The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1898-12-21
WITH HOOK AND LINE.
Caught Big Sea Lion While Out For
Sharks.

SHARKS
OFrom the Chicago Inter-Ocean.)
For rare good luck in fishing Coronado
seems TO have taken the palm during the
past summer The banks off this place
have fairly swarmed with good game fish.
Some of the catches have been remarka-
BILE, both for the number of fish and their
size. Fishermen, whether professional sea
harvesters, like the Portuguese of the lit
tie fishing 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 munihcence. mas
yielded immense returns of fish in pounds,
enough to fill all the smacks out and act
ually firing the anglers to the point of eX-
! The most exciting catch of the summer
was not fish at all; 1t was sea non,
and Charley Davis of San Diego was the
man who caught him. Davis is one of
those born fishermen who will steal a
| loved pastime. He knows all about fish
of course, and is 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 soul
pin. Sea trout are his speciality, but he
has done his turn at hauling in croakers
| off the Coronado pier
The day he caught the sea lion he was
| out for sharks at the Zuininga iettY. The
| jetty is at the mouth of the harbor, eX-
! tending southwark parallel with Point
Iona, Ii is sheltered by the big shoulder
of the point. There is good fishing there,
| consequently the year round. Reports
had been brought in of big sharks seen in
the shoals about the letty. So Davis got
his friends. Major Simpson, Ben Roderick
and Dad Taber all expert fishermen and
men of veracity. Each took along a shark
line, composed of a length of clothesline
spliced to the heaviest fish line and a six
inch hook attached to the end.
They baited their lines with live Smelt
These are found anywhere and every
where from five inches to more thar
twelve long. The smelts Davis and his
partners used were about eight inches
long. They were lively and made a com
motion, even at the end of such heavy
line. Davis told his friends, therefore
that they need not worry about getting .
bite 1t was not long before lean anC
hungry leopard shark, nosing around fol
| a lunch, ran across the smelt. He pro
ceeded to swallow the bait and hook. anC
then tried to withdraw. Finding himself
caught. he made a terrific commotion
thrashing about and leaping out OF the
water Davis had the end of his line tieC
to the timber Of the jetty, and merely
held it when it was loose, watching The
efforts of the leopard.
Just then a small herd of seals bore
down on the scene. They had apparently
T been basking off Point Iona and caugh
6 sight of the lively episode in the water
/ Among them was sea Iona great
! hairy-faced fellow with voice like
foghorn. He swan up, and, finding tn
shark swimming ;asbou about aimlessly, tool
e9CNNt
sized one. too, probably three feet long
: The sea lion must have swallowed thu
shark at the first gulp, for the line sud
denly snapped out of Davis hand anC
tipped as 1t came taut. Then it spun
around on tangent, and away out at thu
end could be seen the hon, raising hi
2 hairy head and giving a devilish grin a
2 the man on the jetty. His huge, tusk
gave him the appearance of grinning. a
least though he was pretty mad, judging
by his hoarse cries and Rruntiug. Ii
; dived down again, and there cant a tui
! at the line like steamer trying TO yanl
e over wharf 1t was a tremendou
+ strain Davis and his friends were afrait
the line would part. but it held, ant
brought the old lion in.
A half hour of furious work wore tn
old fellow out. He was plainly exhausted
I Yet whenever an attempt was made t
haul him in he resented it by making an
other series Of tugs, puffings and grunt
ings. The combined efforts of all fou
men were required to draw him alongsid
+, the jetty. where he was held close an
+ gradually drawn ashore. Then one Of tn
= men got a big timber and struck hin
k over the head and killed him. He wa
! skinned and his carcass thrown back int
a the sea The hide was nailed on Davis
- barn door.