The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-11-30
Halibut Fishing.
How the Fish are Taken on the Cape
Flattery Banks.

FlatCery Banks.
From the New York Post.
The city Of Seattle is sending out fleet
of twenty-five sloops nowadays to the hall
but banks off the north Pacific coast
Three of these grounds afford excellent
catches. One is in the vicinity of Cape
Flattery, extending north a distance of
about fifteen miles, with a general depth
of from thirty-fve to seventy-five fathoms,
another is at the southern extremity of
Queen Charlotte's Islands, with a depth
of from thirty-hve to forty fathoms, and
there is third between Cape Flattery
and Flattery rocks, averaging about fifty
fathoms in depth. The boats vary in size
from forty to ninety tons, and carry crews
of from two to a dozen men, the majority
of whom are Norwegians, or Americans.
The men work on shares 25 per cent. of
the proceeds of the catch going to the
owner, and the remainder being divided
among the crew after all expenses have
been paid. The best price realized this
season was four cents a pound, but some
times the fish, owing to glutted market,
was almost given away, so that the aver
age price for the season was only a cent
and a half a pound. The season on the
north Pacific lasts from March to Septem-
Der, the returns from fishing after the
latter month being light. The fishermen
are out from sunrise to dusk, and make
three or four hauls day according as the
tides run. Herring, which is supplied to
the boats off Point No Point by an old
Norwegian at the rate of seventy-ive
cents barrel, is the principal bait used.
When the supply runs short the smaller
halibut are cut up for bait, hut it does not
attract the big fish as the herring does.
When the travis are taken in almost
Il ind OF Ash fG
including the shark. The latter species is
the plague of the halibut hshermans life,
often carrying off his lines. There are
two varieties that infest the halibut banks,
the blue-dog, which is from to II feet in
length. The former is a very active fish
and very powerful, sometimes taking the
bait together with the fish on the hook
in any case 1t will make a desperate resis-
tence, towing boat round and round UNI
til exhausted. The ground shark is slug
gish, but when hooked it comes to the sur
face, and rolling like a hog in the water
seldom fails to tangle the fishing lines or
chafe them apart with it's rough cuticle.
The most picturesque fishermen on the
Cape Flattery banks are the Neah Bay
Indians. who come out from the shore in
small canoes: although the banks lie out
a distance of fifteen miles. The gear used
by them Is so primitive as to excite the
ridicule of the American fishermen, but
with IL the Indlans secure enough fish for
their sustenance. They have a single line
let down from the side of their canoes, at
the end of which is a piece of wood, shaped
something like V, in the angle of which
the bait is secured About half way up
the V a stick is tied diagonally across
projecting out about an inch on either
side. When the fish make an attempt to
swallow the bait the stick catches in
their thorats, and, being unable to get
INT ha
Most of the halibut taken by the Seattle
fleet finds local market, but a fair guam
tity is shipped east, sometimes as far as
New York city