Omaha daily bee., 1908-11-29
BIG CAME-FISH OF THE SEA
Sport That Tries Mems Skill and I'm
perils Their Lives.
THRILLS WITH ROD AND LINE
Danger in Angling for TarpOn, Tuna
and NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. of Fish
ermen in the TrOpic
Seas.

No sport more sensational exists, In the
opinion OF many persons, than hunting big
game of tn eocean with rod and reel. At
times there are perils to equal any met in
the depths OF African forests. The reputed
peacefulness of the anglers art seems
rather imaginary when a man engages In an
all day battle with a fish as weighty as a
small horse and takes chances of being
killed by the sea monsters frenzied leap
into his boat. A number OF fishermen have
been killed while fighting tarpon In the
Mexican gulf, and p~erilous adventures with
the tuna off the California coast are re-
corded. Capsizes are frequent; sometimes
a fouled line drags the angler under water
and In tow of a 30epound fish. One of the
many varieties OF incidental dangers was
Illustrated the other day in a dispatch from
Santa Catalina island. the California tuna
preserve. stating that a New York physl-
ciah was furiously attacked in his launch
by a horde of seals hungry for his catch
Of albicore.
1t is a modern recreation to go after big
fish with rod and line. Some years ago 1t
was thought Impossible to catch ocean
giants in this way. Sportsmen conceived
the notion Of using delicate apparatus and
applying artistic skill to subdue the marine
enemy. whose strength slowly GIBBS after
hours of combat The secret is never to
let the fish rest and to play" 1t from the
moment 1t is hooked. Sometimes a tuna,
utterly exhausted after a long struggle, dies
from heart failure, just like a human ath-
lete. There are fishing club rules limiting
the weight of the rod and the thickness of
the line. so as to give the game a fighting
chance. After the victory the fish are gen
orally turned loose. The big game is not
edible as a rule. Among the few big game
feshes are the tuna, tarpon, black grouper
black sea bass. amberJack and barracuda
The tuna belongs to the mackerel tribe
A specimen Weighing 1000 pounds has beer
speared. The tarpon is a herring. and the
record specimen weighed 3S5 pounds. NJ
fish in nature is credited with such athleti,
feats as the tarpon. 1t leaps a straight
dozen feet into the air and hurls itself side,
ways for a distance of thirty feet, almost
ecnK sing the aerial flight OF the flying fish
which is its prey. If the silver-bodieC
giant, taking a catapult leap, ever lands ii
a boat the fishermen are lucky to gain III,
water without fractured limbs.
The Tuna I'm Action.
The tuna season is on at Santa Catalina
island between April and July. when tn,
flying fish, on which the big mackere
Aceus Ut IN SElucuCc' 1uo llSucImdu bolA
from a rowboat hjtched to a power launch.
His rod and line are worth perhaps $2SC
There are 600 feet of linen line tested to
pull a dead weight OF forty pounds, a six
foot piano wire leader and a stout rod
weighing twenty-slx ounces. The bait Is
q flying fish.
"The launch steams along shore; tn,
first gray light OF dawn steals across tn,
sea-" says Macmillan Foster in a de-
s~cription Of the sport in Munseys./ "Neal
at hand a heavy splash resounds across
the w~ater-another and another. The tuna
have struck in. You heal their heavy
bodies thudding upon the fiat sea, and the
boatman warns you TO be on the watch
Here they come he whispers. A blu
black form hurls into tho air, falling In d
fountain OF spume. 'F1pl F1pi Fee-ee-ee-e'
screams the reel The tip OF your roo