Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-06-09

and began to sway in line with all his
power. Once! and the fish took it again In
fierce rush. Twice. and the fish took back
half that the man had gained in that pull.
Three times and the line whipped off to lee
ward, clear around the stern of the sloop
But even as the fish ran by the man
with great swing got in a full fifteen feet
and snubbed the sea fighter
Another heave, and ten feet came in.
I've got him turned now said the cap
tain, but he's Il terror. He amt begun"
Leap of Blue.
AS If something had exploded under the
sea, the water burst in a fountain and out
came fish, shapely and swift as a jave-
lin. Full five feet clear of the sea he rose.
in a true perpendicular. Then he fell back
tail first, with sounding smack But the
line was fast to him.
Before he could grip the sea again with
his strong fins the man brought line in
with a great sweep and, having started
the big fellow coming, hauled in swiftly
hand over hand until the fish could be seen.
shadowy, In the arch of breaking wave
just astern. Then. with one last giant
heave he tore him from the sea and Slated
him aboard In a surging swing
Out came the hook as the fish fiopped
into the cockpit For moment the wicked
Jaws snapped ferociously at everything
within reach before he was killed and hung
Sixteen pound two ounces" said the
mate. That's a big 'un for nowadays
Fifteen years ago he'd been only a mejium
nsh. Them days we used to get 'em up to
twenty and even twenty-five pounds, and
think nothin' of it,
Trolling for Market.
That is bluefishing for sport. Trolling for
market is not essentially different except
that the smacks that scud back and forth
through the hungry schools have from six
to ten fishermen along each rail, and toll
crate no amateurs, for they are out for
quick business.
Three or four big bluefish generally give
the amateur all the sport that he wants for
one day. BY the time the fourth fish is
landed his hands will be so badly cut by
the line and his muscles will be so sore
that he will not care for more The pro-
fessional bluefisherman. with hands tough
ened by many seasons and muscles liu1-
bered up, hauls in the fish. big and little
as long as they will bite. hour after hour.
Trolling is not the only way employed
mered coast of New Jersey the fishermen
go out in long. clinker-built boats and lie
at anchor in the open ocean anywhere be-
tween two and six miles off shore.
Two men usually fish from a boat Re
tween them is a pile of menhaden, cut into
square pieces. AS soon as the boat is an
chored among the fish a few handfuls of
menhaden are tossed overheard. AS they
sink slowly, drifting away with the current
they exude oil till the surface of the sea is
splotched with the greasy "slick." The
marauding bluefish hurl themselves at the
tempting stuff, and as soon as they are
"tolled" well around the boat the rsen
throw their baited lines out, keeping them
more or less constantly in motion to simu-
late the living thing.
When the Fish Run Well
Often the bluefish swarm SO thickly
around the boat and bite so savagely at
everything in sight that the baited hook
will hardly touch the water before It is
snatched by q hungry fish. 1t is no rare
thing for two boatmates to take enough
big bluefish to fit the boat so that 1t is
nearly gunwales down 1n the rolling sea.
In the catch will be 1sh ranging from
three and four pounds to ten and more;
but the fish from any one school run re-
markedly uniform In size. II school of
three-pounders comes along there will be
few fish weighing more than that, or al
most four pounds. taken while 1t is around
The next school may consist entirely of