Los Angeles herald., 1908-06-07
BLACK BASS LANDED
AFTER HARD TUSSLE
LIGHT TACKLE AND SKILL
PROVE VICTORS
Portland Visitor to Avalon Catches
Heaviest Fish Thus Far Taken
in Accordance with Tour
nament Requirements -
Special TO The Herald.

Special TO The Herald.
AVALON, June 6.-Alfred L. Beebe,
a we'll known business man of Portland,
Ore, has the distinction of having
landed the heaviest fish of the season
taken on light tackle-a black sea bass
that weighed 1921. pounds.
Mr.. Beebe is a devout believer in the
fewer fish but more sport" theory,
and was using a lanceWood rod that
weighed just nine ounces, and a nlne-
thread "cuttyhunk' line with a break
ing capacity of only Is pounds. His
chances for winning the gold medal
offered by u. n. Brewster, president or
the Catalina Light Tackle club, for the
angler taking the largest fish with a
"9-9" outfit, are at the present of the
brightest.
The following is the lucky fisherman's
own account of the capture and long
struggle that accompanied 1t:
Il left Avalon at Z a. m. in the launch
Swastika, whose name, by the way,
proved prophetic of our luck. She was
handled by her owner, Capt TOD
Gray, and better boatman never bait
ed hook or gaffed a fish.
I'VE ran up the island about hVe
miles to White rock, which STANDS neal
the shore of the bay at Whites land
ing, and is q favorite resort of the black
sea bass, or Jewish, as he is familiarly
called. AnChoring just beyond the kelp
covered reef which extends from the
rock, with anchor buoyed and engine
stopped, we baited up with chunk OIL
yellowtail, dropped this to the sandy
bottom and waited for strike: In a
few moments this came, but the hsh
proved TO be only a small sand shark,
one of the numerous species OF TINS
nuisance to anglers that abound in Cat
alma waters. Twice this was repeated,
to our disgust.
when the bait was dropped for the
fourth time it remained apparently un-
dstur- ed for about ten minutes, during
which time a bass was quietly absorb
ing ii where it lay; for on reeling IN
slack to see if the bait was all right a
strong pull was felt, evidently from a
large fish. / struck twice, as heavily as
the light rod and slender line would
stand; away went the fish, the engine
was started and mooring cast on, ana
the fight was on.
"It proved hard one. The fish was
hooked at 9:15, and only at 12:S5, three
hours and twenty minutes later, was he
brought to gaff, well out at sea, four
miles away. During that period he was
held at the utmost tension the tackie
would stand, now sulking, iminoVabie
as a rock: again making irreslsuple
ruSnGS OF ITOIll MY " Aou iNNN' -
cling steadily out to sea, the launch
following stern first or bow on, as the
case n ght be- Again and again he was
laboriously reeled in until the fifty-toot
mark on the line came in view; pui
no ,er the surface than this 1t seemed
impossible TO bring him.
"Finallv bv a supreme effort which
put so heavy a strain on rod and line
tbat I fully expected the wrecking of
one or both, he was raised some thirty
feet further. when he suddenly gave up
easily To the boat, to be neatly gaffed
by Gray. A rope .having been passed
through his lower jaw, he was hauled
aboard the stern of the launch, to the
great satisfaction of a thoroughly eX-
hausted angler.
"He weighed 1922 pounds when put
on the scales of the Light Tackle CLUB
at Avalon an hour later, and measured
five feet"