Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-08-16
SURE ENOUGH FISHING
Fearful Strength, Marvellous Speed and
Desr3setateta Courage Of
=, ID the Prey.
H. H. Dunn. in the western Field.

N. n.
Between the coast line Of Los Angeles
county. California. aid the nearest of the
Channel Islands stretches thirty miles of
as beautiful SEA asIfies outdoors. and 1t
washes on its western edge an isle more
fair than any that ever slept on the bosom
Of the Aegean in the golden age. This Cat
alma. whose hills are filed with wild goats
and whose waters at certain seasons of the
year are not less filled with the finest of
game fish. The seas about Catalina are
ever still, ever ready for the ninety-foot
yacht or the little rowboat, as the sports
man may prefer, and equally sure to return
the one or the other filed with the treas
ures Of the deep for him who knows how
to go after them.
There are three principal game fishes OF
the larger sort to be sought there-the Jew
fish, king Of his tribe; the yellowtail. the
greatest fighter in the world except the
tarpon. and the tuna, whose strength ana
diving propensities are Responsible 1or more
lost tackle than any other one denlzen OF
these waters. Fishing for one or all OF
these may be and Is conducted In the same
manner. i.e., with a hand line OF strength
enough to hold two-year- colt OUT
this. though perhaps productive OF Dig pags.
Is hardly sport, and is not countenanced by
any Of the numerous sportsmen who nave
helped to make Avalon famous as deep
sea fishing resort the world over
Rise Early for Them.
To get the sport at it's best. rise early on
June morning-for the big fellows are be-
ginning to run about now-and. having pro-
vided yourself with a good pole (of course
II you are a real -the-wool fisher
man you already have two or three). go
down to the sea in a small launch at whose
stern trails a rowboat of size SUFFICIENT to
carry yourself and the boatman. ANY OF
the several guides can take you to good
fishing grounds just outside the Bay OF
Avalon, and when at last you have struck
your fish they can be Of great assistance to
you. especially If this Is your first attempt
at deep-sea fishing.
Then, when you have reached the fish
ing grounds, the launch is anchored ana
you and your boatman step into the row
boat, cast it off and float adrtft on the
largest Of oceans after the biggest game
fish in the world, with light pole In
your hand and tiny 21-thread line on
your reel. You never realize exactly
how small line that Is until you have
been in just this position; but you haven't
long to wait, for the guide puts living
smelt or a bone jig on your hook. accord
ingly as you are going to cast for jew
fish or troll for yellowtail and with
steady practiced strokes pulls the little
boat out toward the blue haze that you
Down Goes the Hook.
But he never gets there. If there are
many fish about, your bait scarcely sinks
beneath the water before there Is some
thing doing in no uncertain manner. If
Jewish takes 1T there will come a slow
tug. then a steady pull. and then he will
sound" on you, going down, down. down.
until the very reel cries out in terror.
Now is the time that you value every
foot of that thin green thread and pray
for him to stop before the entire 400 feet
is gone. Sometimes, after he stops. which
he has to do sooner or later. You think
you have lost him. and you try your line
ever so gently with your reel just to see
If he Is gone for good
He feels the bite OF the hook in his jaw
and comes up at about four times the
speed with which he went down. and you
are powerless to. take In the line as fast
as he brings 1t up. so you reel In as best
you can, and if he doesn't double on you
too much ana fnally cut the line you at
last get even with him and maybe have
a little to spare, so. that when he goes
down again you will have a somewhat
better hold on him. Yet he delays sound
ing again with remarkable perversity and
starts for San Clemente or some other
one of the outlying islands with a speed
that taxes the strong arms of the boat
man to the limit. But the boat follows
after as best it may you letting him have
the line when you can and taking it in
when he permits you to- Sometimes he
comes straight back toward the boat
swimming but few feet under the water
and plainly visible in this clear sea, then
turning away sharply to take another fall
out of your reel.
Fierce Battle On.
So the battle goes. often lasting for two
or three hours. until at last more tired
out than the fish is. you pull him alongside
the boat. where the waiting oarsman sticks
the gafr into his black side and lifts him
into the boat with the remark: s'Little
Teller. bout 80 pounds, 1 guess" and YOU
wonder what kind of stuff those men are
made of who caught the 3JO-Dounder that
Is on exhibition at the hotel. But the nsh
are there to substantiate the Avalon fish
stories, and they must be believed utIly
nilly.
Down in your heart you hope. before the
season Is over. to rival the big one at the
hotel. and visions even Of the possession of
the cup the Tuna Club offers begin to mir
through your mind: but for nine-tenths of
the fishermen who go to Avalon that ts as
far as they ever get, for the larger and
older Jewish are wary fellows and IT re-
quires a knowledge of their haunts and
habits that only longer experience with
give.
But IL you had put on the hone t,p and
the yellowtal were running strong vour
strike would have been quite different yonr
night shorter and your fish of a weight of
probably less than 30 pounds The Yellow
tail might have struck at your live hair
but in general more of these fish are canght
on wharves that run into deep water with
live bait than are caught from boats with
the same bait. though many are caught
from the latter with Jigs, and 1 have no
doubt that the old-fashioned pickerel snoon
in common use on eastern rivers would ha
OF service here as we'll If once tried