Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1884-09-12
KING OF THE MaCKEREL.
Newspaper Correspondent lowed
by Runaway Fish in the Bay of
Ch2Ieur.


respondent of the New YORK Star of a
bronzed fisherman who was coiling a
| long rope into his boat on the beach
near New Carlyle.
No" was the reply, in broad Yam
kee dialect, that sounded strange
where French is mostly spoken. I'm
goin' boss mackerelin', an eff you
wanter put In good solid days work,
ship afore the mast, I'd be glad to hev
your company JIst clear that line
while l coil, will ye?" said the fisher
man, as soon as had verbally signed
papers and shipped. The rope, which
was about two hundred feet long, was
cooled in the bottom of the boat, the
cable was slipped, and the Grampus
bore away before the wind, churnlng
and putting like her namesake.
''T.a delicate loekin hook" said
the skipper, as he took up giant iron
hook that might have passed for an
textbook; but l tell ye they want
hook that'll hang on. They're the
strongest fish that SWIM, an l amt
exceptln' sharks. Sharks is good at
steaoy pull, but a boss mackerel
will go a mile while sharks maklR'
up his mind whether he's hooked or
not l reckon we might as well hev
over here" continued the skipper,
San eff you'll take the tiller a minute,
mats, I'll fix the fly. Hoss mackerels
amt very particular" he said, as he
forced a large Glght-pound h1ke on to
the barbed hook. What they want
is somethin' solid and sweet, and hake
jist about hits the fgger. Ye see
they make shine as they tow along"
The fisherman slackened away on
the line until all but about twenty
feet was out, and then took hitch in
the line
That's what / call a telltale," he
continued, pointing to the hitch.
when that gives and slips you'll
know we're in fur business. Just
slack off yer sheet trlhe, so she
won't make so much way. Ye wanter
take 1t kinder slow. jest to keep the
make movln' natural like, and not
take it out of their mouths at the fust
pull Sometimes I've fished all day
and never got bite, and then agln
I've been off shore here a-coddin',
and the minute I'd get a fish up to
the top OF the water along would
come one of these fellers and take him
off. l remember one day perticula"
when Jo-"
Right here came a rasp'ng sound,
and the "telltale" disappeared with a
rush.
Down with the helm!" shouted the
skipper, and down it went, the little
craft rushing up into the wind, shak-
nag herself like wet dog. The line
was as stiff as bar of iron when the
fisherman seized it, but by a rapid
paying out he succeeded in passing it
forward and making it fast. The OBJ
ject of this was evident a moment
later when the boat buried her nose
and dashed away dead i'll the winds
eye, towed by the powerful fish.
''Ye see" said the skipper, keeping
his eyes on the singing line, ''if he'd
got the strain on over the side or
astern, we'd hev to go over or cut the
rope. Now you want to keep her
right after him"
This proved no easy matter; the
fish was making frequent side rushes
from right to left, hauling the boat
here anu there, and making it almost
an Impo ssiblliJy to guide her. Sad
denly there came slack on the line.
Stand by" shouted the skipper,
hauling IN on the slack with all his
might; put her head the way he
! goes
For a moment the line came in as
if nothing was on, but in second it
leaped again. The man darted hack
| to get clear of it, while the bow of the
boat was turned in the new direction
indicated not moment too soon, as
with a singing sound the line taut-
ened, burying the boat to her very
deck Tune and time again did the
willy fish adopt these tactics TO rid
itself of the obnoxious load, but at
every turn it act the equal cunning
of the fisherman, who was an old
hand at such pranks.
This thing can't last all night"
said the skipper. There's an end to
all things. Jlst clap GA here and see
eff we can't get in little slack" The
helmsman relinquished the tller and
both laid hold of the line The first
pull seemed to spur the fish ON TO re-
newed exertions. A foot of line was
soon aimed, and with a rush was
lost 1t was regained and as much
more added to il. and thea began a
tug of war. Slowly the line came in,
and finally, when within fifty feet of
the boat, the monster rose five feet
into the air and showed its shapely
length.
'It's about up with him when he
does that" gasped the skipper. Now
slack quick Now IN with it again
Now let go again" Thus gradually
the great fish was hauled this way
and that, and finally, half drowned IN
its own element, rolled on its back at
the bow, and after few more strug-
giles succumbed to the blows of the
shippers fish mallet.
That's the biggest chap l ever
tackled" said the fisherman, as he
made a rope fast to the fish's tail, and
swung il alongside the boat. They're
the king, and no mistake We can't
get him inter the ooat. So jist keep
away aud we'll tow him ashore"
When the captured fish was hauled
upon the sands by the windlass that
the skipper used to pull out his boats
it measured nearly ten feet in length,
aud was estimated to weigh nearly
one thousand pounds. The horse
mackerel is a magnificent fish in APP
pearance, being, in fact, a gigantic
mackerel, resembling the European
funny. They have vide geograph
zeal range. Specimens have been
caught twenty feet in length, with
weight of about half ton, and SO
powerful that even large vessels have
been lowed by them. Like hesword-
fish, they do not breed on this side OF
the water, but undoubtedly emigrate
to the European shores for this pur-
pose, unless, perhaps, the eggs are
deposited in mid Atlantic, which is
hardly probable. The fish prey upon
their smaller relatives, and GO south
or out to sea in the winter, appearing
on the Massachusetts, coast about
June 1.