four pounds. ;

I can wish the angler with light tackle no
better game than the pompano, which is found
here in great numbers, and whether on the line
or on the table, is a joy forever.

GROUP 9
THE TARPON

HE tarpon, owing to its high and lofty
jumping habits, is one of the best known
of the marine game fishes. It is a giant

herring and looks the part. Its large scales,
five inches across, its extraordinary mouth, its
big eyes, neat the top of the head, its mail
of silver, are all features that ae to its spec-
tacular appearance.

The tarpon ranges up to four hunderd
pounds and attains a length of seven feet or so.
It is a migratory fish and in great bands moves
up and down the Atlantic coast of North
America from the northern coast of South
America, British and Dutch Guiana to New
York, its northern limit for numbers being the
St. John’s River. For many years the habits
of the tarpon were unknown, but it is now
known to winter in the Panuco River in the
vicinity of Tampico, Mexico, and doubtless in
many other streams. Here it is found in vast

numbers and affords fine sport. In early spring
76

THE FLORIDA GROUNDS 77

it begins to move north, arriving at Aransas
Pass, Texas, in April or May, affording excel-
lent sport at the Tarpon Club in the pass up to
November when it goes south to winter.

The tarpon reaches Florida and the other
Gulf localities about the same time and enters
the rivers where it is supposed to spawn. As
to this nothing is really known, but a few of the
very young have been seen in rivers in Porto
Rico. It is known that the adult tarpon will
spend months in the summer in fresh water and
in springs at the head of rivers (Florida).

At all times the tarpon readily takes fish
bait, mullet or sardine, and as it is, as a rule,
caught in shallow water it leaps and affords
magnificent sport. It is taken by fishing on the
bottom (still fishing) or by trolling (dragging
the bait). The modern tackle, devised by the
Tuna Club, and introduced at Aransas Pass by
Mr. L. P. Streeter, is a nine-ounce, six- or seven-
foot rod, a No. g line; the leader, of piano-
wire with links of brass swivels, is fastened to
a No. 10 hook. ‘The bait is a half or whole
mullet—the bonne bouche of the tarpon.

The first tarpon I hooked at Port Aransas,
I had out not over twenty or thirty feet of
line; yet the fish took it and when hooked went
into the air higher than my head, so I was

78 SALT WATER GAME FISHING

obliged to look up, and over my right shoulder
to see this swinging dervish of a fish high in
air.

How high a tarpon will leap I do not know,
but ten or fifteen feet up and thirty horizontally
would not be too much to accord it, and I have
seen ten high successive leaps. All, or nearly
all the photographs of tarpon seen are forced
or the result of holding the fish on a short hand-
line and phctographing it from the same or an-
other boat, and are more or less facsimiles of
the legitimate leap when on the No. g line, and
nine-ounce rod.

Tarpon fishing is found at Tampico in win-
ter; Port Aransas in summer, Galveston and at
many of the Gulf of Mexico or Florida resorts,
as Boca Grande, Sarasola, Useppa Island, Long
Key, St. Petersburg, Punta Rassa, Fort Meyers,
and other places in Florida.

The tarpon is more dangerous than a shark,
as should it land in a boat after a wild leap
the wise angler would take to the water to
escape the terrific blows of the silver-scaled tail,
sufficient to break a man’s back or leg. Meth-
ods differ in different localities and the angler
will do well to secure the services of the best
guide or boatman and take his advice entirely
until he has mastered the art of curbing a 150-

THE FLORIDA GROUNDS 79

pound “silver king’ with a nine-ounce rod and
a No. g line.

There are three angling clubs which make
a speciality of tarpon: the Izaac Walton Club
of Useppa Island, Florida, the St. Petersburg,
Florida, Tarpon Club and the Tarpon Club of
Port Aransas on the Texan coast. ‘The latter
club was founded by Mr. L. P. Streeter, secre-
tary of the Tuna Club of Santa Catalina Island,
who went to Texas to introduce the fair play
light tackle of the Tuna Club. He demon-
strated that heavy rods and lines are not neces-
sary, and to-day the great game fish is taken with
rods and lines described, and beautiful cups and
trophies are offered for the winners in the vari-
ous classes which are sport. When the first
vessels are passing the Panama Canal an at-
tempt will be made by California anglers to
float a one hundred-foot car filled with tarpon
from the Gulf of Mexico into the Pacific
Ocean. It is estimated that tarpon would swim
north as far as Santa Catalina Island and pos-
sibly the Bay of Monterey.

GROUP 10
THE JEWFISH AND BLACK GROUPER

NE would hardly include the great
Florida jewfish among the game fishes,
yet it affords a certain amount of sport

at times on the rod. It is an entirely different
fish from the black sea bass of Santa Catalina,
being a big ungainly grouper living on the bot-
tom preferably in mud holes. The maximum
weight is six or eight hundred pounds, and I
have heard of goliaths that reached one thou-
sand pounds. It is found all along the coast of
the Mexican Gulf and in the Bahamas, and is
known as Junefish, guasa, mero and by other
names, and is the Promicrops gansa ot
science. The young are attractive fishes of a
light olive-green tint fading into yellow, with
darker crossbar, usually five in number. The
adult is often very dark, or greenish black,
and may be six or more feet in length;
a colossus that requires shark tackle though a
big fellow can be worn out with tuna tackle.

The small fishes, under twenty pounds, af-
80

h

Jew Fis

THE FLORIDA GROUNDS 81

ford fair sport with rod and reel. The tail of
the jewfish is rounded outward; its mouth is
enormous, the eyes near the upper part of the
skull, the body big and clumsy. At Aransas
Pass it is often fished for at night with rod and
reel off the beach. ‘The large jewfish is tough
and impossible, only the young being of use for
the camp or table.

The grouper family is a large and important
one in Florida and is on the ragged edge of
the aristocrats of the real game fishes; but there
are a number of cousins of the groupers that
are extremely attractive fishes. The common
red grouper is a deep-water fish by taste, but is
found on the edge of reefs and so often taken
in upper Florida when trolling. Down the reef
it is taken with hand-lines in water from thirty
to sixty or more feet. It is a large lusty fish,
ranging from ten to seventy pounds. The one
that, in my estimation, and I have caught them
all, is really a game fish, is the so-called black
grouper (Garrupa nigrita), also called jewfish
(Mero de lo alto) and by other names. It has
a square tail, enormous head, high dorsals,
large eye, and presents a more shipshape ap-
pearance than the jewfish. Ina word, it looks
like a hard fighting game fish, which it is. It
is a chocolate-brown in color, adapting itself,
more or less, to the reef (Key West portion),

82 SALT WATER GAME FISHING

but well repays the angler. It lives in the clear
water and has more the habit of the black sea
bass which it resembles. A sixteen-ounce, six
or seven-foot rod, No. 21 or No. 24 line, is
sufficiently strong, and the bait may be fish or
crayfish; if the latter, the whole tail, (shelled).

The Nassau grouper or hamlet, the red
grouper, speckled hind, red hind, rock hind
or spotted grouper, are all attractive fishes rang-
ing the Florida region and the Bahamian banks
many of them fine fishes when they can be taken
with rod and reel.

CHAPTER VI
THE GULF GROUNDS
GROUP II

THE KINGFISH AND ITS ALLIES—SPANISH
MACKEREL, ETC.

N the Gulf of Mexico and the Straits of
Florida a typical sea muscallunge is found
in the kingfish; a long lithe giant, Spanish

mackerel-like fish, one of the important food
fishes of the South and affording the finest kind
of sport when it can be taken with rod and
feelt

Almost any time in approaching Key West
the steamer will pass a fleet of boats fishing
for kingfish. The fish, Scomberomorus ca-
valla, ranges from ten to one hundred pounds,
and from fifty pounds upward forms one of the
fine game fishes of the ocean. It comes in great
schools and is taken trolling. To enjoy it fully
a rowboat is preferred, or a boat that can be
stopped quickly.
_ The tackle should be a tarpon or tuna rod of

83

84 SALT WATER GAME FISHING

nine or sixteen ounces, as the angler may wish;
but the nine-ounce rod, No. g line, is heavy
enough for rowboat fishing. In trolling from
a big sailboat in the Nassau fashion, a big rod
and No. 24 line is desirable.

In appearance the kingfish looks the part;
long, lithe, powerful, iron-gray in color; and
when leaping at the bait, which, as a rule, it
does and not after it is hooked, it is a splendid
sight. The bait is mullet or any small silvery
fish, or squid. I have taken them with a white
rag. The first rush of a big kingfish or cero
and its play in general is a revelation to the
angler. The members of the Tarpon Club
now take it off Aransas Pass, going out trolling
beyond the jetties.

There is another great game fish and cousin
of the kingfish found here, but more rarely.
This is the peto, or Acanthocybium solandri,
found off the south of Key West and Tortugas
in the Gulf Stream. It is a rare and splendid
fish, occasionally caught when fishing for king-
fish, running up to six feet in length and tipping
the scales at one hundred or more pounds. The
angler may go out for it, but the catch will be
an accident, in my opinion, as in several years
daily fishing on the Tortugas reef I saw very
few. .

Kingfish or Cero

ish Mackerel

Span

THE GULF GROUNDS 85

Other large kingfish-like fishes are the esco-
laro of the Lepidopidae family. There are
several genera and a number of species. It
is taken off Key West and is common at Cuba
where “‘escolaring’’ is a recognized sport.
When it is known that escolars attain a weight
of one hundred pounds it will be seen that here
is a game fish to be conjured with.

Very similar to the kingfish in general ap-
pearance is the Spanish mackerel, 8. maculatus,
which may be termed a pigmy cero or kingfish;
yet one of the finest of game fishes on very
light tackle. It is an attractive mackerel-like
fish, trim, debonair, beautifully marked with
silver, blue above, with orange spots on its
sides. It comes from the south in vast schools,
and has been taken as far north as Cape Cod;
but its real home is off Florida, on both sides
of the Gulf of Mexico, where it is taken in
great numbers. It rarely attains a weight of
over twenty-five pounds, and the average fish
is from four to six pounds. In 1909 I fished
for Spanish mackerel in Aransas Pass, in water
perfectly smooth. Scores of men and women
were taking them with big bamboo rods and a
short cotton line, small hook and shrimp bait.
When a fish struck it was uncermoniously jerked
into the emperian. I used an eight-ounce ten-

86 SALT WATER GAME FISHING

foot split bamboo, a delicate silk line, and while
I caught about one to ten of my neighbors I
fancied I had more sport as the little four and
six pounders made a splendid play on my light
tackle, small hook and shrimp bait.

This was still fishing, as I allowed my boat
to drift; but in Florida as at Biscayne Bay and
about Miami the fish are usually taken trolling.
Anglers bring in many at Long Key Camp. In
trolling a jig or squid is used.

There is a Spanish mackerel, S. sierra, on the
Pacific Coast, which I have taken at Santa Cata-
lina though not in great numbers. Also the
Monterey Spanish mackerel, 8. concolor, taken
trolling in the bay of Monterey, also in the
San Clemente channel and off to the south
of Santa Catalina, in September and October.
The common mackerel when it can be taken, if
captured with an eight-ounce trout rod or a
stiff black bass rod, is a great game fish and
when excited or biting it will take any kind of
bait, a red rag or a silver spoon serving as well
as bait. No trout of three pounds will make
the sustained fight of a mackerel of the same
weight, its rapid movements, its erratic play,
long dashes about the boat on the resilient rod
being a revelation to the angler who has the
good fortune to try them on a fly rod.

™ ARR QIVse BY

Sa

ae Wig" Ann Baa hy Xo %
Yh MTR: Gana Galelata, Noh
Sah. VET VANS. ne .

Leaping Tuna

CHAPTER vin
THE PACIFIC COAST GROUNDS
GROUP 12
THE LEAPING TUNA

EAVING the Gulf of Mexico region the
sea angler may reach Southern Cali-
fornia in two and one-half days, crossing

Texas, an empire in itself, New Mexico and
Arizona on the Sunset route from San Antonio
to Los Angeles. Here is the Southern Cali-
fornia sea angling ground including the islands
of Santa Catalina, San Clemente, the Corona-
dos, the Santa Barbara channel islands; all in
all, the most remarkable sea angling region in
the world. By this I do not mean that the
angler can go out here and every day make a
killing of leaping tuna. In this respect it is like
other localities, fisherman’s luck governs it; but
here is a wonderful assortment of game fishes
87

88 SALT WATER GAME FISHING

of large size, and best of all, a summer season,
as a rule, devoid of squalls or storms of any
kind from May to November, a fishing-ground
that is semitropical, yet always cool and delight-
ful. Most important, the island of Santa Cata-
lina is so situated that it forms a vast lee or
smooth water twenty or more miles out in the
ocean. This is why it is so difficult to make
tuna fishing a popular sport off New Jersey,
Madeira, Block Island or Nova Scotia. ‘The
tuna is there and can be caught, but it is an
oceanic fish, and to take it with any degree of
comfort and safety there must be smooth water.

This is the secret of tuna fishing at Santa
Catalina. Here, out at sea, in deep water, is
water as smooth as a lake. As these lines are
written, I have just watched and timed a friend
playing a tuna for three hours and a half, in
water twenty miles at sea, yet perfectly smooth.

Santa Catalina is an island sixty miles around,
twenty-two long and from a quarter of a mile to
eight miles wide. It is a big mountain range ris-
ing out of the ocean, with a marvelously cool
summer climate and a winter that is the time
of flowers, a cooler summer. On Avalon Bay
is the town of Avalon, a town given over to
angling, with all the appearance of a fashion-
able resort, hotels, cottages, etc., with three or

PACIFIC COAST GROUNDS 89

four sea-going steamers per day in the season
and one in winter, and from six to eight thou-
sand inhabitants.

