The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1895-05-08
CATCHING BIG BASS.
How the BLACK Monsters Arc Caught I'm
Southern California;

Southern California;
1T is entertaining to watch San
Diegans catch sea bass" says tray
cler. First, they bait minnow hook
with bit of worm, and catch n min
now. Then they butt the minnow on u
larger hook, and fish with it to capture
II smclt. When they get the smelt they
take their heavy sea-tishiug tackle,
place the smclt on the hook, and 90 to
angling for q halibut OF sea bass. After
they get their halibut or sea bass. md
the bigger either is the better, they
bait it on hook which is us biz MS q
small anchor with only one flullp. This
hook is attached to line quarter of
an inch in diameter. When all is ready
the fishermen whirls the big hook with
the halibut on it several times around
his head, and then gives it toss out
into the water. Away it sails thirty or
forty feet.
Say, for instance, that this black
bass fishing is being done from the
long dock at San Diego. San Diego
bay is about the best place for this
fishing along the coast, although the
fish are plentiful ut other places. After
the baited end of the line is cnst the
other end is coiled on the dock, and an
empty lzeS or quarter barrel, or some
thing like that, is tied to it. Then the
fisherman gets in his rowboat, taking q
harpoon with him, and waits for bite
Seems queer, here in the east, doesn't
1T, to go out after blacl, bass2 The
trouble is, You sec, that the blucs bass
Of those southern California waters
weigh from three hundred to one thou
sand pounds, and it wouldn't be much
use to go out after them with fly tackle
and an cight-ounce rod. That's what L
said. Thousand pounds. And it's
true, every word of it. 1t isn't often
one us large as that is taken, but they
have been, and will be again. helped
kill one once that weighed six hundred
pounds. It took over five hours to do
it, but that was nothing extraordinary,
for two hundred FOUNDER will give his
captors good three hours fight any
time.
Sometimes one of these monster bass
Will be ready at hand when the halibut
or sea bass bait goes sailing through
the air and lands with u splash in the
water, and will seize it immediately.
but more frequently there is more or
less of wait for the big fish to bite.
When he takes the bait, true to bass
nature, away he goes with rush. In
stantly rs many persons on the deck as
can get hold on the line seize it and
slacl1en the tremendous fellows pace if
thay can. If he doesn't happen to be
too big they can generally fetch him
to, but that is rare occurrence. Usu-
ally the line whizzes through their
fingers at rate that tnaLes more than
one of those having hold of the line
drop it quickly to save their hands
from blistering. The shore end of the
line is soon reached, and it is dropped,
for those handling it would be pulled
head first off the deck if they held to it.
Then the empty lseg or barrel pumps
overheard, and the water chnso Is on.
The fishermen In the boat follow the
barrel as it is towed swiftly over the
surface, and If the fish is O particularly
large one il frequently happens that
there will be long, stern chase of the
barrel before the boat uvcrtakes it,
that being the object of the men in the
boat