Belding banner. (Belding, Mich.) 1889-1918, 1896-11-26
BONITAS AND BLUES.
SPORT WITH THE FISHERMEN OF
BARNEGAT BAY.

| They the HOOk-Ine BONITA Makes
You Think He Weighs Ton or More.
You find your particular craft. step on
board your captain takes the helm,
friendly captain on the wharf-all the
male inhabitants of the place are captains
--shoves her off, and away you go. 1t Is
z o'clock In the morning. The air has the
bracing freshness of the new day. The
sun shines with that soft warmth which Is
so gratifying to the senses and SO unpro-
phetic of the heat that is To develop later.
| There Is just breeze enough TO fill the sail
and send your trim little vessel merrily
over the ripping water, and as you glide
along you begin to realize the poets dream
| of being waited by balmy breezes over
summer seas
You are going blueflshing The captain,
who has now become your guide, counselor
and friend has saved you the trouble of
deciding that, and he heads for the inlet,
six miles across the bay, where the blues
we're biting freely yesterday. He does not
commit himself to the assurance that they
will bite freely today, for he knowns that,
except the weather. there Is nothing so un-
certain as "a school of blueflsh. The fact
that they have been chasing silver fish
about Barnegat bay for the last three
|
every fin of tlsem a hundred miles up the
coast this morning. This eccentricity on
their part gives the charm Of hazard to
your pursuit of them, increases the thrill
of anticipation with which you await the
vigorous signal that announces the arrival
of fish ut the other end of your 100 feet
of line and heightens the triumph of your
return home with well filled basket.
Up and down the narrow waters of the
inlet so the yachts in disorderly yet or
derby parade. Their course is only half
mile long and scarcely half as wide, for
this Is where tho blueflsh are feeding, and,
as it Is necessary TO keep moving in order
that the bone and metal "squibs' trailing
far behind may appear to be small fishes
swimming on the surface, the yachts must
tack back and forth in this small space
continually. There are u couple of dozen
| of them
But you have not much time to admire
| the parade, beautiful as IL is. Your cap
tain losses n squid overheard, lets 100 feet
or so of heavy line trial after it and makes
the end of the same fast on board the
yacht to prevent your letting the whole
business go overheard in the excitement of
the coming contest. Then he gives you
the line, with instructions to wait for a
STRIKE" and haul in as soon as you get
It, You may be novice but you need no
further instruction. You will have no
further difficulty in recognizing the signal
by which blueGsh announces that he has
tput himself in communication with you
Two sharp twitches and heavy pull indi
cate his desire not to speak to you, and
your share of the performance Is to get him
on board before he succeeds in shaking the
hook out of his mouth, which he will do If
he has half a chance and Is very apt to do
with less than that. You pull in your line
hand over hand, with long, steady strokes,
and are particularly careful to avoid miss
ing your hold at any time, as that would
involve momentary Stacking of the line
and give corresponding advantage to the
captive dancing and huttering at the other
end, following quietly for time, then
flashing out of water, performing series
of somersaults and dashing from side to
side in the effort to escape the strain that
Is constantly drawing him nearer to his
doom. Sometimes he succeeds. Some
times he tears loose just when you think
victory is certain, and the captains cool
"let him go" sounds to you very ironical
as you realize that you cannot possibly do
anything else, but If it is idle to cry for
spilled milk it is doubly so to lament for
lost fish. Spit on your hook and try it
again.
BY and by, as you look out along your
line beyond the point where it loses itself
| In wave, you see the water suddenly
break into foam, as If there had been
small explosion beneath its ripping sur
face, and the next instant feel tug at
your line little more emphatic than the
twitches you have become accustomed to.
You begin TO haul in and succeed in start
ing something toward the boat, but it
comes very slowly, and it is like hauling
canalboat to make it move mt all. The
struggle between you and whatever it is
that you have caught becomes regular
tug of war. Sometimes one has the adj
vantage, sometimes the other. You gain
few feet of line, and 1t Is twitched back
again, taking the skin with it, If you have
not taken the precaution to wear guards
As Ii cuts the water IL sings like harp
string, and its angry swish as your victim
dashes about tells you his rage as clearly
as telephone.
But, though no darts through the water
as far in every direction as your taut line
will let run, he never comes To the surface
or executes those gymnastics that you have
watched in your former captives. You be-
come convinced that ii is not bluehsh
Bonita" says your captain shortly, and
| when, after an exhaustive st lggle, you
bring your unwilling prize to the side of
the vessel and lift him on board the cap
tain's Judgment is confirmed. 1t is bo-
nita and not very large one as bontas
CO. for it will weigh only five or six
pounds, and the captain tells you hc has
caught them in the open sea weighing six
times as much, but you reflect that If his
were as strong in proportion as yours he
must have used n windlass to pull it
in, for your muscles ache as you throw
your squid overheard and sit waiting for
another bite.
The bonita is handsome fish. It is
striped somewhat like "a sea bass, but has
n shorter, stockier body, tapering rapidly
TO n very thin tail, on which the caudal fin
is stuck at right angles, like ships pro-
peller on its shaft. The head is long and
pointed, the mouth full Of sharp teeth and
of such bony character that there is little
danger of IA hook pulling out. Once fairly
fastened, the bonita Is yours-or you arc
his He comes on board or you go into
the water. As food fish he does not
seem To be highly esteemed The fisher
men say he is good eating, but say it in
| such n way as To give the impreSsiOn that