The interesting features of this town to the
visiting angler are the boatmen’s pier and the
Tuna Club. The former is a long pier reach-
ing out into the water, lined on both sides with
the stands of boatmen, each designated by name,
and with a seat, a tackle box and photographs
of their world-wide patrons with their catches.
In the bay are scores of launches, built here
to meet the exact situation, and the result is that
we find sea angling reduced to the last word
of comfort. The Santa Catalina angler does
not put on his old clothes and make himself
entirely miserable; he can go out in white flan-
nel if he desires, and come back immaculate;
all of which is understood by a glance at the
launches and the methods of angling. Most
of the boats are eighteen or twenty-foot gaso-
line launches, wide beam and high rail, so they
arevery steady. The eight- or ten-horse power
engine is placed amidships, and the engineer,
boatman and gaffer sits on the starboard side
at the wheel and can put his right hand on the
wheel, the left on the clutch, and stop the en-
gine at once when the angler has a strike. ‘The
latter sits in the stern, and facing it, in which

90 SALT WATER GAME FISHING

are two comfortable chairs. One angler fishes
to the right, one to the left.

The boats are equipped with the finest and
most expensive tackle—six-ounce rods and six-
thread lines, nine-ounce rods and nine-thread
lines for fish up to sixty pounds, and sixteen-
ounce rods and number twenty-one lines for
tuna and swordfish. ‘They also have kites for
imitating the flight of the flyingfish, sleds for
deflecting the bait one or two hundred feet away
from the boat, gaffs, harpoons; in fact a com-
plete equipment which is provided for $10 per
day for one, two or three persons though only
two can fish atatime. Half a day’s angling is
generally all that is desired, or from 7 A. M.
to 12 M. ‘This makes the expense $5 or $6
for two anglers or $3 a piece for boat, gaffer,
bait, tackle, etc.

The boatman provides everything, the finest
tackle, the only condition being that if the ang-
ler uses the expensive rods and lines of the boat-
man he must replace them if broken or lost.

In imagination we may assume that a boat-
man has been secured and we are going out
for the elusive tuna. The boatman has ob-
tained a number of flying fishes, about eight-
een inches long. The launch rounds up at the
private dock of the Tuna Club and we step

PACIFIC COAST GROUNDS 91

aboard. ‘The rod is sixteen ounces in weight,
seven or seven and a half feet in length. The
line is No. 24, with a seven-foot piano-wire
leader and a No. 10 O’Shaughnessy hook.
Reaching the outer water the line is paid out
one hundred feet or so, the rod resting on the
knee. The boat moves along slowly or fast,
as the boatman may think necessary; but the
main impression is of comfort, cleanliness,
safety, and enjoyment in the fine views of the
mountainous island, the calm, still deep-blue
water; and here we may leave the anglers to
glance at the tuna.

The tuna, tunny, horse mackerel, it is all
one, is a fish of world-wide distribution, espe-
cially common in the Mediterranean Sea and
in Southern Californian waters. It is a great
mackerel-like fish, attaining a weight of one
thousand or more pounds and a length of
eleven feet. For some reason the average fish
in the Mediterranean Sea, where are famous
fisheries over a century old, is 175 pounds.
On the Massachusetts coast, north of Cape
Cod and to the mouth of the St. Lawrence,
fishes run up to 800 or 1400 pounds. ‘Ten
miles off the New Jersey coast, in rough water
or water liable to be rough, and off Block
Island, the average is 60 or 70 pounds, and

92 SALT WATER GAME FISHING

at Santa Catalina the average tuna (Thunnus
thynnus) is 150 pounds.

This peculiarity and the positive assurance
of smooth water has made Santa Catalina
Island famous for its tuna angling; as a 150-
pound fish is about the limit of angling enjoy-
ment with rod and reel. When the fish runs
up to 250 or 300 pounds it becomes labor and
entails dangerous exertion. I took my first
large tuna at this island in 1889, the fish that
caused the founding of the Tuna Club. The
fish towed me and a heavy boat about twelve
miles in three hours, and I fought it without
resting, using only a thumb pad of leather as
a brake.

The tunas spawn along this island and for-
merly came in every July, and remained two
months, affording great sport; but the Italian
and Greek market fishermen, with the Japa-
nese, by persistently netting this shore-line and
spawning-ground, succeeded in practically driv-
ing these fishes away and ruining one of the
greatest sporting assets America ever had.

It is interesting to note how Dr. Henry Van
Dyke regarded this. He wrote the following
after a day’s fishing with the author:

“The efforts of the Tuna Club to secure
protection for the great game fishes of the

PACIFIC COAST GROUNDS 98
Pacific coast, are worthy of the support of every
patriotic Californian. Let the process of grab-
bing these fishes with nets on their spawning
beds among the islands be continued for a few
years longer, and one of the big assets of the
state will be absolutely destroyed. And for
what? To increase the profits of a few private
corporations dealing in fish.

When these fishes have been exterminated,
they can never be replaced. ‘The occupation
of the poor fishermen will be gone, a valuable
source of food supply will be cut off, one of
the attractions which draws visitors from all
parts of the world to California will be lost
forever.

No state is rich enough to allow such a waste
of the property of all the people for the tem-
porary advantage of a few.

The legislature will render a real public ser-
vice by forbidding the capture of the great
game fishes at such seasons and in such places
and ways as seem to threaten the species with
extinction. All honest men, whether they are
anglers or not, would approve and commend
this action of California in defending one of
her magnificient natural resources.”

The author and the Tuna Club fought for
years for some legal protection to this coast,

94 SALT WATER GAME FISHING

that Dr. Jordan has pronounced a spawning-
bed, with no result. The politicians were
afraid of the market fishermen’s vote, but in
1913 an unusually intelligent lot of men were
elected to the legislature. I made a report to
the great Fish and Game Convention of the
State of California on the conditions at Santa
Catalina and San Clemente, and the threatened
extinction of the great game and market fishes.

Mr. E. L. Hedderly, editor of Western
Field, drew a bill setting aside the spawning-
beds three miles offshore as a fish refuge and
prohibiting all market netting. It was no less
than a miracle, looking back at the twenty
years of endeavor; but the legislature passed
the bill and Governor Johnson promptly
signed it. This righteous bill went into effect
August 12, 1913, and for the first time in
fifteen years the north coast of Santa Catalina
for thirty-three miles was not netted day and
night with long gill-nets running out into the
ocean at intervals of every quarter of a mile,
more or less.

On about the 15th of August a large school
of tunas came up from the south, and not run-
ning into the miles of deadly nets, they re-
mained near shore. On September 16th there
was the first good tuna fishing at Santa Cata-

PACIFIC COAST GROUNDS 95

lina Island in fifteen years, and it is believed
that there will be a great increase in all the
game fishes. A more notable illustration of
reckless destruction of a great fishery and its
saving at the eleventh hour was never known.

The leaping tuna in normal years comes in
June or July and remains until September 15
or October 1. The vast schools lie off the
island in deep water, but near the surface, and
periodically raid the flying fishes, driving them
into the bays and out onto the sands. At
such times scores of schools can be seen on the
surface and approached, and the bait cast at
them with success. But the usual angling
method is to troll with one hundred or one
hundred and fifty feet of line astern, with a
2I- or 24-line, a piano-wire leader, eight or
nine feet long, broken by several swivels, and
a No. 10, or No. 12 hook, baited with a pound
and a quarter flying fish.

We will assume that one of our anglers has
a strike. Two big tunas have come up astern —
with a rush. One takes the bait and is off,
the click singing. The angler holds his tip
up, endeavoring to apply brake or drag, the
boatman stopping the launch and throwing her
back. Between the knees of the angler, fast-
ened to the seat, is a leather butt cap into

96 SALT WATER GAME FISHING

which he has fitted the butt, and with this as
a fulcrum he is ready to play the game.

The reel deserves attention, as it is large
enough to hold six or eight hundred feet of a
No. 21 line, wet; as perfect as a clock, and
costing from $50 to $100 if it is a real tuna
reel by the best maker. The first few mo-
ments the fine reel does the work with its
brakes and sings; but if the fish is over one
hundred and fifty pounds the angler should
stop it before it takes five hundred feet of
line; when this happens he begins to reel, and
from then on it depends on the angler. The
landing has been done in twenty minutes and
in fourteen hours, but the man who lands a
tuna of over one hundred pounds in less than
forty minutes has performed heroic work.

There is a great difference in fishes, but the
fish of one hundred and fifty to two hundred
pounds, in its best condition, is a match for
the best man with rod and reel. When the
fish is brought to the surface the boatman
brings out his gaff with an eight-foot handle,
fastened to a rope, gafts the fish under the
head and holds it, and the deed is done. Vol-
umes could be filled with the exciting advea-
tures of the seventy or more anglers who have
taken a one-hundred-pound leaping tuna, thus

PACIFIC COAST GROUNDS 97

qualifying for membership in the Tuna Club.

The tuna spawns in the waters near shore;
the young go into deeper water and do not
return until they are of adult growth. This
tuna does not leave the water after it is
hooked, except on very rare occasions. It is
called leaping tuna on account of its wonder-
ful leaps after flying fish when feeding.

The first very large tuna was taken by the
writer in 1889 with a sixteen-ounce rod and
twenty-one-thread line. It weighed 183
pounds. This record was beaten the follow-
ing year by the late Col. C. P. Morehous with
a 251-pounder, which has stood ever since,
though Mr. Ross of Montreal took off Can-
ada a 600-pounder, but with a larger line and
not under the rules which hold in the Tuna
Club. ‘The angler who defeats the Tuna Club
record will take many prizes. It is estimated
that $150,000 has been expended by anglers
in a vain attempt to break it.

Various efforts have been made by the Tuna
Club members to find satisfactory tuna fishing
elsewhere. Mr. Aflalo investigated the Ma-
deira Islands, but it was too rough. Mr.
Farlscliffe attempted it in the Mediterranean,
but Santa Catalina is the only place where the
natural conditions are such as to make this

98 SALT WATER GAME FISHING

sport a real pleasure. Even at San Clemente
Island, where the tunas go, and San Nicolas,
the sea is too rough and there is no lee. Play-
ing a heavy fish in a seaway, where the waves
are the greatest danger to the line and where
one is liable to be caught in a squall ten miles
out to sea, may be exciting, but. it is not
adapted to the long play often required in the
case of a 150- or 200-pound tuna. Some of
the tuna records of the Tuna Club, made in
the tournaments, are as follows:

RECORDS

ANGLER DATE WEIGHT
Chas. 4. SEVOIGe Rec eis: eisteve s avees oo ane 1898 183 pounds
Go) Morehous, "Pasadena? (224% 1899 251 *
AY W. Barrett; Mos Angeles... 5... 1900 TOAUS ae
Mrs. E. N. Dickinson, New York.. 1902 210.
Eee. Border sinambrae seen seve ae 1902 ye ee
John E. Stearns, Los Angeles.... 1902 507s
A. W. Barrett, Los Angeles...... 1904 131
Phils 7S O¢Menraneoalt: Wakes. eeer 1909 TSS vee
eG. Maa piiyeastiacditananet: acme IQIO 1754 ee
G. B. Stocton, Los Angeles........ IQII 170 2a

No tunas under one hundred pounds are
counted, and when it is announced that no tunas
have been taken, it means that no fish over one
hundred pounds in weight has been taken with
rod and reel.

Brief mention of the Tuna Club may not be ©
out of place at this juncture. The club was
founded by the author in 1889, to form a gen-
tlemen’s club that should take an interest in

PACIFIC COAST GROUNDS 99

the conservation of game fishes, fresh and salt,
in all California. The club has a commodious
clubhouse, which it owns, on Avalon Bay. It
gives two tournaments yearly; has several thou-
sand dollars’ worth of beautiful prizes, and per-
forms a valuable work in aiding in saving the
fisheries and elevating the sport standards all
over the country. It has three hundred or
more members and enrolls on its list some of
the most distinguished anglers and sportsmen in
the world. Among them are Lord Desbor-
ough, W. D. Coggeshall, Senator George F. Ed-
munds, Charles Hallock, Admiral Peary,
Winston Churchill, Dan C. Beard, Dr.
George E. Hale, David Starr Jordan, Gif- ©
ford Pinchot, Prince d’Arenberg, Gen. John
We Poster, J. K. L. Ross, Dr. Henry Van
Dyke, Colonel Roosevelt, Stewart Edward
White, Caspar Whitney, and many more
famed as anglers or for services in the interests
of the conservation of the fisheries.

The club’s spring tournament is a notable
event in the field of sea angling, and every
game fish of the region—white sea bass, tuna,
black sea bass, yellowtail, swordfish, etc.—has
a prize or many prizes in the different classes,
all with the object of inducing the angler to
fish with the lightest tackle and give the game

100 SALT WATER GAME FISHING

fair play. The result? Fifteen years aco
boats would go out with six or eight big hand-
lines and come in with half a ton of splendid
fish, running up to thirty pounds, which were
dumped into the bay. To-day each of the pos-
sible one hundred angling launches of Avalon
is equipped with the finest rods, reels, and
lines. Such a thing as a hand-line is unknown.
All of the thousands of anglers fish with dainty
rods and lines, and a splendid standard of
sport prevails. The Tuna Club cups and
trophies are on exhibition, and its living room
or hall has one of the most interesting exhibits
of oceanic fishes to be found in the world, all
the records of the members.

GROUP 13
THE YELLOW-FIN TUNA

HE second tuna in point of sporting
value as a game fish at Santa Catalina
and San Clemente, California, is the
yellow-fin tuna, Thunnus maculata. Wang up
the three species side by side and this fish will
appear to be a cross between the leaping tuna
and the long-fin tuna; but it is a fish of pro-
nounced individuality. It associates with the
long-fin tuna, but I have never seen it in schools
of the leaping tuna. It is a beautiful fish, with
green back, silver belly, and lemon-yellow fin-
lets; the eye large and lustrous; a beautiful
fish in the water, dignified, and graceful, with
all the cleverness of a trout.

For years the yellow-fin tuna has been known
in Japan and Honolulu, but it was not recog-
nized as a Santa Catalina fish until 1890, when
vast schools appeared, and it at once took its
place as a game fish of the first quality. Driven
away by the netters, described in a previous

Iot

102 SALT WATER GAME FISHING

chapter, it deserted the island for years, but
at the present writing is back again and filling
the waters of the Santa Catalina lee and chan-
nel with life.

So thick were these fish at San Clemente in
1913 that they almost ruined the sport with
the swordfish. Mr. Hooper of the Tuna Club,
Vice-President of the Winchester Arms Com-
pany, told me that he could not get his sword- |
fish bait overboard without hooking a tuna.
In a trip within a few days tunas were hooked
by a companion off Avalon Bay, and I saw
men in skifts playing them.

