The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-11-27
THE PACIFICS GAME FISH.
UNUSUALLY FINE SPORT IN OATOH-
ING THEN THIS EAR
Coronado, in the Lower Part OF California;,
n Centre for This Kind of s~port-Char-
ley Davis's Struggle with n Sea Lion
The Jewish, AIbncors, and Y~ellowtail.

Tho Jewish, Albncors, ana 1elloWtnil.
CoRoSADo BEACH. Cal. Nov. 14.-For rare
good luck in fishing. Coronado sooms to have
taken the palm during the past summer. The
banks of this place have fairly swarmed with
good game fish. Some Of the catches have been
remarkable, both for the number OF hsh and
their great size. Fishermen. whether profess
sionai sea harvesters like the Portuguese Of
the little Hshing hamlet OF La Playa, across
the bay. or expert amateurs. like the eastern
people making their headquarters here. have
had abundant sport. On some days the sea,
with a royal munilcence, has yielded immense
returns of fish in pounds, enough to fill all the
smacks out. and actually firing the anglers to
the point of exhaustion.
The most exciting catch OF the summer was
not a hsh at all. 1t was n sea lion. and Charley
Davis of San Diego was the man who caught
him. Davis is one OF those born fishermen"
who will steal a day of whenever he can to fol-
low his beloved pastime. He knows oil about
fish. of course and Ia better acquainted with
the bay and ocean in this region than most Of
the pilots. He knows where the blue smelt has
his haunts. what bait to use for red snappers,
and what for sculpin. Sea trout are his spe-
cialty. but he stands high as a scarbina fisher
man, and has done his turn at hauling In
croakers of the Coronado pier.
The day he caught the sea lion he was out
for sharks at the Zuninga jetty. The jetty lie at
the mouth Of the harbor. extending southwark
parallel with Point Iona. 1t II sheltered by
the big shoulder OF the point. There II good
fishing there. consequently. the year around.
Reports had been brought in OF big sharks seen
in the shoals about the jetty. So Davis got his
friends. Major Simpson. Ben Roderick and Dad
Taber. all expert fishermen and men OF verao-
ity. Each took along a shark line composed Of
a length Of clothesline spliced to the heaviest
flshline and a six-inch hook attached to the end.
They baited their lines with live smelt.
These are found anywhere and everywhere.
from 5 inches to more than II long. The
smelts Davis and his partners used were about
g inches long. They were lively and made q
commotion. even at the end OF such a heavy
line. Davis told his friends. therefore. that
they need not worry about getting a bite. It
wa not long before a lean and hungry leopard
! shark. nosing around for q lunch. ran across
the smelt. He proceeded to swallow the bait
and hook. and then tried 70 withdraw. Find
ing himself caught. he made q terrific COM
| motion. thrashinR about and leaping out Of the
water. Davis had the end OF his line tied to the
timber Of the jetty. and merely held it when 1t
was loose. watching the efforts OF the leopard.
Just then a small herd Of seals bore down on
the scene. They had apparently been basking
of Point Iona and caught sight Of the lively
episode in the water. Among them was a sea
Iona great, hairy-faced fellow. with q voice
like o foRhorn. he swan up. and. finding the
shark swimming about aimlessly, took him in
at a gulp. The shark was a good-sized one.
too. probably three feet long. The sea lion
must have swallowed the shark at the first
! gulp. for tho line suddenly snapped out Of
Davis's hand and tipped as it came taut. Then
It spun around on q tangent. and away out at
the end could be seen the lion, raising his
hairy head and giving a devilish grin ut the
men on the jetty. His huge tusks gave him
the appearance. Of grinning. at least. though he
snd P Prsft I @ao lie s9 digSedE down Sy n AGAIN. mama and t fr.ee
came n tug at the line like a steamer trying to
yank over q wharf. 1t twas a tremendous strain;
Davis and his friends were afraid the line would
A half hour OF furious work wore the old fell
ever an. attempt was made to haul him in. he
resented 1t by making another series Of tugs.
Of all four men were, required to draw him
a aHg the lefty; where he va held close
nna f sot a by s dTa Ssr a asaU Struck hns sln one over 81 the tbs
head and Killed him. He was skinned and his
carcass thrown back into the sea. The hide
Jewish. or sea bass. are the biggest fish in
California waters. They are larger along this
are rarely found north Of Santa Barbara. The
best place to catch them is at Coronado Islands
south. fourteen miles south Of Coronado These
islands are within the Jurisdiction Of Mexico.
but are ~uninhabited and therefore without re-
there from here and spend a few days camping
and fishing. There the jewish is found in, his
very deep, 1t is Of deep indigo blue. The bot
ftom near the Islands can pc seen. even where
t ti@e wa she lie Is sep je SF STei esn fa se ses6 de sTim S9ms;
about. Sheepshead; whitefsh. croakers, and
s sSa b e o are t fSHad the thsT tbd n ioG GfS1s f eSd%bors'
waters a I isefssse }S w pounds SEsE ef Hs Was sn ca sneff
The, man, was experienced in big fishing. hav-
ing killed many Florida tarpon. He was uppre-
e eSesu and nd s ate rEnr ih said is the sp e@ts w ai@ So n neSr
the danger line that Il was more intensely ex-
sSitin e. than anything g h he6 had de, eyer t tried, The e
a strong ight for life. It Is not active. how-
Jewish are also found in the kelp beds that
extend several miles directly, south OF Poln.
and kelp, Hecan hide there. and stands a better
ont ss = str isseth d 6f lin asr f. fhs t eGssG Snr and ID r stnS
down. too, and. If successful, the fisherman
does not have much sport. But once on the
in q semicircle. If small, but II large he takes a
straight course and pulls the boat after him for
Raust,on. His 81 To- neck i" and d't tail 8 seem
capable Of strength;
sia %i au ssb. G9Sdm csu 81 bci ! ieRaabf a We s n
wv ASAA - ANNtf IL
4S7 pounds at Coronado Islands a few weeks
ago, He and Capt. James Dunno were out in q
small sailing vessel. The combined strength
near their boat. so they rowed toward him and
shot him in the head with revolver, Then they
towed him TO shore. A few days later Capt
dunno was out about a mile of Point oma with
Miss Helen Healy OF CINCINNATI when she caught
q jewish weighing 247 pounds. He made a
good fight. and 80 did Miss Healy. Assisted by
Capt. Dunno. she finally conquered the Ash,
He was drawn to the boats edge, where Capt
Dunno despatched him with q marlinspike.
The biggest fish ever caught at Coronado
pier was a ~50o-pound jewish The man was
trying to get a six-foot doRshark that had been
seen hanging about, The hook was baited with
alive, perch. The Jewish fought lust three
fourths OF an hour. He had to he towed ashore
as there was no tackle strong enough to haul
hin up on the pier.
A gamier fish than the jewish. and the best
fighter In .Paclio waters, ID the albacGre. Q
strong. swift fish running from thirty to sixty
pounds In weight. He easily catches q bone
Jig troled from u steamer or fast yacht. His
speed Is aided by IA long fin from shoulder to
tail on both sides. as well as. a good-siZed fin
ON his back. He fairly flies through the water
and even attempts to fly through the air. look,
ing like O gigantic flying fish, IL is easier to pull
IL, a Jewish OF equal size than an a%lbacore, The
albacore's meat is dry. and the chief induce
ment In fishing for him Is the fun OF catching