St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1889-11-09
CATCHING .eLUefIsH.

CATCHING eLUeflsH.
Great Sport Requiring Steady Nerve 0D1
aQuick Hand.
The angler must have steady nerve
and quick hand to make . success OF
trolling for bluefish. The fsh must be
hauled in As quickly as possible. Such
q 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 laoerated jaws. thus
showing evidence of previous battles
with anglers. To the amateur there Il
q 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 bluefsh
could not see the shimmerin9 Bquid.
He 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-6ies
to make ones life burden. a. In trout
and salmon fishing. Expensive fishing
tackle is not at all necessary. 1t il .
pleasure which may be indulged in by
every individual wealthy enough TO
hire sail-boat ...
Cumming for bluefish is slightly
more expensive than trolling. but it Is
more exciting. The captain OF the
sail-boa 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 10 called chum. This is
gradually thrown overheard; then the
captain baits each anglers hook with
a gOod-sized piece Of the fish. and the
sport begins. The anglers pay ou,
their lines. allowing the bait to
nOat away with the chum. The
fine chum simply aggravates the blue
fish. and they dash through It. looking
for more substantial food. which they
find. enveloping . copper
snelled hook. This 10 the supreme
moment when the augler's skin is test
ed. 1t is the moment when he needs
all the presence Of mind he possesses.
Should he become excited. he IL sure
to lose his prize. Al advantage in
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 a. 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 il -
l:kely to get q 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 comcR il you have not
the rod and reel un4 perfect control.
you will not only loS the fish. but you
may return with broken rod or the
loss of hundreds OF feet of line.
Bluefish feed on the schools Of men,
hnden and other small hsh with which
the bay abounds. II is a grand sight
10 see them at feeding time. Whole
regiments OF them may be seen to leap
rom the water In their wild rushee
after their unfortunate prey. They
ash the water into foam in their mad |
charges. and Often bite each other dur.
ing their delirious efforts in procuring
'0od. Even when not hungry they will
xantonly rush upon schools Of other
ish ard snap and bite right and left,
Killing and manning merely for the
'porf it affords them. These canni-
halls act as though they we're not afraid
II any thing above or below the water.
An occasional shark gets among them.
aowever. and brings them t. their
lenses. Another peculiarly Of lie iish |
8 that they may DO caught ~ fDeely
Turing a thunderstorm as on q pleas
mt day. It d said that they are the
,nly fish which have no respect for the
,attles of the elementA Almost all /
,thers seek deep water as soon a.
hunder is heard. They are at Ill
lines an interesting study. but - one
.aptain aptly put II: The more you
tudy them the less you know about
hem. .~-Harner,s Weeklv.