The yellow-fin tuna ranges up to four feet
in length and one hundred pounds in weight,
but the average fish is fifty pounds and the rod
record sixty pounds. The school of 1913 aver-
aged forty pounds. This fish is taken on a
nine-ounce rod and a No. g line with a break-
ing strength of eighteen pounds; that is, the
line will lift a dead weight of eighteen pounds.
They have also been taken on the 3-6. tackle.
The bait is a large sardine or smelt.

Not long ago when we were moving along
at a rate of four or five miles an hour, the
strike came, and my companion hooked a tuna.
It was eight o’clock, and he landed the fish at
about eleven, or three hours later, during which

PACIFIC COAST GROUNDS 103

time the fish towed the boat at least two miles.
It repeatedly came to surface. This fish was
foul hooked, and I quote it to show the strength
and staying power of the fish, so characteristic
of the family.

While this tuna will bite readily on sardines,
I have spent a day endeavoring to lure one.
We were drifting and when the boatman tossed
over a handful of bait they would rush at it,
but carefully avoid the baited hook I dropped.
This tuna feeds on small fishes, occasionally
flying fish, and in September goes down deep
and gorges itself on squid, schools of which
are found here in deep water. It spawns near
shore along Santa Catalina in August and Sep-
tember and disappears in October, probably
going to some deep outer bank “where the
siren sings,’ or it may go down the Mexican
coast to warmer waters. Some of the records
of the Tuna Club are:

ANGLER DaTE WEIGHT
Agtuuce). Eddy, Chicago.......... 1906 60 pounds
E J. Polkinhorn, Pasadena....... 1907 502 x

F, T. Newport, Arcadia, Calvi ass IQII 54

- GROUP 14
THE LONG-FIN TUNA

HIS fish, Thunnus alalonga, has a wide
range over the world, there being but
One species and one genera. It is the
smallest of all tunas, the average weight being
but twenty-five pounds. I have been told by
reliable fishermen that they had seen one-
hundred-pounders. The fish is_ shorter,
plumper than the others; -its back a mien
blue, its belly silver; the eyes large and hyp-
notic. It has the little finlets, numbering eight,
which in the leaping tuna number nine, and in
the yellow-fin tuna nine, but they are blue or
dark instead of lemon-yellow.

It is essentially a tuna with the exception
of the side fins, which are of extraordinary
size, reaching from the first spine of the dorsal
to the anal fin, or almost half the length of
the body, and the most noticeable feature. If
we trim off these fins we have a very good imi-
tation of a leaping tuna or yellow-fin; in a
word, the resemblance is strong. In its habits

104

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Long Fin Tuna

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PACIFIC COAST GROUNDS 105

this tuna differs greatly from the others. It is
almost non-migratory here and normally can
be found in great numbers at any time from
a mile to two miles off Avalon Bay, rarely
if ever going any nearer and ranging the blue
waters to a depth of several hundred feet, but
normally lying near the surface.

It is the fish the anglers all rely upon at
Santa Catalina when everything else is out of
season; it can almost always be caught if the
season is not particularly stormy; then it dis-
appears for a month or so. It feeds on small
fishes and will bite so readily that it is often
a nuisance. But it makes a violent and vi-
cious play, plunging down into the deeps and
often wearing out the lusty angler. It should
be taken with a nine-ounce rod, nine-thread
line, No. 10 or No. 12 hook, and sardine or
smelt bait. The piano-wire leader here need
not be over a foot or six inches long. A small
sinker is generally attached to take the line
down below the surface a foot or so; indeed,
such a sinker is used for all these fishes, so
that bait will not lie above the surface when
trolling.

This tuna spawns along the kelp beds of Santa
Catalina, now a fish refuge by the act of legis-
lature secured by the Tuna Club in 1913. The

106 SALT WATER GAME FISHING

eggs are deposited in August and September,
but the very young are rarely seen here, the
smallest fish being a five- or six-pounder, show-
ing that they keep in deep water, out of sight.

All these tunas are of importance. In the
Mediterranean the tunny fighters are of great
value and the young tuna of fifty pounds, as
served at the banquets of the Tuna Club, is
meaty and rich. The yellow-fin is also a food
fish, and the long-fin tuna is the one that is
canned as ‘Blue Sea Tuna”’ and now consti-
tutes the supply of a great business. While
this tuna should be taken with a nine-ounce rod,
it can be caught with 3-6 tackle. In using this,
the angler should wear a belt with a rod socket
and he can stand and play the game. In all
this fishing there is what is termed “ pumping.”
In water a mile deep, fish when hooked go
down, instead of leaping as they do in the
shallows, and when a long-fin tuna is stopped
at the three-hundred-foot mark he must be
lifted up, a proceeding to which he objects
strenuously.

If you could see him now! He is pointed
downward, head down, tail up, boring down.
To offset or overcome this—sulking, it is termed
in salmon angling—the angler holds his rod
steady, reels the tip down to the surface, checks

PACIFIC COAST GROUNDS 107

the line with one of his left-hand fingers (on
the rod), and lifts the fish steadily until the
rod is vertical or at an angle of sixty degrees;
then the rod is dropped to the water suddenly,
the angler reeling rapidly, and before the fish
realizes it he has gained several feet. This
is repeated, and is known as “‘ pumping,” as
the angler makes an up-and-down movement.
This is at first difficult, but it soon becomes
automatic; the lift with the left hand, the sud-
den change of the right from the lower grip
to the reel handle, etc., and when once under-
stood is easily done and the fish brought to
the surface. But if the latter is foul-hooked
it may be a matter of hours. The long-fin tuna
cups and trophies of the Tuna Club are many
—cups, medals, medallions, etc. The club
records with rod and reel are interesting and
are as follows:

ANGLER DaTE WEIGHT
Chas. W. Miller, Denver... Igo! a pounds
Ernest Fallon, Los Angeles 1902

John Van Liew, 5 vs a8 3 i

Stewart Ingraham & “

a We McIntyre, Illinois.... 08 (winter) ao 4
. N. McMillan, Nairobi,
EEG I9I1O 50

Frank Kelly, Indiana....... IQII-12 (winter) 66% “

Frank B. Hoyt, Oakland... 1913 (winter) 50 “

Most of these tunas were taken on nine-

108 SALT WATER GAME FISHING

ounce rods and No. g lines, with a breaking
strength of eighteen pounds. ‘Thus, if the an-
gler in his excitement in playing a fifty-pounder
puts on a greater strain than eighteen pounds,
the line snaps.

GROUP I5
THE LITTLE TUNNIES

HE bonitos of California so closely re-
semble the big tunas that it is evident
they are close kinsmen. One, the oce-

anic bonito, is one of the fine game fishes in
early spring in the Santa Catalina channel—
the wide deep channel that lies between Santa
Catalina Island and the mainland. Its specific
name is Gymnosarda pelamis. It has a pro-
nounced turn or dip in the lateral line below
the second dorsal fin and four lengthwise
stripes on its side below the lateral line, this
distinguishing it from the Atlantic species.
It attains a length of two feet. I have taken
specimens up to twenty pounds, and consider
it one of the hard fighting fishes of the region.
It roams the temperate seas in schools loosely
connected, and spawns in the sheltered lee of
Santa Catalina and San Clemente in June and
July. So erratic is the appearance of this fish
that its catch is very uncertain; hence anglers
cannot depend or rely upon it. It is a fish to
109

110 SALT WATER GAME FISHING

be taken on a six-ounce rod and given a chance
for its life on a No. 6 line: The lurevisea
sardine or smelt or Wilson spoon, with mod-
erate speed.

Associated nearly always with the long-fin
tuna on the surface of the deep Santa Catalina
channel is the California bonito, or skipjack; a
plump, radiant little fish of the tunny tribe,
known to science as Sarda chilensis. It ranges
up and down the coast from Patagonia to San
Francisco, and is particularly common at Santa
Catalina. The best way to take it is to go out
a mile or two in the lee of the island where
the water is smooth, and have the boatman
toss over chum or ground fish until the bonitos
come to the surface. They are so tame that
they come about the boat and almost take the
bait from the hand. Now the angler can bait
his hook with a sardine, cast at the bonito he
wishes, and take him. The vigor of the little
fish is extraordinary. I once watched a young
lady play one over an hour before she could
land it. This bonito turned out to be a record
fish, a twenty-pounder. It played, as do most
of the bonitos, entirely on the surface, making
great circles and rushes.

No fish is more beautiful than this marine
humming-bird as it comes in. Its back is a

PACIFIC COAST GROUNDS 111

deep blue; its belly silver, and over all is an
investment of old rose-pink, and it scintillates
in the sun like a prism. It has a very different
movement from other fishes. The body is
very plump and thick-set, and in swimming the
tail apparently is wriggled violently, the side
fins used very little. In the long-fin tuna the
extraordinary long pectoral or side fins, more
than half the length of the fish, are not used,
in all probability, to swim with, but are bal-
ancers; I have seen them held two or three’
inches from the body while the fish was driv-
ing itself along by its tail.

The bonito is a common article of food, and
a game fish to be conjured with on light tackle.
The average catch does not weigh over six or
seven pounds. The Tuna Club record for the
bonito is twenty pounds.

GROUP 16
THE BLACK SEA BASS _

O one can angle long in Southern Cali-
fornian waters without being startled
when reeling in a line by the apparition

of an enormous black or gray fish dashing to
the surface after the bait, causing the water
to swirl and foam as, perchance, it misses it
and goes back to the bottom.

This might be a shark, but it is the black
sea bass, Stereolepis gigas, a gigantic member
of the bass family and not to be confused with
the Florida jewfish, being a totally different
fish. The black sea bass appears to be born
big, at least I have never seen one under one
hundred pounds, but I have heard of a fifty-
pounder and know a man who said he had
seen one of two pounds. But as for very little
black sea bass no one, apparently, has ever
seen one, although the fish spawns in the kelp
beds of the islands in August and September.
They come in from the outer deeps in May

and June, and in July, August, and September
II2

Black Sea Bass

PACIFIC COAST GROUNDS 118

are in full possession of the kelp beds, aquatic
forests, and can almost always be taken back
of Avalon in a great kelp forest in water ay
or fifty feet deep.

I have taken an eighty-pounder with a nine-
ounce rod, but the big ones (and in the Gulf
of California they attain a weight of one thou-
sand pounds—reported) require tuna tackle.
The fish displays remarkable strength, espe-
cially when hard fought. If handled gently
they can be manipulated easier. I have had
many a bout with the black sea bass and more
than once was outgeneraled.

The method of taking the fish is to go to
the locality and use half a barracuda or six
pounds of long-fin tuna for bait. This is low-
ered to within five feet of the bottom. The
boat is buoyed to the anchor so that it can be
cast off. Sooner or later the strike comes.
The tuna comes at its lure like a bolt of light-
ning, but this giant nibbles at the bait, I have
seen him do it. He hovers over it, passes it,
turns about, all ready to become alarmed and
rush away. I have watched him do all this
sometimes standing on his head in the wonder-
ful kelpian forest, an amazing and startling
spectacle.

_ So, bearing this habit in mind, you are not

114 SALT WATER GAME FISHING

disturbed when the click of your reel begins to
sound in the most deliberate fashion. You
wait five or ten minutes, or until the line is
running out with some regularity; then you
give ten or twenty feet of line, according to
the temperament of your boatman; then when
it comes taut you strike and—the fight is on.

The game is a two-hundred-pounder, any-
way, and possibly a three- or four-hundred-
pound fish. .The Tuna Club record is 436
pounds, by Mr. L. G. Murphy of Converse,
Ind., in the season of 1905. In 1972 > Me
S. W. Guthrie of Los Angeles took a 427-
pounder. ‘The first rush is irresistible and two
or three hundred feet of line may be taken
before you can stop the fish; then it swims
steadily on, towing a launch or rowboat, and
making for the ocean forest, which, if it enters,
the game is up.

So you fight, pull, and reel with judgment,
never putting over forty-two pounds pressure
on your line. In half an hour, or an hour, if
you have luck, the leviathan is on the surface,
a big, splendid replica of a fresh-water black
bass, or as near that as anything. Your man
gaffs him and with a block and tackle he is
lifted on deck or fastened and towed in.

_ The black sea bass has all the habits of ‘

SS¥Vq BEG dJITT AL

\

PACIFIC COAST GROUNDS 115

bass and is occasionally taken trolling, but the
line should be provided with a sinker so that it
will reach to within ten feet of the bottom. In
trolling a five-pound whitefish or a flying fish 1s
a good lure, and to see three hundred pounds
of fish running up at your bait as you pull it
rapidly in, is a revelation. ‘The black sea bass
appears in schools at times; is full of spawn
in August and September, and disappears pracy
tically from its summer resorts in November,
though certain fishes can be taken in certain
localities at almost any time.

Some of the Tuna Club rod records are as
follows:

ANGLER DaTE WEIGHT
S. W. Guthrie, Los Angeles....... 1912 427 pounds
J..S; Dempsey, Kentucky.......... IQII AZO Pprnic
Jesse Roberts, Philadelphia........ 1910 385 *
he Se bard, san Francisco... .... 1909 BON ys

ie weep, Vos Angeles.......... 1907 427

GROUP 17
THE WHITE SEA BASS

N traveling around the world the angler
will find old friends but slightly changed
in different lands. Thus, the South Afri-

cander has his kabeljou, a great fish which is
the weakfish in New York. Crossing the con-
tinent he finds a species in the Gulf of Califor-
nia weighing one hundred pounds. At Santa
Catalina he catches a fish called the white sea
bass, Cynoscion nobilis, a near cousin. The
Californian fish averages thirty pounds and
runs up to eighty; is a fine game fish, arriving
in April and May at Santa Catalina in vast
schools and providing sport of the best quality.
It spawns along the island kelp beds in July, and
late in the summer and fall is taken in numbers
farther north, as in Monterey Bay.

The white sea bass is a long, grayish, sil-
very fish, looking mich like a salmon, five or
six feet in length, and when a school dashes
into Avalon Bay after sardines it is a spectacle

to be remembered. When not feeding, the
TIO

PACIFIC COAST GROUNDS 117

bass lies in broken schools in the great kelp
beds, poising like birds among the branches.

