The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-07-05
THE LADY AND A SALMON,
The Record of the Season Made
by Fair Angler at
Monterey.
A Twenty-Three-Po Hooked
and Landed With Marvellous
Skill.

To Mrs. General Kirkpatrick belongs the
credit of having killed the largest salmon
of the season taken by any member of her
sex in Monterey Bay. Mrs. Kirkpatrick
had recently, with her husband, the gen.
eral, returned from Europe after an abb
sence of seven years. She has tished the
best waters of the State, caught trout in
Tahoe, Weber and Independence lakes,
but she had never wrestled with the lordly
salmon before. She can cast delicate and
accurate fly, and is cool when pitted
against the widest and most active of
trout. But the salmon, taken with rod
and line in salt water trolling, was reve-
lation to this enthusiastic and clever
sportswoman.
Five o'clock Wednesday morning saw
Mrs. kirkpatrick seated in a snug and
seaworthy craft pulled by Manuel Duarte,
an old citizen of CALIFORNIA; first capital.
The water was smooth as glass, and dotted
with countless nautilus. OF to the north
ward a school of grampus were amusing
themselves with salmon and Sardlnes.
There was a long ground swell, but the
fair angler is sailor, and never needed
the motions of the boat as she jointed her
rod and reeled off her line. No more de-
termined and ambitious fisher ever cast
lure into the deep. Past the low-lylng
shores, pine and cypress covered to the
SOUTHWARK, past acres Oh he1t, Tue naplta-
ton of myriads of infinitesimal life, the Cal
ifornian took the lady, to Point Lobos,
where the real business of the day was to
begin.
grand salmon dashed from the water some
fifty yards astern of their craft.
Remem ORANGES of tive-pound salmon
hooked and landed last March in Scotch
loch came to the lady as she saw the big
fal1 10 RI he
bound from the water. But she had no
time for reflections. A sharp strike, a
whirr of the line, huge silvery body
leaping from the water, and the petite
angler was fighting the largest fish she ever
encountered in her life. The salmon ran
out fully 800 feet of line before she could
even attempt to check him. But cool and
Marengo, the lady grasped her rod and
kept her right hand ready to check the
revolving reel. When the fish paused in
his mad rush she reeled in upon him with
dexterous rapidity. And as the salmon
felt the sting of the hook again he posi-
lively launched himself out OF the water,
came down on his cleaning side with a
resounding splash, and then sprinted for
the boat.
The reel was now lnffeectual, so with rare
presence OF mind Mrs. Kirkpatrick took
the slack of the line in from between the
rings, trusting to luck to have the jakes
clear for the next rush. This time the fish
sounded-went straight down to the bot
tom and lay there. A swish or two of the
line brought him again to the surface, and
dangerously near the boat. Manuel was
ready with his gait, and as the salmon lay
over on his side, he drove the sharp steel
dexterously into his plump TANKS. In a
moment he had him in the boat, lying at
the feet of his captor, who had never lost
her head during the entire operation.
The salmon scaled twenty-three pound.
and Mrs. Kirkpatrick brought it to the
Delmonte, as indisputable evidence of her
skill. She had killed it in just eighteen
minutes from the moment of hooking
quick and intelligent work for the most
experienced to place on record.