The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1904-09-02
HOW TO CATCH swoRDFIsH
watch For Their Waving Dorsal Fin,
Then Spear Them.

watch For Their Waving Dorsal Fin,
Then Spear Them.
In all that blue and dancing water Of
the open ocean between Montauk Point,
on the east end of Long Island, and
Block Island, No Mans Land and
Marthas Vineyard the swordfish is at
nome in the summer months. That is,
the grownup swordflsh is; nobody ever
saw really little one there. They show
up as visitors to this country when
they reach, say, seventy-fve pounds In
weight. 1t is said that the young are
found only in the Mediterranean. How
the mature ones learned the attractions
Of summer at the New England coast
resorts is to be guessed by those who
have active imaginations, and how the
fish find their way over here year after
year is equally puzzling.
They come and feed on the squid,
young mackerel and other objects OF
interest that they encounter. This fat
tening diet moves them along to a
weight Of sometimes as much as 800
pounds. With their swords and their
amazing powers Of locomotion they
have no fear of anything, and they lie
on the top Of the ocean as serene as If
there was nothing else in creation. The
big black dorsal fin waves gracefully
10 and fro in the air as the fish lies
there, and often the tail sticks out al
most as conspicuously. That is what
gives them away. It seems almost In
credible that on the great expanse Of
the ocean 80 slight an object should be
noticeable, but 1t is by discovering the
waving fins that the fish are found.
The boat searching for them has a
lookout who scans the surface Of the
sea and finds what he is looking for
too. It indicates that there must be q
lot Of the fish about
After a swordflsh Is sighted the next
thing to do Is to keep him In sight I'M
til the vessel can be brought around
behind him. Usually she is moving so
fast as to run past at first. Sometimes
the fish sees her and quietly sinks him
self out of sight, but usually he stands
by and the only trick is to keep the
eye on him. The vessel comes up be-
hind to avoid disturbing him, and when
the bow is directly over his idle and
impassive majesty skilled hand takes
up lance and drives it down into his
back. The arrow shaped dart at the
end dislodges itself from the shaft,
which comes back to the vessel, and off
goes the swordfish with the dart stick
ing to him like poor relation. He Is
no longer a sleepy and loafing idler,
but magnificent fish exerting all his
enormous powers to escape.
A cask is tied to the rope which has
the dart at its other end, and when the
fish is struck the cask is thrown over
board. Then away it sails, sometimes
out Of sight and at other times skim
ming the water and making the foam
fly as it dashes along. In the course
of time the fish tires himself so that
sailor puts out in a dory and picks up
the cask. Then he hauls slowly on
the rope and gently brings his catch
to the top. If the fish is ugly there is
opportunity for lot Of trouble, but
If he comes in peaceably he soon gets
a cut in the throat from a sharp knife
and goes out Of business summary.
Then the weighty body is hoisted
aboard and the prize is secured. New
York has no fancy for swordfish steak,
which is mighty good eating, but Bos-
ton Is ready buyer, and the wholesale
price ranges from 6 or to 10 or %
cents a pound, according to the sup
Courant.