The tackle used is a nine-ounce rod, nine-
thread line, short leader of piano-wire, and
No. 12 hook. Live bait, mackerel or sardine,
is the most effective. The boat is allowed to
drift, but the greater number of fish are taken
trolling with a flying fish or a Wilson spoon.
I have taken five fifty-pounders in one day in
Avalon Bay with live bait. Their play on the
surface adds to the conclusion that they have
few superiors as a great game fish.

The rod record of the Tuna Club is a sixty-
pounder, taken by Mr. C. H. Harding of
Philadelphia. In playing this fish the angler
should wear the leather belt with a butt socket
and stand and play the fish comfortably.

The so-called sea-trout of Southern Califor-
nian waters is but another species, and another
is found further north, while the giant of
Mexico, which I have taken at Guaymas and
at Tobari, one hundred miles south, is C. mac-
donaldi, all having the same general habit and
all are game fishes in the best sense. The
smaller ones are well adapted to the trout rod
of eight ounces.

At Santa Catalina the white sea bass is an
early spring fish, though it sometimes remains

118 SALT WATER GAME FISHING

into September, and can be found along the
islands of Santa Catalina and San Clemente in
water from twenty to thirty feet in depth, or
in harbors like San Luis Obispo, where there
is no surf, also at Redondo.

il

Yellow Ta

Group 18
THE YELLOWTAIL

HE amber-jack of the Pacific coast is the
yellowtail, Seriola dorsalis. It is liter-
ally the fish of the people, or to South-

ern Californians what the bluefish is to the
New Englanders. It has a wide range, from
Mexico to Monterey Bay, but its normal home,
where it is always to be found from April to
December, is the shores of the Santa Catalina
channel islands of California, especially San
Clemente, famous for its thirty- and forty-pound
_yellowtails, that can be caught at times as fast
as the line is dropped over. Again the yellow-
tail will flaunt its charms of blue, old-gold, and
silver in your face, five feet from the boat, yet
scorn the bait that hides the hook, thus proving
itself the cleverest of the game fishes of the
sea.

I think the judgment of all sea anglers is
that the yellowtail, ‘‘ pound for pound,” as Dr.
Henshall has it, is the hardest fighting of all
the game fishes of the sea. The fish of twenty-

119

120 SALT WATER GAME FISHING

seven or thirty pounds, or even seventeen or
twenty pounds, never discovers that he is
beaten, he never acknowledges it, and the tyro
only conquers one on fair tackle after a long
struggle.

A volume could be written on the yellowtail
and the tricks it plays on verdant anglers; how
it has pulled men and boys overboard; how it
bites ravenously to-day and scorns the lure to-
morrow. On the Pacific coast, if the winter is
mild, with little rain, it will remain at the
islands all the year, and I have caught it nearly
every week in the year at Avalon. But its
custom is to leave in December, going out to
some deep offshore plateau, where it remains
until March or April, when it begins to move
inshore, doubtless following the vast schools
of sardines, anchovies, or smelts.

There are several definite “ runs” at Santa
Catalina or San Clemente recognized by the
fishermen; one early in April, another in June,
but they are uncertain. Some years the yellow-
tails will come in vast numbers, so that in my
experience it was impossible to lower a bait
without hooking a twenty- or thirty-pound fish.
The following year yellowtail angling would
draw a blank. One year they are at San Cle-
mente, and very few at Santa Catalina; the

PACIFIC COAST GROUNDS 121

next. year they are at Redondo, on the main:
land, in numbers; but, as a rule, they are found
in great numbers at the islands off the city of
Los Angeles. |

The fish attains a length of five feet and a
weight of eighty pounds, but the average catch
is a twenty-five pounder, and the rod record
is sixty and one-half pounds, held by Mr. W.
W. Simpson, a member of the Tuna Club, of
Winkley, Whalley, England. This fish is in
the British Museum, with a replica of the rod,
reel, and line used by Mr. Simpson in taking
it, at San Clemente, off Los Angeles County,
California.

The yellowtail is one of the most beautiful
of all fishes; a deep green above, with a yellow
median line, tail and fins often a vivid lemon-
yellow; the belly pure silver; the eye large and
brilliant, the head large; the fish looking for
all the world like a giant bluefish, but with a
long, fine dorsal fin and powerful tail. It is
very erratic in its movements; now in schools,
now living a solitary life; in winter often com-
ing up on hooks set in eight hundred feet of
water; now basking in the sun, swimming
slowly in schools on the surface or dashing like
furies into bays, chasing the small fry out onto
the beach. It is essentially a deep-water fish;

122 SALT WATER GAME FISHING

that is, it is not found on shores where there
is a surf, but on the surface of the deep chan-
nels and in summer it, doubtless, rarely goes
below one hundred feet.

The fish is more or less carnivorous, feeding
on sardines, anchovies, flying fish, or squid. It
is found to spawn in August and September,
but very small fishes are nevez seen, and doubt-
less take to deep waters or some secluded place.
The tackle for big yellowtail is the nine-ounce
rod and No. 9g line with No. 10 hook, a foot |
of piano-wire leader, and as bait a flying fish.
If smaller fish are desired, the 3-6 tackle should
be used with sardine bait, trolling slowly not
far from shore along the kelp. It is well to
toss over chum, and, to my mind, the ideal
yellowtail angling is had by allowing the bait
to drift, attracting the fish to it by tossing
over bait, then casting with the 3-6 tackle and
hooking them in plain sight. Such a locality is
Ship Rock, Santa Catalina. In 1912, with Dr.
Gifford Pinchot, we took thirteen or fourteen
big fellows in a forenoon, experimenting with
various tackle, the fish biting the moment the
sardine sank out of sight.

The cups, medals, etc., for yellowtail at the
Tuna Club are many, and in the tournaments
it is the favorite catch, due to its pugnacity

PACIFIC COAST GROUNDS 1238

and hard fighting qualities. When yellowtails
are scarce alongshore anglers hunt for them
at sea beneath beds of floating kelp. Here
they often strike the beautiful dolphin, that
changes its colors as it comes in, yellow-green
and gold,-a marvelous sight. The fish plays
so like the yellowtail that the angler does not
know the difference until it is brought to gaff.
In this way the rare rooster-fish, Papagalo
nematistius, is sometimes taken, which I have
hooked at Guaymas, where it is a common fish.

GROUP 19
SMALL GAME FISHES OF THE PACIFIC COAST

VOLUME could be written on the small
A game fishes alone of the Santa Catalina
Channel islands. The whitefish, up to
ten pounds, is a vigorous game always to be
counted on from early spring to late fall, in
rather deep water; sardine bait and nine-ounce
rod. Nearer shore we find that sheepshead, a
big-headed fish of ten or fifteen. pounds, with
black and red alternating stripes in the adult,
the female all gray, white, or red. ‘This fish
makes a game play and is fond of abalone and
crayfish bait, but will not scorn sardine. At San
Clemente, in the shallows, they can be caught
in great numbers.

In the kelp beds are countless rock bass of
several species that range up to four or five
pounds. At San Nicolas Island I have taken
ten-pound rock bass, of a dark-green hue, that
made a valiant play. In schools about the
rocks and in the kelp beds is the blue-eyed

perch, a fish of from one to four pounds, with
124

White Fish

Mackerel

PACIFIC COAST GROUNDS 125

a small mouth, gray tints, and beautiful blue
eyes. It is rarely caught, as the angler uses
too large a hook and does not bait for it with
abalone, crab, or crayfish, which it loves. An-
other little fish, blue, with stripes, is the black-
smith, that makes a savage fight, while the
_ striped perch of two pounds and the splendid
sand-bass of eight or ten pounds are occasion-
ally taken, to demonstrate to the angler that
in the variety, as well as game qualities, of its
fishes California stands well to the fore.

Outside of the kelp we may see schools of
the California mackerel, and myriads of bar-
racudas from six to twelve pounds. In the
little bays, like Silver Cafion, on sandy bottom,
lie fine California halibut, which will rise to
the surface and take a sardine, and go rippling
away, making a splendid play. Here, too, are
several rays that are game; a leaping oil-shark,
that is an understudy to the tarpon, while the
big hammerhead and bonito-sharks afford sport
for the strenuous. Singularly enough, anglers
are rarely troubled with sharks- here as in
Florida.

At Silver Cajion, Sine Calne just out-
side the surf, are found the roncador (Um-
brina), the yellow-fin (Seriphus politus), the
surf-fish (Menticirrus undulatus)—all game

126 SALT WATER GAME FISHING

fishes requiring crab, crayfish, or clam bait, as
it is their custom to lie in the sumt,jonugjuee
beyond it, and hunt for the little sand-crabs
washed out by the waves. ‘The gulls prey on
them from the shore side, while the roncadors
lie in wait in the undertow.

In the deeper waters the sea-trout, a small
white sea bass, is found with large smelts and
a variety of small fry too numerous to men-
tion—all of which, and those mentioned in this
chapter should be angled for with a light rod
of six ounces and No. 6 line and hook adapted
to the fish. ‘Thus, rock bass will take a large
No. 10 or No. 12 hook; but the blue-eyed perch
| requires a very small hook, a No. 8 or 12 fly-
hook size, and the same is true of the black-
smith and the Medialuna.

In San Francisco Bay the tom cod is a game
fish, and the striped bass is game to conjure
with by trolling along the flats with a Wilson
spoon or bait—crayfish, crab, or abalone.
About the Santa Barbara channel islands prac-
tically the same fishes are taken, but the islands
stand end-on to the prevailing inshore wind;
hence there is little or no smooth water to be
counted on, though the mornings are often
smooth; but the west wind and frequent fog
comes rolling in, and the angler here should

PACIFIC COAST GROUNDS 127

be sure of his boat and boatman and take no
chances. All the channel islands are twenty or
more miles at sea and the angler should always
go in a boat with an experienced boatman, ex-
cept at Santa Catalina, where the bays of Ava-
lon and Cabrillo are always smooth and per-
fectly safe. The San Clemente channel, be-
tween that island and Santa Catalina, is rough |
in the afternoon, so boatmen making the pas-
sage leave at four o'clock in the morning, mak-
ing the trip on smooth seas, the wind not rising
until ten o’clock or so.

GROUP 20
THE SHORE FISHES OF THE PACIFIC |

“WNHE region from Cape Mendocino to the
Mexican line at Coronado on the Pa-
cific coast abounds in towns where every

facility is provided for the angler. Some of
these are Santa Monica, Santa Barbara, Re-
dondo, Venice, Hermosa Beach, Seal Beach,
Huntington Beach, Long Beach, San Pedro,
Portugese Bend, Bay City, Alamitos, Laguna,
Newport, Del Mar, Ocean Side, Coronado, Bay
City, and others, all nearly all on long sandy
beaches where the great sea fishes described
do not come in, as they do not like surf or the
sandy water. Only one of these beaches, Re-
dondo, occasionally has the yellowtail and
other fishing, from the pier or beach, and this
is due to the fact that a deep channel cuts in at
Redondo. If, then, you wish yellowtail, bonito,
and the tunas at these towns, you must take the
local market boats, or a launch, and go out due
west of the shore into the channel for from one

mile to five, where by trolling the fishes may be
128

PACIFIC COAST GROUNDS 129

had. Black sea bass may be found in the kelp
beds and at the entrance to San Diego harbor.

All these beach towns are devoted to other
fishing, and nearly all have long piers which
reach out over the surf and are patronized by
anglers from far and near, who use long, stiff
bamboo rods, clam and fish bait, and catch a
variety of small fishes—mackerel, smelt, croak-
ers, surf, sharks, rays, sculpins, halibut, and
others. ‘The long California beaches afford a
field for the angler similar to those of the At-
lantic angler on the Jersey coast. Here the
members of the Los Angeles Rod and Reel
Club display their skill and have reduced the
sport of beach angling to a science. You may
see their long rods thrust into the sand almost
anywhere from Santa Barbara to La Jolla or
the Mexican line. The game fish is the surf,
or California whiting, Menticirrhus undulatus,
a fine game fish at four or five pounds. Here
also is the yellow-fin Seriphus politus, the spot-fin
croaker, Roncador stearnsi. ‘There is also a
little roncador or croaker, Genyonemis lineatus.

The yellow-fin, Seriphus politus, is one of the
most beautiful of all the surf-fishes; tinted gold,
silver, and yellow, and adapting itself in a mar-
velous fashion to the color of the bottom. This
fish is also to be had all alongshore and in num-

130 SALT WATER GAME FISHING

bers at Silver Caijion, Santa Catalina, where it
lies in deeper water off the beach where at
times a heavy surf rolls in. The tyro might
fish here or anywhere alongshore for these
fishes and not suspect their presence, simply by
not using the right kind of bait. Yellowtail,
halibut, whitefish, and others are taken here
with sardine bait, but surf-fish never, or hardly
ever. Clam, crayfish, or abalone bait is used
for them, principally the first mentioned, when
a good catch will be made—and good sport be
enjoyed. When angling for surf-fish with a
six-ounce rod, a halibut is often a possibility,
and specimens weighing sixty pounds have
been taken.

Perhaps the most interesting fish caught on
the mainland shores is the ladyfish, Albula
vulpes; I have seen specimens two feet in
length at Santa Monica. Possibly the best lo-
cality for them is in Anaheim Bay, Alamitos
Bay, and at Newport Bay, where they find the
smooth, shallow waters suited to their taste
and habit. When hooked, the ladyfish acts in
a very unladylike manner, leaping in a frenzy
and dancing around, calling to mind the gyra-
tions of a maddened tarpon.

The golden croaker, Umbrina roncador; the
yellow-fin, Seriphus politus; the spot-fin

PACIFIC COAST GROUNDS 131

croaker, Roncador stearnsi; the California
surf whiting, Menticirrhus undulatus, form a
group of most interesting fishes, and in South-
ern California have literally thousands of dev-
Otees. Special trains are run on the railroads
to the beaches to accommodate the anglers, and
the fine piers and beaches form the field for
the “ try-outs”’ in the great summer and win-
ter tournaments of the Los Angeles Rod and
Reel Club, of which Mr. Charles V. Barton
of Los Angeles is secretary and Mr. Max Loew-
enthal president. ‘The club offers handsome
prizes for the various events.

