Southern standard. (McMinnville, Tenn.) 1879-current, 1889-11-23
CATCHING BLuEEIsH.
Great Sport Requiring Steady Nerve and
Quick Hand.

and quick hand to make o success OF
trolling for bluefsh. The fish must be
hauled in as quickly as possible. Such |
Il thing as playing with him is entirely
out Of the question. The slightest bit
of slack line or delay, and in nine in
stances out of ten the fish will break
away. 1t is not ain unusual thing to
catch them with lacerated jaws, thus
showing evidence OF previous battles
with'anglers. TO the amateur there is
good deal of downright hard work
about the sport In time however he
becomes accustomed to the work of
constantly hauling in his line to re-
move the ever-troublesome sea-tangle
with which the hook becomes clogged,
in which condition the nimble bluefish
could not see the shimmering squid.
lie must also become accustomed to an
occasional sore finger caused by the
strain upon the line. These annoy
ances, however, are trivial in COMPARE
son to the sport and the delightful sail.
There are no mosquitoes or black-tlies
to make ones life a burden, us in trout
and salmon fishing. Expensive fishing
tackle is not at all necessary. 1t is a
pleasure which may De INDUCED in by
every individual wealthy enough to
hire sail-boat.
Cumming for blucfish is slightly
more expensive than trolling, but it is
more exciting. The captain of the
sail-boat must be notified in advance
to secure few hundred menhaden
On the eventful day he sails out with
his party to his particular favorite
spot and anchors. An improvised fish
grinder is placed on one side of the
boat, and the menhaden are ground up
into what is called chum. This is
gradually thrown overheard; then the
captain bats each anglers hook with
good-sized piece of the fish, and the
sport begins, The anglers pay out
their lines, allowing the bait to
float away with the chum. The
fine chum simply aggravates the blue
fish, and they dash through it, looking
for more substantial food, which they
invariably find enveloping a copper
snelled hook. Ibis is the supreme
moment when the angler'ssskill is test
ed. II is the moment when he needs
all the presence of mind he possesses.
Should he become excited, he is sure
to lose his prize. An advantage in
cumming is that either hand lines or
rods and reels may be used. Sportsmen
prefer the latter. In both cases the
line must be paid out as rapidly as the
tide is running; when nearly out, il
must be reeled or hauled in again, the
bait examined, the seaweed removed
and the line paid out again. One is as
likely to get strike ,reeling in as il
paying out; and, as in trolling, one
must be ever on the lookout for the
sudden, savage strike. o. the fish.
When the rush comes. if you have not
the rod and reel under perfect control,
you will not only lose toe fish, but you
may return with Il broken rod or the
loss of hundreds Of feet of line.
, Bluefsh feed on the schools of men
haden and other small fish with which
the bay abounds. 1t is a grand sigh
to see them at feeding time. Who'll,
: regiments of them may be seen to leal
l from the water in their wild rushe
e after their unfortunate prey. The!
: lash the water into foam in their mat
charges, and often bite each other dur
a ing their delirious efforts in procuring
food. Even when not hungry they viii
wantonly rush upon schools of othei
fish ard snap and bite right and left
killing and manning merely for tn
a sport it affords them. These canni
il balls act as though they were not afrait
n of any thing above or below the water
e An occasional shark gets among them
q however, and brings them to thei
senses. Another popularity of the ifs
! is that they may be caught as freel
during a thunderstorm as on "a pleas
Z ant day. 1t is said that they are thu
u only fish which have no respect for tn
n battles of the elements. Almost al
s. others seek deep water as soon a
r thunder is heard. They are at a
J. times an interesting study, but, as on
; captain aptly put it: The more yo
J., study them the less you know abor
= them. "-Harpers Weekly.