Evening star., 1897-04-17

| $50 Pound jew Fish.
| &c writer on piscatorial matters as the
headquarters of the Ananias Club of the
| whole Pacific coast. This is a rlsnomer,
| however, for more genuine big catches
| have been made in Catalina waters than at
| any, other banks on the coast ,
| 1t was only last year. however that fish
| ermen there discovered what rare sport
was to be had in angling for the graat
| leaping tuna. Before that the sport had
| mainly been confined to the gamy yellow
| tail, and the giant jewish, sea lass.
| which frequently tips the scales at 400
pounds. Last spring astremendous school
| of tuna invaded the peaceful waters of
! Avalon bay, which is the principal resort
| on the island and chased Il swarm of fly
ing fish. which are their Especial prey, al
| most to the very beach. This attracted
| the attention of the sportsmen. for though
! the tuncs are always to- be found round
! about the island, such a tremendous school
| of this mysterious and magnificent fish
was rather unusual II
| Tui.a fishing at once claimed the atten-
| tion Of fishermen, and some phenomenal
! catches were made g.
The leapilg tuna 6f the Pacific ranges
in weight from 30 to 800 pounds, Ind is from
six to ten feet in length. Its prey is the
| flying fish, and in order: to catch these
winged fish, which skim over the waters
| with the rapidty of a bird, the tuna leaps
| from the sea, sometimes ten or fifteen
| feet, as the fying fish darts up and away
| the ir Stant il its deadly enemy.
| The Pacific tuna VIII take no bait but a
| flying fish and is most easily caught in the
| twilight or early everiing. Indeed, some of
| the largest catches last season were made
| by the moonlight. The largest tuna cap
tured weighed 2D0 pounds and towed the
! shit1 with two men in it a mile out to sea.
| As soon as the tuna is hooked he nvar
| iably makes rush. taking with him
| line. boat, men and ALL frequently towing
/ them out to sea two or three miles, going
| with such violent rapdity as to leave
| wake of foaming spray behind the flying
skiff. The plucky sportsman generally hangs
| onto his prey. however, and captures him,
| though 1t frequently costs battle of sew
| eral hours and torn and bleeding hands.
Fishermen declare that the tunas have
! mere vim and 60 in them than tarpon
Of double their weight, and they have
| broken more rods and run away with
| more lines than any other fish the Pa
| cific coast-save only the big jewish.
| Catalina sportsmen Invariably fish with
| rod and reel, a Canandaigua. y. Y, man
| well nigh breaking the worlds record there
| not long since by taking 215-pound jew
| fish with light rod AMI a fifteen-thread
! cuttyhunk lire. taa
a Battle Royal.
| To hear an enthusiastic angler tell how
he hauled in his first Jewish sets ones blood
! a-tingling. Professor Charles Frederick
| Holder, most devoted disciple of Izaak
! Walton, who has caught tarpon off the
Florida coast. and whose word is authority
| in sporting journals. tells his experience
| with the Catalina Jewish in a most
graphic style.
| Mexican joe he says, "one of the old
| est fishermen of Santa Catalina, was my
| oarsman. We tossed the anchor over. the
rope ran merriiy out, and the hook, baited
! with six-pound white fish, went kissing
| down. 1 sat silent for half an hour, hold
| ing the throbbing line. when suddenly l
| became aware that its tension had in
! creased to a steady pull-then came jerk
| that carried my hand into the water. g.
Jewish, sure whispered Joe.
Il paid out the lire. while he seized the
| anchor-line ready to haul up. When about
six feet had gone over the gunwale stop
| ped, and when the line came taut jerked
| the hook into the fish. For single sec
| jerk that almost lifted me from the boat,
| and the line went kissing over the rail like
| living thing. Nothing could stop such
rush, and l simply waited while Joe pulled
| up the anchor, when grasped the line and
| braced back for the fight. The light boat
whirled around like a top. and away We
| went, an ominous wave of foam rising high
around the bow. ten-foot shark never
| pulled harder than this gamy fish, and for
| five minutes 1t was question who was
master. | took it in with the greatest diff
Guilty, gaining ten feet only to have the
| FISH rush toward me and then dash away
with an impetus that was more than ire
! sistible. Occasionally it would turn and
| dash to the bottom, making everything
sing and hum. After giving and taking,
and hauling and easing off for twenty
with final effort brought the black giant
to the surface. For q moment l saw pair
| OF eyes as large as those of an OK, rich
| chestnut back. and then, with a tremen-
| dous heave, the fish threw itself over,
deluging me with water and half capsizing
| the boat. 1t was the last struggle, and
with another haul 1, had the king of the
Pacific coast fishes at hands length, where
1t rolled and tossed its huge tail bathing
us with spray, protesting against its cap
| ture."
In number and Variety the fish which
! lnhabft Catalina waters surpass those of
| any other fishing grounds on the coast.
| The slim, shining barracuda, the tawny
| Scuioin ana seep-Sea grouper, the rock
bass, salmon, albicehe, 3sheepshead and
| rare little pompano. "a piscatorial delicacy
that retails for 81 q pouRd in San Fran
| cisco, abound here And as for mackerel
and sardines, they may always be had for
| tossing the bait or casting the net.
| A Good Fish story.
most remarkable thing occurred at
| Whites Landing, point on the island
several miles below Avalon. one August
morning in the summer Of 1895, when
lowtails into the cove. Ahead of the yell
| lowtails was swarm of sardines, which,
In the wild pursuit. were driven quite up
] onto the beach. where they were scooped
up In baskets by the campers. The fisher
men at once CAST their nets for the yellow
| tails and, like the disciples Of old, were
not able to draw 1t for the multitude of
fishes. Old fishermen, who had lived on
the island for years, united in saying this