This great fishing ground of Southern Cali-
fornia is so situated that strange fishes come
across from the west and up from the south,
giving it a remarkable fish fauna; hence the
angler is liable at any time to take strange
fishes, as the dolphin, the bottle-nose dolphin
(a whale), taken by Col. John E. Stearns; the
fine game fish, pomfret, Bramarai; the so-
called pompano, Peritus simillium, the opha,
and Luvarus jack. All these fishes can be seen
in the rooms of the Tuna Club.

The angling piers of California are unique.
At Redondo you find a little shop at the en-
trance with long rods and tackle to rent, and
not far away the bait man, ready to provide

182 SALT WATER GAME FISHING

clams, small fish, or anything you wish. Long
Beach has several piers, and at Venice the pier
is virtually a city street built out over the sea,
with shops of various kinds and entertainments
sufficient to divert the attention of the ghost
of Walton. At the long, mile or more, pier
at Santa Monica a house stands at the sea-end,
far out to sea, and the rail is lined with anglers
who employ strange tackle. A little shop pro-
vides simple cheer to the physical man, and
tackle can be rented and bait purchased. Back
of the shop hangs a big scoop-net forty feet
square, which is occasionally lowered and live
bait caught, which is sold to the anglers whose
ambition soars above sand-dabs and mackerel
to the other realms of yellowtail or big sharks,
or a possible ray.

GROUP 21

STRIPED BASS IN CALIFORNIA ~

NGLERS who enjoy the _inspiriting

A New Jersey coast will find the same fish

sport of the striped bass angling about

San Francisco, into the waters of which it was

introduced some years ago. Now the splendid

fish is thoroughly acclimated and is the best
market and game fish of the region.

The bass follow small fry onto the San
Pablo and other flats in the bay and are found
in the river and sloughs where they can be taken
at the last half of the ebb and first half of the
flood tide. They are generally caught by troll-
ing with a Wilson spoon from a small boat.
The visitor who knows nothing of the con-
ditions will waste time without a good boatman,
as the angling is peculiar and it is necessary to
know among other things that a brass spoon is
the thing when the water is clear and an all sil-
ver one when it is thick, and while lobster ap-
peals to the cuttyhunk Puritan bass, clam is the
bonne bouche in the San Francisco sloughs. San

133

1384 SALT WATER GAME FISHING

Antonio and Wingo sloughs are the best. A
fifty-five-pounder has been taken here. The
best time is from August 1st to December, No-
vember and December possibly being the best
months for large fish. In East Oakland and
San Leandro estuaries the striped bass is found
in April on until late fall. At San Pablo and
Rodeo the best time is March, April and May.
The g-ounce rod or 3-6 tackle is adequate for
this game was a 6/o hook and an assortment of
Wilson spoons—No. 4, No. 5 or No. 6/o.

GROUP 22
THE SEA SALMON

TERE are countless salmon on the Pa-
cific coast and a number of varieties
which appeal to the angler; but the chief

among ten thousand is the king salmon or
chinook, Oncorphynchus tschawytscha. This
fish, like the rest, will not take a fly except very
rarely though I have heard that it will at Van-
couver. The Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar, is
not found here, but the chinook spends the win-
ter offshore near the mouth of the Sacramento,
Rogue, Klamath, and Columbia rivers, and in
the late summer can be found from Monterey
or Del Monte to Vancouver and beyond, every-
where affording excellent fishing with bait or
spoon.

In August the great schools of chinook can
be found in Monterey Bay, five or six miles
from Capitola or Santa Cruz, and near Del
Monte or Monterey, there being a salmon can-
nery at the latter city about one hundred miles

135

1386 SALT WATER GAME FISHING

south of San Francisco. The angler will find
the best of accommodations at Del Monte,
Capitola or Santa Cruz in large and commodi-
ous hotels or boarding houses. If these lo-
calities had proper boats, light but safe, sea-
going launches on the Santa Catalina plan,
anglers would have a better chance, but as it is,
mostly nondescript fishing boats are. used, and
really enjoyable rod fishing is to be had only
by the angler who goes out in a rowboat towed
by some big launch, which can be had at Santa
Cruz or Del Monte.

The salmon appear to be lying about forty
feet deep, feeding on the large schools of
anchovies found here, and are fat and in fine
condition for the long swim they are soon to
take. When the school is located by your boat-
man, with a hand-line and a heavy sinker,
baited with a sardine, you may begin fishing
with a rod. I used my g-ounce yellowtail rod
with No. 9 line and a No. 12 hook baited with
a large sardine. It was necessary to get the
sardine down to the fish, so a heavy sinker was
employed, an ominous move so far as any
pleasure with a rod is concerned, as what
fish could play with a heavy flat sinker
dangling about his head? I avoided this by
by using an appliance invented by Mr. Parker

PACIFIC COAST GROUNDS 1387

J. Whitney, a veteran angler for salmon
here. I doubled my line into a loop about a
foot long, tied a piece of common thread on to
one side, ran this through a pipe sinker and at- ©
tached it to the opposite side of the loop. The
object will be evident. When a salmon strikes
the bait the slightest jerk breaks the thread,
the pipe sinker drops off, and the angler has the
salmon to play free of the leaden encumbrance.
I tried this successfully and had excellent sport
with salmon and white sea bass.

In angling here there is always a large fleet
of nondescript craft ranging from the profes-
sional market boats of the Japanese to the ang-
ler who is endeavoring to take his game in a
sportsmanlike manner.

These salmon run up to eighty pounds, but
a forty-pounder is a good average. ‘The boats
go out at six o'clock, or soon after sunrise,
from Del Monte, Capitola or Santa Cruz and
by nine or ten the sport should be on. The
water should be smooth though there may be a
ground swell in the great open bay. Suddenly,
Pyetcleven oclock, earlier or later, a rushing
sound is heard and looking seaward the angler
sees a wall of foam coming on. This is caused
by the so-called “trade” wind that rises daily
all alongshore. This in a short time raises a

188 SALT WATER GAME FISHING

sea and the majority of the boats set sail for
home, though the market men continue to troil
for salmon in the fine stiff breeze with its rising
sea.

_ All along up the coast these fishes can be
taken; now with sardine, now with a Wilson
spoon. With the latter I have taken them on
the Williamson River, a branch of Klamath
Lake, Oregon. Eureka, California, affords, at
the mouth of the Eel River, some of the finest
sea angling in the state—salmon, cod and other
game; and this may be found all alongshore to
the north—Oregon, Washington, Vancouver,
to Alaska.

The time for salmon in Monterey is June,
July and August, varying with seasons. In
August the San Francisco anglers find them at
Potato Patch and Duxbury Reef, an hour from
the ferry, or Sausalito, opposite San Francisco,
or Tiburon where boats canbe had. San Fran-
cisco anglers use a large hook and fresh sardine
bait, also No. 7 Wilson spoon, with a torpedo
sinker and a long-handle-gaff. Having located
a school of sardines troll (drag the bait
slowly). In August the chinooks enter San
Francisco bay on their way up the Sacramento
and San Joaquin rivers at which time they can
be had at near Lime Point and Rancoon Straits

PACIFIC COAST GROUNDS 139

by trolling with a No. 6 or No. 7 Wilson spoon
(copper and silver).

The salt water salmon fishing may be said
to begin in May and end September rsth.
Launches can be secured at Santa Cruz at $7.50
per half day for the salmon fishing in Monterey
Bay or at Monterey or Del Monte.

While the steelhead is a rainbow trout and
this volume treats only of sea fishes, mention
should be made of the big steelheads as they are
caught in the ocean in winter and spring. One
of the best localities is Eureka, and another is
the salt water laguna at the mouth of the Santa
Inez River near the town of Lompoc, Santa
baredea Co., Cal. Here in April the finest
sport has been had either trolling from boats
with a spoon or casting from the bank. The
fall run after the first rain, when the water
- breaks through from the laguna to the sea is
productive of good sport. An 8-ounce rod,
line and spoon is the lure. The Russian and
other rivers around San Francisco are famous
regions for this game fish.

GROUP 23
THE SANTA CATALINA ISLAND SWORDFISH

HILE two swordfishes are found in
California, the Xiphias or flat-bill is
an exceptional catch, the Tetrapturus

or common Santa Catalina swordfish a very
common one. The members of the Tuna Club
of Avalon Bay took one hundred with rod and
reel in 1912, and a greater number in ong

The Xiphias is bulky, heavier and more com-
pact than the latter; its sword is longer and
flatter, and the fish is more of a living ram or
dreadnaught. Individuals ranging up to one
thousand pounds have been seen and an eight-
hundred-pounder was caught in a net at Santa
Catalina in 1902.

The Santa Catalina Island swordfish, on the
other hand, is lighter, longer, more trim and
slender. The sword is more like a rapier than
a sabre, and is shorter than in Xiphias. The
fish has fifteen stripes, white on a blue ground,

and is a more graceful fish than the fighter so
140

PACIFIC COAST GROUNDS 141

common off Block Island and such a well known
market fish in Massachusetts. This swordfish
comes in from somewhere in August, sometimes
in July, often in vast schools covering a square
mile in the San Clemente channel. Then they
break up and are seen in pairs, either swim-
ming along with the big fins out of water, or
lying prone on the surface seemingly asleep.
The fish are doubtless spawning; they affect
the lee of the islands and are seen feeding near
shore, taking the rock bass, fiying fish and
others.

By September, the warmest month in Cali-
fornia, though always cool on the water, they
will take a bait, and scores of anglers are now
out after them. Many fish at Santa Catalina
Island; others take a large launch and go to San
Clemente. The charge is $15 per day for such
a boat, which holds five or six comfortably.
As the Shade camp is established at the island,
anglers can live ashore. San Clemente is a
governmental island, leased to Mr. Chas.
Howland as a sheep ranch, and permission must
be obtained before camping or landing. This
courtesy should be observed. No one is re-
fused if the proprieties are observed.

Seated in the comfortable launch, previously
described, the anglers unreel their 21-strand

142 SALT WATER GAME FISHING

lines to a length of one hundred and fifty feet
or so. You will observe that this wonderful
line, that breaks at a strain of forty-two pounds,
has red, blue and green silk wound about it at
intervals, so when the angler sees red silk go-
ing over he knows one hundred feet is gone;
green one hundred and fifty, and so on. The
line has previously been wet to avoid friction.
The rod is a 16-ounce affair, one long tip and
short butt; the reel holds six hundred or more
feet of line, and is a wonderful machine with
drags and click, which can be set at any tension,
and when a swordfish strikes all the angler has
to do is to hold on to the handle as the line
cannot break if the reel is set properly. The
reel is on top of the rod, and the angler’s left
hand, if he is fishing on the left, or port side,
grasps the upper grip, his right the lower grip
on the butt. The rod rests over his knee and
at an angle of forty-five degrees, to deflect his
bait away from that of his companion at his
side on the starboard side. If the baits meet
confusion worse confounded results. ‘The line
has a piano-wire leader of fine steel eight or ten
feet long, with several brass swivels. The
hook is the best No. 10, to be had, and the
ancient O’Shaughnessy type is mostly used,
though there are many others doubtless equally

PACIFIC COAST GROUNDS 148

as effective. A sinker is attached to keep the
bait down. ‘The latter is a flying fish.

Once out a half-mile or so, your boatman,
who is also gatfer, engineer and general adviser,
suggests the “ kite,’ a novel idea suggested by
Capt. George Farnsworth, of Avalon, a noted
big fish gaffer. You notice that he has an-or-
dinary square kite which he puts up by sending
the launch ahead rapidly, then he reeves the
line through a ring attached to the kite. The
boatman holds the kite cord, the angler his rod,
and the launch is now moving along at about
five miles an hour, towing the kite which is sixty
or so feet in air, the angler’s line leading to it
through the ring and away to the bait in the
water. ‘The flying fish makes long leaps when
alarmed, and, sustained by its wing-like fins,
covers an eighth of a mile. The splash of the
return of the flying fish to the water excites
the predatory fishes and by jerking on his line
and using the kite as a fulcrum, the boatman
can successfully imitate this jump. Often the
game is seen, its big dorsal and the tip of the
caudal fin appearing high above the surface.
We will assume that it is now seen by our ang-
lers. ‘The bait is jerked into the air, falls with
a splash in front of the big fish; there is a swirl
‘of water and the bait is taken.

144 SALT WATER GAME FISHING

The mouth of the swordfish is toothless and
of hard gristle, so it is necessary to give the
fish time. In a word, do not strike on the in-
stant, as with trout; wait a few seconds, then
taking up the slack with a few turns of the reel
handle the angler gives the game the butt. His
companion has of course reeled in his line to
avoid complications. Ihe boatman has stopped
the launch and she floats on the perfectly ideal
and smooth water under the shadow of the is-
land mountains, on lake-like water, yet twenty
miles out at sea from the mainland.

The moment the swordfish feels the hook it
is liable to make a terrific rush; then goes up
into the air and standing virtually on its tail,
dashes away in any direction. ‘These leaps are
extraordinary manifestations, and while I have
never observed more than ten or twelve leaps
of a tarpon on my rod, this swordfish will make
fifty or more, and to see a fish ten feet in length
going off, or coming at you standing on its tail,
is a sight for the gods. At times, held by the
line, it will circle the boat; again go into the air
shake itself wildly, to fall with a crash. There
appears to be no limit to its posturing in air,
and it is not imaginary as I have photographs
taken by Capt. George Michaelis and others,
which show the fish in air. Dr. Gifford Pin-

PACIFIC COAST GROUNDS 145

chot counted fifty leaps of a swordfish before
he brought it to gaff. I was following
him in the launch and I fancied I could hear
the return of the big fish as I was directly be-
hind them. It was pitch dark and a heavy sea
running in the San Clemente channel, so I did
not see the fish leap; but I have seen a Tetrap-
turus go an estimated ten feet into the air and
drop with a crash, after the manner of the ray.

An expert angler with good wind can outplay
a large Tetrapturus in from twenty minutes to
one hour if the fish is not over two or three hun-
dred pounds. If it is a very large fish it is
likely to take more time.

At last the game is brought near the boat and ~
is going about it sullenly in great circles. It
is the same fish that has rammed many a ship
and forced the men to the pumps, and there is
every chance of its ramming the boat and send-
ing her to the bottom. Mr. Joseph Reed of
Pasadena told me of a similar instance off
Block Island, when a harpooned Xiphias came
at the dory and sent its sword through it. This
has never happened at Santa Catalina or San
Clemente.

