The Calhoun chronicle. [volume] (Grantsville, W. Va.) 1883-1984, 1896-01-28
OCTOPUS FISHING.
HOOKING HIDEOUS MONSTERS
IN PUGET SOUND.
The Bait Is a White Rag-A Tena
cious and Dangerous Customer
His Cruel Beak-Hard
to Dislodge.
TITO read the accounts frequent.

newspapers and magazine,
o one would suppose that the
octopus, or devil-fish, was terror t.
all men, and to be avoided as on,
would shun death ITSELF" said th,
travelling mau from Puget Sound tc
the clerk of an uptown hotel the other
evening. Drawing "A long breath, h,
blew slender rings of smoke up among
the gas fixtures and continued: "Out
In our place, mt tho mouth OF the
Sound, where 1t meets the Pacific,
there are scores of sturdy fishing foil,
who not only have no fear of an acct
dental meeting with one of the hid
eous creatures, but who actually seek
them out and fish for them. They
abound in the deeper waters of the
Sound, haunting the rocky bottoms in
preference to sand or mud. They are.
In fact, so numerous that their cap.
ture eXcItes no comment whatever un.
less the catch includes one of enor.
nous size. There are many of these
giant ones, and do not misunderstood
me to say that nm accidental encounter
with one OF them by an unarmed man
would not be serious, becaUse, on the
contrary, he would probably never see
daylight again. Our fishermen never
so unarmed. With short, thick
bladed clnspknife always in their belt.
they are never caught mapping.
Any one who has seen the devilfisb
reposiDg in n museum or in tank nj
Home aquarium probably recalls only
tnngle of feelers and In the centre n
small body like knot in snnrl of
ropes. Naturally he will ask how in
the world can YOU fish for such col
lection of arms? What will hook such
monster? BY moro critically ex.
aiming the next specimen he sees, he
will discover in the centre of the
Shiny, rubbery body big, blnck boak,
not unlike that of an owl and nearly
ms hard. This is the mouth, and n
more cruel one never closed on help.
less victims. 1t is this pair of strong
Jaws that close on the fisherman's bait
and make angling possibility.
Tho octopus fishers go out in n
strongly built, goodsized yawl boat,
built to stand severe usage. Enormous
devlllish, when hooked and wounded,
are not apt to handle craft Cinrcrlv.
and many fraIl boat has been crushed
In their grasp. The tackle used is
simple and strong. A big triple hook,
hung on light chain snood four or
hve feet long, is fastened to big,
braided linen line. No bait il used.
the lure being n white rag wound
around the hooks loosely, so rs to
nearly conceal the barbs. Lowering
the rig in from four to six fathoms of
water, the white tempter is kept dane
ing before the rocky cleft where the
monster is supposed to have his
lair. Oftentimes when the sun
strikes the water nj Just the
proper angle and the water is very
clear you can see the antennao of the
thing playing idly over the edge of a
rock, like kelp streamers waving with
the tide. 1t is interesting to watch
the movements of the octopus as the
white rag descends. He at once takes
1T to be alive, and therefore IA desir.
able victim, but pretends not to see it
all. Gradually he edges his ugly head
over toward the rag, and the fisher
man, moving it away uneaslly, excites
tho rascal's appetite, and ut last, with
n forward lunge, of the parrot.like
beak, swifter than thought itself, he
strikes. Once it's keen, savage laws
close on the cloth it will never let 90.
not even if the hooks fail TO secure it.
With every feelcr gripping a rocky
ledge like grim death, it will drag
down on his supposed prey and resist
every attempt to haul it upward.
'Oncc the big villain is dislodged
and started toward the top the pulling
Is easier, but the men have TO be on
the alert to guard against his Selling
the bottom or sides of the boat with
his disk-like suckers. Once he fastens
them, no pJlliug will get him loose.
and the hook will pull out, and he
will settle back TO bite no more for
the present. As he is drawn toward
the top the fishers keep him poked
away with long poles until, as % favor
able opportunity presents itself, he is
dextorously yankcd on board. They
must dodge his angry, waving ten.
tnclcs even then, but long experi.
encc has made them very clever
mt handling these fish, A crew Of
three OF four old hands will often
bring IN dozen or fifteen good.
sized deyillish in days fishing, and
] have known Of thirty-two being
landed by two old, half-breed Siwash
fishers in forenoon The longest one
caught within my recollection i'm the
Sound was taken by old Captain Ben
Rhodes, Of Olympia, two years no.
it measured thirty-Ono feet from tin
to tip OF its horrible tcntacles. and its
suckers were AS big as saucers. The
old man was fishing for dcyilfsb, too.
that day, but he WASH fishing Tor that
size. HIs son Tom hooked the brute.
and I'm % moment after ne had the first
big, long arm wrapped around the
bow and % second fastened ON the gun
vale. I'm less than two minutes the
whole craft was folded iu the monster
Shiny embrace. Two tentacles were
fast on the old man and hc was hack
ing away at them with claspknife
that made mo- impression al. The boy
Kept his head and waited for the ewes
and mouth of the devilfsh to appear
AZ last they raised over the stern Of
the dOry, and Tom, with thrust of
the boathook in the only vital SPOT.
Just between and below tho glazing.
,sr.... 800. - A.