The daily morning journal and courier., 1894-09-24
BY ONE WHO WAs THERE.
Blue Fishing at Block 1siand-Good sue cess in Catching These finny Dwsiiers or the ynsty Deep.

| eess in Catching These finny bwsbers VI the yasty Deep. Trolling for blue fish in the waters surrounding Block island has some yer, interesting features. The men who make their living catching the fnns dwellers of the deep. use a very pecu' liar craft known as a Block island boat" which is built not for speed oi style but for stability in heavy sea It Is pointed at both ends like whale boat. and is very broad in comparison with Its length, and has two masts which have no stays, and when the sails are drawn. these stand up like two smooth sticks. These boats. hay ing one 10 two tons of Iron or stone in their holds for ballast. cannot be cap- sized and so may be used in the heavy weather experienced of the island with perfect safety.
 The lines used in trolling are usually very long, measuring from ninety to one hundred and fifty feet or more and the explanation given is that the longer the line, the further the hook will be behind the boat, and the chances of a bite are thus increased. The way the hook Is made attractive is very odd. The hook Is left bare. but the line for six or eight inches above Is covered with red flannel and then over this Is drawn the skin of small eel turned inside out, which is then cut in several small places, allowing the red to show through. When this Is drawn through the water after boat going ahead with a good breeze, 1t is a perfect imi- tation of a small fish and a blue fish must be very sleepy If it refrdins from snapping at 1t. Some few fishermen use long slim piece of red cedar fas- tened above the hook instead of the eel skin. A custom among the old salts. which seems a cruel one, Is to cut off the lip of the first blue fish caught and hang that on the hook, claiming that the fish will bite quicker at that than at anything else.
 The lines being ready, the boats put out to the fishing grounds, which are off the southeast shore, although, some times the fish are found round the point" off the Mohegan bluffs on which stands the southeast lighthouse. When the blue fish are together in any num- Der, their presence is shown by what is called blue fish lick" This seems to be coating of oil on the surface of the water and is caused by the blue fish killing and eating the smaller kinds of fish, and it is interesting to know that the blue fish are in their turn killed and eaten by the porpoises.
 It is surprising to see how far a Block island fisherman can cast hook He grasps the line with both hands, gives it a twirl and lets go, standing clear from the line coiled in the boat, and 1t goes up and out like sky rocket with string to it,and strikes the water way out. The bluefish caught in Block island waters average seven or eight pounds apiece and measure from twen- ty-six to thirty inches, and when one is hooked it requires some strength to get it to the side of the boat. In boating" a fish, it is drawn almost to the side and then jertked we'll up into the air and then into the boat, thus preventing its breaking loose by hitting the side of the boat.
 If there is no wind, the men "heave and haul;" that is "heave" the line as far out as possible and "haul' 1t in again very quickly. This method is the best when the fish are plenty and punched together, but will rarely catch any fish if they are scattered.
 The prices paid the fishermen vary with the supply of fish. Thus, early in August when fish were scarce and the boats only brought in from ten to twenty-five apiece, the price was from thirty to thirty-five cents fish, but one day earlier in the season, about the middle of July, when each boat caught from ninety to one hundred and twen- ty-five fish, the men only got twelve cents apiece; twelve cents for an eight pound blue fish! Still, when it Is re- membered that this amounts to a total of ten or fifteen dollars, divided be- tween two men for mornings work it does not seem so small.
 These typical Block island boats rare. ly take out landsmen, but in the harbor are numbers of cat boats which make a business of taking out strangers. Wher one has paid seventy-flve cents or g dollar to go out in one of these for ar | afternoons fishing, it seems strange that the fish he will catch will not be- long to him but to the man sailing the boat, who will give him the privilege C? of paying the market price for them An old fisherman, when spoken to abou
 this custom of cat-boatmen, expressed
 the matter very clearly; he said, "The, rob the strangers all summer and rol
 each other all winter!'
 l JONATHAN.