The game within reach, the boatman grasps
his long-handled gaff that has a long rope at-
- tached to the handle. Nearer comes the fish,

146 SALT WATER GAME FISHING

and as it is reeled into this particular sphere —
of action the gaffer drops the steel point and
hooks onto the swordfish in the under jaw, lifts
its head quickly out of water and holds it while
it strikes vicious blows with head or tail. ‘This
is the moment of supreme triumph for the weary
angler. He stands and watches the exciting
dénouement, soaked in the flurry, and rejoices
like a “ strong man.” And well he may, as the
splendid fish is perhaps eleven feet in length and
weighs anywhere from two hundred and fifty
to three hundred and fifty pounds. It is a
beautiful creature in the sunlight; a pure intense
blue, with fifteen light-gray vertical stripes, giv-
ing it a tiger-like appearance. It has a long
rapier-like sword, a domed forehead, large hyp-
notic staring eyes, powerful tail, which is now
beating the water and tossing it over the men.
But this is the end; the fish is soon killed, and
hauled aboard and the blue flag of the Tuna
Club goes to the top and they turn in to the
Tuna Club, or to the pier at Avalon or Ca-
brillo, to have the official weigher take it, who
also photographs it for the records of the club.

Another appliance used is called the “sled.”
This is a little floating sled which is attached
to the line above the bait and headed away
from the launch, and as she moves the sled car-

PACIFIC COAST GROUNDS 147

ries the bait one hundred or more feet away
from her. In the case of a timid fish this is a
deadly scheme as the game is not alarmed by
the launch.

This new sport—swordfish angling with rod.
and reel—is in a class by itself and, all in all,
when the danger, the leaps and the spectacular
play is considered, I should place it ahead of
leaping tuna or tarpon. ‘The leaping tuna is
unquestionably the hardest fighting fish known
to anglers; I mean by this, the tuna in its best
condition, and when the angler fights his fish
standing off fairly and forcing the fish to come
to him, instead of rushing the launch at the
tuna and gafing him before he knows where
he is. In this way tunas have been taken in
ten minutes, but the anglers who introduced
tuna fishing—Doran, Macomber, Morehous,
and others in 1889-90-91 had 16-ounce rods,
No. 21 lines and big reels with no drag but a
leather pad which was pressed on the line with
the thumb of the right hand.

_ The fight was made in a rowboat, and the
boatman always had instructions to pull away
from the fish while the angler fought him; the
idea being to give the fish a square deal. This
explains the long plays of Wood and Elms,
fourteen hours; Beaman, ten hours; my own

148 SALT WATER GAME FISHING

fish, four hours; Morehous, four hours (the
record fish). The angler fought the fish to a
finish, and so intense and exhausting were some
of these contests that several fatalities have
occurred. The African buffalo and rhinoceros
are believed to be two of the most dangerous
and difficult animals to capture, but I recall one
night when some members of the Tuna Club
just over from Africa were comparing the
sports—landing a two or three hundred-pound
leaping tuna at its best, and killing a rhinoceros
—arguing as to which was the most difficult
feat, the palm was given to the doughty tuna.

The swordfish has not the strength of the
tuna, but it is a spectacular fish. Its leaps
and dashes on its tail are extraordinary mani-
festations of rage and astonishment, and when
it can be taken in smooth waters, in a region
where the climate is perfect in its relation to
comfort it will be agreed that the new game is
worthy its first place among the game fishes
of the sea. The rod and reel record for this
fish, on file at the Tuna Club, are as follows:

ANGLER DATE WEIGHT
W. C. Boschen, New York......... 1913 355 pounds
CG. G@) (Conn. Elkhart. .ccoseee ee 1909 S330 tan
Col. John E. Stearns, Los Angeles 1910 COP ne
L. G. Murphy, Converse, Ind....... 1912 Rtevai ys 2
Edward Llewellyn, Los Angeles... 1903 1250 hon
Jesse Roberts, Philadelphia........ 1911 262. ars
Geo. E. Pillsbury, Jr., Los Angeles 1908 T3000

F. T. Newport, Arcadia, Cal....... 1912 214 &

APPENDIX
AN ANGLING ITINERARY

HE fishes described in this volume can
all be taken in an arranged itinerary,
and supposing the reader to be a sea

angler the following general plan can be fol-
lowed; not personally conducted, rather go as
you please. While the plan includes only sea
angling the traveling angler can fill in the links
with incursions into the ranks of trout or black
bass in whatever locality he may be.

We may start from New York in spring; try
the bay fishing, then to the coast of New Jersey
for surf fishing, the striped bass at Harvey
Cedars, the train to the gulf coast of Florida
for tarpon. A few days on the Indian River,
and down the coast to Long Key Camp or to,
Key West. Then across the Gulf by steamer or
cars to New Orleans and on to San Antonio,
trying the tarpon at Port Aransas, the head-
quarters of the Tarpon Club, Mr. Cotter, sec-
retary. A week or two here with tarpon, jew-

149

150 SALT WATER GAME FISHING

fish, kingfish and channel bass, and the angler
crosses Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico to
California and Santa Catalina and San Clem-
ente islands, where tuna, yellowtail, white sea
bass, swordfish and others await, according to
time and season.

From here he moves on to Del Monte, Capi-
tola or Santa Cruz and tries the chinook salmon
in Monterey Bay, then the striped bass in San
Francisco Bay. He then goes to Eureka by
boat or cars for the salmon and sea-trout fish-
ing in the mouth of the Eel River, from there,
perhaps, to Klamath for rainbow trout, and on
to Vancouver for more salmon. From this
point the angler may be tempted to go to Alaska
or to the Yellowstone for trout and to Montana
or Idaho and back East by the Canadian Pa-
cific and its lakes, arriving at the St. Lawrence
for the fall fishing; then down through Maine
to the Rangeley and other lakes for trout, bass
and land-locked salmon, coming again to New
York having completed the most remarkable
angling trip in the world.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

As the present volume is intended as only
suggestive of the sea fishing of America the fol-
lowing books may aid the reader in obtaining
greater detail relating to the great sea game
fishes:

The Book of the Tuna Club Avalon, Cal.

American Food and Game Fishes (Jordan),
Doubleday & Page, New York.

The Book of the ‘Tarpon (Dimock),
Outing Publishing Co., New York.

The Game Fishes of the World (Holder),
Geo. W. Doran Co., New York.

The Channel Islands of California (Hol
der), A. C. McClurg & Co., Chicago.

The East Florida Fishes and How to Catch
Them (W. H. Gregg).

The Game Books of the Southern Pacific Co.
(James Horsburgh, Jr.), Flood Building, San
Francisco, Cal. :

Game Fishes of California, Dodge Pub. Co.,
New York.

151

152 SALT WATER GAME FISHING

Angler’s Guide, Field and Stream Co., New
York. |

Fishing Kits and Equipment (Samuel G.
Camp) Outing Publishing Co., New York.

American Fishes (Goode), Estes & Lauriat,
Boston, : |

Fish Stories (Dr. David Starr Jordan),
Henry Hoit & Co., New York.

Big game at Sea (Holder), Outing Publish-
ing Co., New York.

The Log of aSea Angler (Holder) Hough-
ton, Mifflin & Co., Boston.

Angling Map of Southern California, A. T.
Santa Fé R. R., Los Angeles, Cal.

ANGLING CLUBS

The secretaries of the following clubs are
willing to provide information as to the angling:
The Asbury Park, N. J., Fishing lame
The Tarpon Club of Vexas, Port Aransas:
The Tarpon Club of Tampico, Mexico, Mr.
Poindexter. The Tuna Club, Avalon, Santa
Catalina Island, Cal. The California Rod and
Reel Club, Los Angeles, Max Loewenthal,
Pres. The Striped Bass Club, San Francisco.
The Galveston Rod and Reel Club, Galveston,

BIBLIOGRAPHY 153

The San Francisco Fly Casting Club. The
Angling Club of New York. The Tarpon
Club, St. Petersburg, Florida.

CLIMATE

What kind of climate the angler may expect
in the various angling fiields herein described
will be of interest. The Florida winters are
delightful, and from December to April the
angler will find fishing of some description and
conditions similar to those in the north in sum-
mer. The climate at Key West is particularly
delightful. When the time for tarpon arrives
in April or May, possibly March, it rapidly
becomes warmer and more or less humidity may
be expected, but it is pleasant on the water.
The author has spent several seasons, winter
and summer, on the outer reef beyond Key
West, and it is hot, yet the enthusiastic angler
will not mind it and a trip to the Florida reef
in summer is worth while. The heat is tropicaJ
and it is moist—all metal rusts and clothing
moulds, and the government has not yet eradi-
cated the mosquito. In fishing at Garden Key
I wore the minimum attire and went overboard
several times a day. I went to Aransas Pass,
Texas, for tarpon in August and found it a very

154 SALT WATER GAME FISHING

comfortable region for a semitropic one. A
peculiar southeast wind blows nearly every sum-
mer day on the island, and I never found it
disagreeably hot on the water; nor did I mind
it ashore. Of course it is hot, and the angler
needs thin clothing and little of it.

CALIFORNIA

In entering the regions recommended for sea
angling on the Pacific coast the angler finds
an entirely different state of affairs. [hus in
leaving Florida or Texas or any eastern state
from Massachusetts to the Mexican line in
August and going to the California coast, par-
ticularly the islands offshore he finds a very
different climate. Here the heat is dry, lacking
in humidity, and on the Santa Catalina, San
Clemente, Coronada or Santa Barbara grounds
offshore the angler finds an almost perfect cli-
mate, cool and delightful, really uncomfort-
ably warm days being the exception. The gov-
ernment Weather Bureau has a branch station
at the Tuna Club, and the club makes the re-
ports, showing the climate of Avalon Bay to be
well nigh perfect the year around; frost very
rare and really hot days in summer the excep-
tion. I can compare it only to Maine, and in

BIBLIOGRAPHY 155

May, June, July, August, September, and Oc-
tober, day after day is perfect, cool, and de-
lightful on the water, with the mercury averag-
ing as follows:

January, February, March (in the shade),
63°. lemperature of the ocean, 64°. Gen-
eral average in August, 67° (shade). Highest
average summer temperature, 72°; the lowest,
65°. Highest in August, 74° (in the shade).
Highest in September, on one day, 81°. The
lowest temperature ever recorded in December
in Avalon was 51°; the highest, 64°. ‘The low-
est sea bathing temperature for December was
58°; the highest, 64°.

If I were to mention a possible fault with
the California climate I should say that the
nights are too cool; so cool, indeed, that there
is very little night boating, as in the East. This
being so, anglers dress in California as they do
in the East, the Florida equipment of linen and
white duck being too thin, out of place, and
rarely seen. ‘This holds for the entire Pacific
coast In summer.

EQUIPMENT

The habitual sea angler of course owns his
rods and has a tackle bag equipped with all the

156 SALT WATER GAME FISHING

paraphernalia required in out-of-the-way places.
But the occasional angler, who has not such
possessions will often find himself without
tackle, and in the heart of good fishing. Be-
fore taking a trip to such fishing grounds a call
should be made at some first class tackle shop
in London or New York, as Mills, Abbey and
-Imbrie, Edwin Vom Hofe, New York, Hardy
or Farlow, London, and there are others. It
is economy to buy the best of everything. It
is difficult to get good tackle in Nassau and in
many places in Florida. In Aransas Pass,
Texas, tackle may be rented. At Mong ey
Camp it can be either rented or purchased. In
California there are good outfitting shops, as
Tuft-Lyons or B. H. Dyas Company in Los
Angeles, and several in San Franscico and Port-
land, Ore. At Santa Catalina Island apie
town of Avalon, there are two tackle outfitting
establishments where the best New York and
Los Angeles tackle, rods and reels can be had.
More than this, every boatman here includes
the use of the best tackle in the rent of the boat,
which is $10 per day or $6 per half day, the
understanding being that the angler replaces the
tackle injured, lost or broken—a ‘not unreason-
able rule when rods, reels and lines are the best
made and naturally expensive.

BIBLIOGRAPHY 157

ANGLING GROUNDS
New YORK

Around New York, the Sound, Great South
Bay and the lower bay are more or less secluded
waters. ‘To go outside to the deep sea banks
the angler takes one of the numerous steamers
that are in the business in summer.

FLORIDA

From New York to Florida alongshore there
is a succession of sandy low beaches on which
-the sea pounds. I doubt if there is a rock or
stone or a real hill in all the distance; hence all
the angling is off the beach or in some inlet, or
in the mouth of rivers, as the St. Mary or St.
John’s. Coming to Florida we find a great out-
side island or stretch of sand inclosing a long
body of water with runs out into the Gulf
Stream and back again through various passes.
This island lake is called Indian River. The
lagoons begin in latitude 29°, or thereabouts, at
or near New Smyrna in Mosquito Lagoon and

continue to Jupiter, latitude 27°, or thereabouts

158 SALT WATER GAME FISHING

All along this coast there is fine angling and
equipped with W. H. Gregg’s “ Where, When,
How to Catch Fish on the East Coast of
Florida,” a voluminous, conscientious, and per-
fectly reliable book on Florida fishing, the ang-
ler cannot fail to find the best of sport.

FLORIDA REEF

The trip to Florida and to Key West by rail
alone, aside from the fishing is an experience
every sea angler should have. ‘The Florida
Keys and the reef begin in a general way at
Jupiter on the east coast. Here you are in
Biscayne Bay and have fine fishing at Fowey
Rocks, and down the coast, inside and out; in
fact, as I have previously said, anywhere in a
radius of two hundred miles from Cape Sable
north or south there is fine fishing. At Long
Key Camp we find the famous angling or fishing
camp in the heart of the wonderful keys which
end in the Tortugas group, where I spent a
number of years, winter and summer, fishing for
the wonderful fishes, over six hundred of which,
from pompano to tarpon, are game on the right
tackle. From Key West, sixty miles west, the
Tortugas group can be reached. At Logger-

BIBLIOGRAPHY 159

head Key the Carnegie Institute maintains a
biological station.

CALIFORNIA

Los Angeles, a city of 600,000, is headquar-
ters for anglers going to the channel islands and
Los Angeles Port is but eighteen miles from the
north end of Santa Catalina, where the little
town of Cabrillo affords the finest fishing on the
island. It is beautifully located on an isthmus
and directly opposite is a land-locked harbor
where, it is said, Cabrillo wintered when he dis-
covered the island in 1542 and, one hundred
years later, Vizcaino.

