The Grenada gazette. (Grenada, Miss.) 1885-18??, 1889-09-27

CATCHING BLUEflSH.
Great Sport Requiring Steady Nerve and
Quick Hand.

Great Sport Req quiring q Steady Nerve and
Quick Hand.
The angler must have a steady neryo
and quick hand to make success of
trolling for bluefsh. The fish must be
hauled in as quickly as possible. Such
a 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 an 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-tang!e
with which the hook becomes ClOgged,
in which cOndi tion the nimble bluafsh
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 compari'
son to the sport and the delightful sail.
There are no mosquitoes or black-t1les
to make ones life burden, as in trout
and salmon fishing. Expensive fishing
tackle is not at all necessary. 1t is a
pleasure which may be INDUCED in by
every individual wealthy enough to
hire q sail-bOat.
Cumming for bluefsh 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 favorlte
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
a 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 aggrayates the blue
| fish, and they dash through it, looking
| for more substantial food, which they
invariably find enveloping a copper
| sneIled hook. This is the supreme
moment when the anglers skill is test
| ed. 1t 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 in
paying out; and, as in trolling, one
must be ever on the lookout for the
sudden, savage strike Of the fish.
When the rush comes. If you have not
the rod and reel under perfect control.
you will not only lose the fish, but you
may return with 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 grand sigh,
to see them at feeding time. Whole
regiments OF them may be seen to leap
from the water in their wild rushes
after their unfortunate prey. They
lash the water into foam in their mad
charges, and often bite each other dur
ing their delirious efforts in procuring
food. Even when not hungry they will
wantonly rush upon schools of other
fish and snap and bite right and left,
killing and manning merely for the
sport it affords them. These canni-
balls act as though they were not afraid
of any thing above or below the water.
An occasional shark gets among them,
however, and brings them to their
senses Another popularity of the fish
is that they may be caught as freely
during thunderstorm as on a pleas
ant day. 1t is said that they are the
only fish which have no respect for the
battles of the elements. Almost all
others seek deep water as soon az
thunder is heard. They are at ali
times an interesting study, but, as one
captain aptly put ii: The more you
study them the less you know about
them. -Harper's Weekly.