Santa Catalina is the only island that has
a town and regular lines of steamers. Avalon,
the largest port, is a town of from 5,000 to
8,000 in summer; has hotels, boarding houses,
camps, shops, fleets of boats, and is a thoroughly
wide awake town, situated on Avalon Bay thirty
miles from Los Angeles. There are three
steamers daily in summer and one in winter.
The island is twenty-two miles long and about
sixty around; a big mountain range rising from
the sea. Of all the islands it lies northwest
and southeast; its north side affording a perfect

160 SALT WATER GAME FISHING

lee and protected coves, thus making the big
game fish angling possible.

The Coronados to the south have good fish-
ing, but are uninhabited, dry rocks in Mexican
waters. The Santa Barbara Islands—Santa
Rosa, Anacapa, Santa Cruz, and San Miguel—
lie one hundred miles to the north of the Santa
Catalina group. They are all private property
and permission must be obtained to land. ‘The
fishing is good, but, due to their east and west
‘position, the islands are subject to heavy winds
and have no lee like that at Santa Catalina. To |
reach them boats may be chartered at Santa
Catalina, San Pedro, or Santa Barbara. Large
boats are necessary and the trip should not be
made without an experienced skipper. Such a
man is Captain Larco of Santa Barbara.

THE END

INDEX

Albacore, 21
Amberjack, 18, 65, 67
Angel-fish, 18, 73
Angling
Beach casting, 32
Still fishing, 32
Swordfish, 38
Trolling, 32
‘Tuna, 94
Wharf fishing, 33
Angling Clubs, 153
Angling Itinerary, 149
Aransas Pass, 20, 77, 149
Asbury Park, 17
Avalon, 22, 88
Bandfish (Catalineta), 73
Barracuda, 22, 125
Sphyraena barracuda, 61
S. Argentea, 63
Sphyraena borealis, 64
Bass
Black Sea (Stereolepis
GigGs). 22, 112
Channel, 16, 17, 51
Rock, 22, 46, 124
Sand, 128
sea, 10, 46, 47
Striped: 13, 15,.16, 17, 20,
43, 44, 45, 133
White Sea (Cynoscion
nobilis), 21, 22, 116
Bergall, 4g
Bibliography, 151
Blackfish, 13, 16, 48
Blacksmith, 125
PBinensa) 13,14, 15, 16, 58
Bonefish, 18
I

61

Bonito, 21, 22, 100
California (Sarda chilen-
SiS), I10
Oceanic (Gymnosarda pe-
lamis), 109
Boothbay, 14
Bream (Lagodon), 73
Buzzard’s Bay, 14
California Whiting (Menti-
eirrhus undulatus), 129
Cero, 18 .
Chogset, 48, 49
Chub, 48, 74
Climate, 153
Cod, 13, 14, 20, 48
Coronado Islands, 22, 87.
Croaker
Spot fin (Roncador
stearnsi), 129
Little (Genyonemis line-
atus), 129
Golden (Umbrina ronca-
dor), 130
Cunner, 49
Drum, 52
Escolaro, 85
Fishing Grounds, 13
Chesapeake Bay, 17
Florida, 18, 61, 157, 158
Gulf, 19, 83
New England, 13, 14, 34
New York and New Jer-
sey, 10, 17, 157
Pacific Coast, 20, 87, 159
Tarpon, 78
Fisher’s Island, 15
Fluke, 48

162

Galveston, 19
Grouper ie oa
re (Garrupa nigriia),
I

Nassau, 8&2
Red, 81, 82
Spotted, 82
Grunt, 18, 72
Haddock, -13
Hake, 13
Halibut, 13, 14
Harvey Cedars, 17, 149
Hind
Crock, 82
Red, &2
Speckled, 82
Hogfish (Lachnolaimus fal-
catus), 74
Indian River, 19, 149
Jewfsh (Promicrops
gansa), 80
Kingfish (Scomberomorus
cavalla), 18, 63
Ladyfish, 18
Albula vulpes, 70, 130
Long Key, 19, 149
Mackerel, 13, 16
California, 125
Monterey Spanish (S.
concolor), 86
- Spanish (S. maculatus),

85
Spanish (S. Sierra), 86
Nippers (C. tenolabrus), 49
Ocean, Point, 14
Oyster-fish, 48
Parrot-fish, 18, 48, 73
Perch, 124, 125
Peto (Acanthocybium so-
landr1), 84
Pollock, 13, 14, 30, 40
Pompano, 75
Porgy, 18 48
Calamus, 73

INDEX

Pumping, 106

Roncador (Umbrina), 22,
125
Sailfish, 18, 65
St. John River, 18
St. Mary River, 18
Salmon, 20
San Clemente, 21, 87
San Luis Obispo, 21
Santa Barbara, 21, 87
Santa Catalinaje2r. 7
Sea Salmon, 135
Chinook (Oncorphynchus
tschawytscha), 135
Sea-trout, 20, 126
Shark, = ens
Sheepshead, 18, 22, 53, 124
Skipjack, I10
Snappers, 18, 60
Gray (Lutianus griseus),
72
Mangrove, 72
Red, 72
Squeteaque, 55
Squirrel-fish, 48
Squirrel Island, 14
Steelhead trout, 139
Suri-fish (Menticirrus un-
dulatus), 22, 125
Swordfish, 65
- Histiophorus, 36
Istiophorus nigricans, 66
Record fish, 148
Tetrapturus amplus, 66
Tetrapturus imperator, 66
Tetrapturus mitsukiui, 22,
34, 35, 140
Aiphias, 13, 14, 22, 34, 35;
36, 37, 38), 140
Tackle, 24, 155
Amberjack, 68
Barracuda, 62, 64
Black Grouper, 82
Bluefish, 60

INDEX

Casting, 31
Channel bass, 52
Chub, 74
Gray snapper, 72
Hogfish, 74
Kingfish, 83
Pollock, 40
Roncador, 31
sea bass, 113, 117
Sea salmon, 136
Sheepshead, 54
Snapper, 60
Striped bass, 134
Swordfish, 67, 142
Tarpon, 31, 77
Tautog, 49
Ten-pounder, 71
Tuna, 26, 89, 96
Yellow-tail, 122
66 9-9,” 29
‘6 226.7 30

Tarpon, 17, 18, 20, 76, 78,

79
Tautog, 13, 48

163

Ten-pounder (Elops sau-

rus), 70
Triple Tail (Lobotes), 17,

73
Tuna, 14, 37, 87, 91
Leaping (Thunnus thyn-
mus), 22, 95
Record fish, 97, 98
Long-fin (Thunnus ala-
longa), 22, 104
Record fish, 107
Yellow-fin (Thunnus ma-
culata), 22, 101
Record fish, 103
Tuna Club, 24, 25, 80
Records, 97, 98, 103, 107
Weakfish, 16, 17, 48, 55
Whitefish, 124
Yellow-fin (Seriphus poli-
tus), 125, 120, 130
Yellow-tail, 67
Bairdiella chrysurus, 73
Ocyurus chrysurus, 72
Seriola dorsalis, 68, 119
Seriola lalandi, 68

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HANDBOOKS ano ea ole
| door work and play
| @ Each book deals with a separate subject and deals with it thor-
oughly. If you want to know anything about Airedales an OUTING
HANDBOOK gives you all you want. If it’s Apple Growing, another
OUTING HANDBOOK meets your need. The Fisherman, the
Camper, the Poultry-raiser, the Automobilist, the Horseman, all

varieties of out-door enthusiasts, will find separate volumes for their
separate interests. There is no waste space.

@, The series is based on the plan of one subject to a book and each
book complete. The authors are experts. Each book has been
specially prepared for this series and all are published in uniform
style, flexible cloth binding.

@ Two hundred titles are projected. The series covers all phases
of outdoor life, from bee-keeping to big-game shooting. Among the
books now ready or in preparation are those described on the fol-
lowing pages.

PRICE SEVENTY CENTS PER VOL. NET, POSTAGE Sc. EXTRA
THE NUMBERS MAKE ORDERING EASY.

1, EXERCISE AND HEALTH, by Dr. Woods

Hutchinson. Dr. Hutchinson takes the common-sense view that
the greatest problem in exercise for most of us is to get enough of
the right kind. The greatest error in exercise is not to take enough,
and the greatest danger in athletics is in giving them up. He writes

_ ima direct matter-of-fact manner with an avoidance of medical terms,
and astrong emphasis on the rational, all-round manner of living
that is best calculated to bring a man to a ripe old age with little
illness or consciousness of bodily weakness.

2. CAMP COOKERY, by Horace Kephart. «The

less a man carries in his pack the more he must carry in his head,”
says Mr. Kephart. This book tells what a man should carry in both
pack and head. Every step is traced—the selection of provisions
and utensils, with the kind and quantity of each, the preparation of
game, the building of fires, the cooking of every conceivable kind of
food that the camp outfit or woods, fields or streams may provide—
even to the making of desserts. Every recipe is the result of hard
practice and long experience.

3. BACKWOODS SURGERY AND MEDICINE, |
by Charles S. Moody, M. D. A handy book for the pru- |

dent lover of the woods who doesn’t expect to be ill but believes in
being on the safe side. Common-sense methods for the treatment |
of the ordinary wounds and accidents are described—setting a
broken limb, reducing a dislocation, caring for burns, cuts, etc. |
Practical remedies for camp diseases are recommended, as well as _
the ordinary indications of the most probable ailments. Includes a
list of the necessary medical and surgical supplies.

4. APPLE GROWING, by M. C. Burritt. The

various problems confronting the apple grower, from the preparation
of the soil and the planting of the trees to the marketing of the fruit,
are discussed in detail by the author. Chapter headings are:—The |
Outlook for the Growing of Apples—Planning for the Orchard—
Planting and Growing the Orchard— Pruning the Trees—Cultivation
and Cover Cropping—Manuring and Fertilizing—Insects and Dis-
eases Affecting the Apple—The Principles and Practice of Spraying
—Harvesting and Storing—Markets and Marketing—Some Hints on:
Renovating Old Orchards—The Cost of Growing Apples.

5. THE ATREDALE, by Williams Haynes. The

book opens with a short chapter on the origin and development of |}
the Airedale, as a distinctive breed. The author then takes up the}
problems of type as bearing on the selection of the dog, breeding,
training and use. The book is designed for the non-professional dog |}
fancier, who wishes common sense advice which does not involve
elaborate preparations or expenditure. Chapters are included on the |}
ae of the dog in the kennel and simple remedies for ordinary
eases.

6. THE AUTOMOBILE—Its Selection, Care and

Use, by Robert Sloss. This is a plain, practical discussion of
the things that every man needs to know if he is to buy the right car
and get the most out of it. The various details of operation and
care are given in simple, intelligent terms. From it the car owner
can easily learn the mechanism of his motor and the art of locating
motor trouble, as well as how to use his car for the greatest pleasure.
A chapter is included on building garages.

7. FISHING KITS AND EQUIPMENT, by

Samuel G. Camp. A complete guide to the angler buying a new
outfit. Every detail of the fishing kit ofthe freshwater angler is de-
scribed, from rodtip to creel, and clothing. Special emphasis is laid
on outfitting for fly fishing, but full instruction is also given to the
man who wants to catch pickerel, pike, muskellunge, lake-trout, bass
and other freshwater game fishes. Prices are quoted for all articles
recommended and the approved method of selecting and testing the
various rods, lines, leaders, etc., is described.

8. THE FINE ART OF FISHING, by Samuel G.

Camp. Combine the pleasure of catching fish with the gratification
of following the sport in the most approved manner. The sugges-
tions offered are helpful to beginner and expert anglers. The range
of fish and fishing conditions covered is wide and includes such sub-
jects as “Casting Fine and Far Off,” “Strip-Casting for Bass,” “Fish-
ing for Mountain Trout” and “Autumn Fishing for Lake Trout.”
The book is pervaded with a spirit of love for the streamside and
the out-doors generally which the genuine angler will appreciate.
A companion book to “Fishing Kits and Equipment.” The advice
on outfitting so capably given in that book is supplemented in this
later work by equally valuable information on how to use the
equipment.

9. THE HORSE—Its Breeding, Care and Use, by

David Buffum. Mr. Baffum takes up the common, every-day
‘problems of the ordinary horse-users, such as feeding, shoeing,
simple home remedies, breaking and the cure for various equine
vices. An important chapter is that tracing the influx of Arabian
blood into the English and American horses and its value and limi-
tations. Chapters are included on draft-horses, carriage horses, and
the development ofthe two-minute trotter. It is distinctly a sensible
“book for the sensible man who wishes to know how he can improve
his horses and his horsemanship at the same time. i

10. THE MOTOR BOAT—Its Selection, Care and

Use, by H. W. Slauson. The intending purchaser is advised
as to the type of motor boat best suited to his particular needs and
how to keep it in running condition after purchased. The chapter
headings are: Kinds and Uses of Motor Boats—When the Motor
Balks—Speeding of the Motor Boat—Getting More Power from a
New Motor—How to Install a Marine Power Plant—Accessories—
Covers, Canopies and Tops—Camping and Cruising—The Boathouse.

11. OUTDOOR SIGNALLING, by Elbert Wells.

Mr. Wells has Poaee a method of signalling by means of wig-
wag, light, smoke, or whistle which is as simple as it is effective.
The fundamental principle can be learned in ten minutes and its
application is far easier than that of any other code now in use.
It permits also the use of cipher and can be adapted to almost any
imaginable conditions of weather, light, or topography.

12. TRACKS AND TRACKING, by Josef Brunner.

After twenty years of patient study and practical experience, Mr.
Brunner can, from his intimate knowledge, speak with authority on
this subject. “Tracks and Tracking” shows how to follow intelli-
gently even the most intricate animalor birdtracks, Itteaches how
to interpret tracks of wild game and decipher the many tell-tale
signs of the chase that would otherwise pass unnoticed. It proves
how it is possible to tell from the footprints the name, sex, speed,
direction, whether and how wounded, and many other things about
wild animals and birds. All material has been gathered first hand;
the drawings and half-tones from photographs form an important
part of the work.

"Y
IN

13. WING AND TRAP-SHOOTING, by Charles

Askins. Contains a full discussion of the various methods,
such as snap-shooting, swing and half-swing, discusses the flight of
birds with reference to the gunner’s problem of lead and range and
makes special application of the various points to the different birds
commonly shot in this country. A chapter is included on trap
shooting and the book closes with a forceful and common-sense
presentation of the etiquette of the field,

14. PROFITABLE BREEDS OF POULTRY, by
Arthur S. Wheeler. Mr. Wheeler discusses from personal ex-

erience the best-known general purpose breeds. Advice is given

om the standpoint of the man who desires results in eggs and stock
rather than in specimens for exhibition. In addition to a careful
analysis of stock—good and bad—and some conclusions regarding
housing and management, the author writes in detail regarding
Plymouth Rocks, Wyandottes, Orpingtons, Rhode Island Reds,
Mediterraneans and the Cornish.

15. RIFLES AND RIFLE SHOOTING, by Charles

Askins. A practical manual describing various makes and mechan-
isms, in addition to discussing in detail the range and limitations in
the use of the rifle. Treats on the every style and make of rifle
as well as their use. Every type of rifle is discussed so that the
book is complete in every detail.

16. SPORTING FIREARMS, by Horace Kephart.

This book is the result of painstaking tests and experiments. Prac-
tically nothing is taken for granted. Part I deals with the rifle, and
Part II with the shotgun. The man seeking guidance in the selec-
tion and use of small firearms, as well as the advanced student of
the subject, will receive an unusual amount of assistance from this
work. The chapter headings are: Rifles and Ammunition—The
Flight of Bullets—Killing Power—Rifle Mechanism and Materials—
Rifle Sights—Triggers and Stocks—Care of Rifle—Shot Patterns and
Penetration—Gauges and Weights—Mechanism and Build of

Shotguns.
17. THE YACHTSMAN’S HANDBOOK, by Herbert

L. Stone. The author and compiler of this work is the editor of
“Yachting.” He treats in simple language of the many problems
confronting the amateur sailor and motor boatman. Handlin
ground tackle, handling lines, taking soundings, the use of the iad
line, care and use of sails, yachting etiquette, are all given careful
attention. Some light is thrown upon the operation of the gasoline
motor, and suggestions are made for the avoidance of engine
troubles.

18. SCOTTISH AND IRISH TERRIERS, by Wil-

liams Haynes. This is a companion book to “The Airedale,”
and deals with the history and development of both breeds. For
the owner of the dog, valuable information is given as to the use of
the terriers, their treatment in health, their treatment when sick,
the principles of dog breeding, and dog shows and rules.

19. NAVIGATION FOR THE AMATEUR, by Capt.

E. 'T. Morton. A short treatise on the simpler methods of find-
ing position at sea by the observation of the sun’s altitude and the
use of the sextant and chronometer. It is arranged especially for
yachtsmen and amateurs who wish to know the simpler formulae
for the necessary navigation involved in taking a boat anywhere off
shore. Illustrated with drawings. Chapter headings: Fundamental
Terms—Time—The Sumner Line— Tks Day’s Work, Equal Altitude,
and Ex-Meridian Sights—Hinits on Taking Observations.

20. OUTDOOR PHOTOGRAPHY, by Julian A.

Dimock. A solution of all the problems in camera work out-of-

doors. The various subjects dealt with are: The Camera—Lens and

Plates—Light and Exposure—-Development—Prints and Printing—

Composition—Landscapes—Figure Work—Speed Photography—The

Leave Tarpon—Sea Pictures—In the Good Old Winter Time—
ild Life.

21. PACKING AND PORTAGING, by Dillon

Wallace. Mr. Wallace has brought together in one volume all
the valuable information on the different ways of making and carry-
ing the different kinds of packs. The ground covered ranges from
man-packing to horse-packing, from the use of the tump line to
throwing the diamond hitch.

22. THE BULL TERRIER, by Williams Haynes.

This is a companion book to “The Airedale” and “Scottish and Irish
Terriers” by the same author. Its greatest usefulness is as a guide
to the dog owner who wishes to be his own kennel manager. A full
account of the development of the breed is given with a description
of best types and standards. Recommendations for the care of
the dog in health or sickness are included. The chapter heads
cover such matters as:—The Bull Terrier’s History—Training the
Bull Terrier—The Terrier in Health—Kenneling—Diseases.

ye

23. THE FOX TERRIER, by Williams Haynes.

As in his other books on the terrier, Mr. Haynes takes up the origin

and history of the breed, its types and standards, and the more ex-

clusive representatives down to the present time. Training the Fox

Terrier—His Care and Kenneling in Sickness and Health—and the

area Uses to Which He Can Be Put—are among the phases
andled.

24, SUBURBAN GARDENS, by Grace Tabor.

Illustrated with diagrams. The author regards the house and
grounds as a complete unit and shows how the best results may be
obtained by carrying the reader in detail through the various phases
of designing the garden, with the levels and contours necessary,
laying out the walks and paths, planning and placing the arbors,
summer houses, seats, etc., and selecting and placing trees, shrubs,
vines and flowers. Ideal plans for plots of various sizes are appended,
as well as suggestions for correcting mistakes that have been made
through “starting wrong.”

g ARIS

wy a.

25. FISHING WITH FLOATING FLIES, by-

Samuel G. Camp. This is an art that is comparatively new in
this country although English anglers have used the dry fly for
generations. Mr. Camp has given the matter special study and is.
one of the few American anglers who really understands the matter .
from the selection of the outfit to the landing of the fish. His book.
takes up the process in that order, namely—How to Outfit for Dry»
Fly Fishing—How, Where, and When to TUast—The Selection and
Use of Floating Flies—Dry Fly Fishing for Brook, Brown and
Rainbow Trout—Hooking, Playing and Landing—Practical Hints on
Dry Fly Fishing. ak

26. THE GASOLINE MOTOR, by Harold Whiting

Slauson. Deals with the practical problems of motor operation..
The standpoint is that of the man who wishes to know how and
why gasoline generates power and something about the various
types. Describes in detail the different parts of motors and the
faults to which they are liable. Also gives full directions as to re-
a and upkeep. Various chapters deal with Types of Motors—

alves — Bearings — Ignition — Carburetors — Lubrication— Fuel — -
Two Cycle Motors.

27. ICE BOATING, by H.L Stone. fMiustrated with
diagrams. Here have been brought tozether all the available gn-
formation on the organization and history of ice-boating, the buitd-
ing of the various types of ice yachts, from the small 15 footer to
the 600-foot racer, together with detailed plans and specifications.
Full information is also given to meet the needs of those who wish
to be able to build and sail their own boats but are handicapped by
the lack of proper knowledge as to just the points described in this
volume.

28. MODERN GOLF, by Harold H. Hilton. wr.
Hilton is the only man who has ever held the amateur champion-
ship of Great Britain and the United States in the same year. In
addition to this, he has, for years, been recognized as one of the
most intelligent, steady players of the game in England. This book
is a product of his advanced thought and experience and gives the
reader sound advice, not so much on the mere swinging of the clubs
as in the actual playing of the game, with all the factors that enter
into it. He discusses the use of wooden clubs, the choice of clubs,
the art of approaching, tournament play as a distinct thing in itself,
and kindred subjects.

29. INTENSIVE FARMING, by L. C. Corbett.
A discussion of the meaning, method and value of intensive methods
in agriculture. This book is designed for the convenience of prac-
tical farmers who find themselves under thé necessity of making a
living out of high-priced land.

30. PRACTICAL DOG BREEDING, by Williams

Haynes. This is a companion volume to PRACTICAL DOG
KEEPING, described below. It goes at length into the funda-
mental questions of breeding, such as selection of types on both
sides, the perpetuation of desirable, and the elimination of undesir-
able, qualities, the value of prepotency in building up a desired
breed, etc. The arguments are illustrated with instances of what
has been accomplished, both good and bad, in the case of well-
known breeds.

31. PRACTICAL DOG KEEPING, by Williams

Haynes. Mr. Haynes is well known to the readers of the OUTING
HANDBOOKS asthe author of books onthe terriers. His new
book is somewhat more ambitious in that it carries him into the
general field of selection of breeds, the buying and selling of dogs,
the care of dogs in kennels, handling in bench shows and field trials,
and at considerable length into such subjects as food and feeding,
exercise and grooming, disease, etc, :

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32. PRACTICAL TREE PLANTING, by C. R.

Pettis. The author, who is the New York State Forester, takes up
the general subject of reforesting, covering nature’s method and the
practical methods of broadcast seed-sowing, seed spot planting,
nursery practice, etc. The various species are described and their
adaptability to varying conditions indicated. Results of reforesting
are shown and instructions are given for the planting of wind-
breaks and shade trees.

33. GUNSMITHING FOR THE AMATEUR, by

Edward C. Crossman. Mr. Crossman, who is one of the best-
known rifle experts in the country, takes up in detail the care and
repair of the gun. He discusses such questions as The Present
Development of the Gun—Tools for the Amateur—Rifle Barrels—
Smooth Bore Barrels—Rifle Actions—Pistol and Gun Actions—Re-
finishing and Processing—The Stock, Sights and Aids to Accuracy.

34, PISTOLANDREVOLVERSHOOTING, byA.L.

A. Himmelwright. A newand revised edition of a work that has
already achieved prominence as an accepted authority on the use of
the hand gun. Full instructions are given in the use of both revolver
and target pistol, including shooting position, grip, position of arm, etc.
The book is thoroughly illustrated with diagrams and photographs
and includes the rules of the United States Revolver Association
and a list of the records made both here and abroad.

30. PIGEON RAISING, by Alice MacLeod. This
is a book for both fancier and market breeder. Full descriptions
are given of the construction of houses, the care of the birds, pre-
paration for market, and shipment. Descriptions of the various
breeds with their markings and characteristics are given. Dlustrated
with photographs and diagrams.

36. INSECTS ON THE FARM, by E. P. Felt.
A practical manual by the New York State Entomologist. He
classifies insects—good and bad—according to crops and gives direc-
tions for the eradication of the harmful and the encouragement of
the desirable. Full descriptions are given of the principal varieties,

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37. MARINE GAS ENGINEERING, by A. L.

Brennan, Jr. This is a practical manual written from the stand-
point of a teaching engineer. All the details of marine gas engine
construction and operation are described, step by step, with explan-
atory diagrams. All technical terms and appliances are fully defined
and the latest developments and refinements are traced and described.
It is a book for the man who wants to understand and operate his
own engine,

38. THE RUNNING HOUND, by Roger Williams.

This includes the greyhound and all the deer and staghounds that
run by sight alone. The origin of the various breeds is traced and
and striking individuals in each class are described. Instructions
are given for breeding, care and training for field and show purposes.
Illustrated with photographs of types.

39. SALT WATER GAME FISHING, by Charles

F. Holder. Mr. Holder covers the whole field of his subject
devoting a chapter each to such fish as the tuna, the tarpon, amber-
jack, the sail fish, the ~ellow-tail, the king fish, the barracuda, the
sea bass and the small game fishes of Florida, Porto Rico, the Pacific
Coast, Hawaii, and the Phi ippines. The habits and habitats of the
fish are described, together with the methods and tackle for taking
them. The book concludes with an account of the development
and rules of the American Sea Angling Clubs. Illustrated.

40. WINTER CAMPING, by Warwick S.Carpenter.

A book that meets the increasing interest in outdoor life in the cold
weather. Mr. Carpenter discusses such subjects as shelter equipment,
clothing, food, snowshoeing, skiing, and winter hunting, wild life in
winter woods, care of frost bite, etc. It is based on much actual ex-
perience in winter camping and is fully illustrated with working
photographs.

41. THE TRAILING HOUND, by Roger Williams.
In this book General Williams takes up the hounds that run by scent,
such as the foxhound, the bloodhound, and the beagle. He gives
full instructions for care in the kennels, feeding, treatment of disease,
breeding, etc., and follows it up with directions for training for field
and show purposes. Illustrated with photographs of the various
types which are fully described in the text.

42. BOAT AND CANOE BUILDING, by Victor

Slocum. All of us like to think we could build a boat if we had
to. Mr. Slocum tells us how to do it. Designs are given for the
various types of canoes as well as full descriptions for preparing the
material and putting it together. Small dories and lapstreak boats
are also included.

43, BASS AND BASS FISHING, by James A.

‘Henshall. Mr. Henshall has made a special study of the basses
in all parts of the United States, a work for which his connection
with the Bureau of Fisheries has given him exceptional opportunities.
He discusses the habits of the bass and the methods and tackle
appropriate for its capture. He also gives in detail the latest facts
in regard to the artificial culture and planting of this valuable
game fish.

44. BOXING, by D. C. Hutchison. Practical in-

struction for men who wish to learn the first steps in the manly
art. Mr. Hutchison writes from long personal experience as an
amateur boxer and as a trainer of other amateurs. His instructions
are accompanied with full diagrams showing the approved blows
and guards. He also gives full directions for training for condition
without danger of going stale from overtraining. Itis essentially a
book for the amateur who boxes for sport and exercise.

45. TENNIS TACTICS, by Raymond D. Little.

Out of his store of experience as a successful tennis player, Mr.
Little has written this practical guide for those who wish io know
how real tennis is played. He tells the reader when and how to
take the net, discusses the relative merits of the back-court and
volleying game and how their proper balance may be achieved;
analyzes and appraises the twist service, shows the fundamental
necessities of successful doubles play.

46. THE AUXILIARY YACHT, by H. L. Stone.

Combines information on the installation of power in a boat that
was not designed especially for it with the features desirable in de-
signing a boat for this double use. Deals with the peculiar proper-
ties of the auxiliary, its advantages and disadvantages, the handling
of the boat under sail and power, etc. Does not go into detail on
engine construction but gives the approximate power needed for
different boats and the calculations necessary to find this figure.

47, TAXIDERMY, by Leon L. Pray. Iustrated with

diagrams. Being a practical taxidermist, the author at once goes into
the question of selection of tools and materials for the various stages
of skinning, stufing and mounting. The subjects whose handling
is described are, for the most part, the every-day ones, such as
ordinary birds, small mammals, etc., although adequate instructions
are included for mounting big game specimens, as well as the pre-
sapeatd care of skins in hot climates. Full diagrams accompany
the text.

aH 184 B4

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