The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1910-02-03
A 0 N AND A BIG FISH
IN CALIFORNIA A s42.PouNp SEA
BASS WAS TAKEN.
OF cour.. sh. Caught Il, the Woman
oecIares--Ali Her Husband Did
Was TO Pull Il Inland the
eoatman Had to Help
-E.. " Him.
From the New York Sun.

on his annual holiday, usually a fish
ing or hunting trip in the west.
1T was on the Oas OF Southern
California in the Santa Catalina chan
nel," she went on. The regular season
for sea bass in that locality is from
June through October. We arrived a
little later, and thought it too late to
get more than a nibble or two. AT least
that Is the way my husband expressed
It: AZ 1t was my first attempt to catch
nibble or two.
Santa Catalina is the only island off
the coast of Southern California that
has a town. l knew we were headed
for that town, and from there we would
go direct to the fishing grounds off
END OF the island. This is all I knew
when l left New York, and that is
about all l know OF the country now,
because once at Avalon l became SO
much interested in the angling that L
had no desire to see or do anything
else.
The entire bay Of Avalon is given
up to fishermen n every native has a
string OF boats. including about every
variety from a glass bottom to a rs
loot power launch equipped with every
imaginable comfort for angling. We
arrived just In time to Join an angling
tournament
There were 10 entries. our boat be-
Ing the last. Each entry was a boat
with two anglers and one boatman.
Being my husbands partner, ] was the
second angler in his boat. and it so
happened that 1 was also the only
woman in the tournament. We left
Avalon shortly after Z a.. III. and
dropped anchor near the kelp forest,
which is on the south side Of the is
land.
A 1 had never seen a kelp forest at
tina time I WaS nnf tho Iooet HIT t-xa,
ested In 1t, being quite content to know
that it was a sort of gigantic seaweed
In which the big fish spent their sum
mers. Immediately after dropping an
Choir our hooks We're. baited with hunks
of %albacore. I think they said these
hunks weighed about 10 pounds. I'M
agine such a bait. or course I imag-
1ned that l was prepared for any mon
ster after seeing the bait.
Then tho Bass Was Hooked.
MY bait had just been lowered
when hearing an exclamation l saw that
q boat to our left had hoisted a LONG
red flag bearing the figure of a huge.
white fish. 1t was to inform all mem
bers Of the tournament that q bass
had been hooked.
w were all supposed to rejoice, l
learned afterward, but for that once I
hadn't time to give evidence OF joy or
n other feeling, for Just at the mo-
ment my eyes caught the nutter OF the
RED q floating at the masthead of our
neighbours boat my husband made an
exclamation that brought them back
to my own line.
1T was being slowly drawn out.
Al q motion from my husband I let
1t run freely for several minutes. Their,
being uncertain OF my strength because
OF lack OF experience, l told him to get
1t In for me.
III I hadn't done that 1 am not a bit
Rllro the f7ah Wr,,lA a&,a, ho,. 49,
landed. for there are so many things
to do and they must be done SO quickly
that ! don't believe anyone could do
them without experience. At any rate
my husband a a good long hours
fight with that fish.
His first move was to din the rod
until the end almost touched the wa
ter, the with his thumb pressed hard
upon the brake he swaled the rod and
sc hooked the fish. The next move was
the boatman's casting of and slipping
his oars into the oarlocks so as to keep
the stern of the boat always turned to-
ward the fish. This was the beginning
OF the real fight, and for one solid hour
my heart was in my mouth for fear we
wouldn't win.
THE line rushed away SO fast that 1
am sure o could have heard the
scream of the reel a dozen yards away.
The lin disappeared yard by yard and
1t took all OF NV self-restraint to keen
from advising my husband to hold up
the FISH. 1t seemed incredible that the
this was going on that the boatman
flung our red flag of triumph to the
breeze, and as the shouts of conEratu-
lation came to us over the water nv
husband had time enough Just to
glance up and smile at me.
The next instant the fish had
changed his course, and in spite of nv
husbands efforts u launch was being
toWed toward shore. This was a signal
for the boatman to take part In the
fight, for every effort had to be made
to keep the fish from reaching the kelp
forest, where he could have twined the
line back and forth and SO broken it.
The boatman, who vas an expert
enced angler, began to call to my hus-
band, Pump, pump BY that he meant
TO lower the rod down to the surface Of
the water. then with both hands, while
holding the brake firmly, to lift with all
the strength he could command. This
o he dropped the rod again, and
began to reel Ike mad. The pumping
was repeated until the fish was forced
to change his course md to swim out
into deeper water.
After much ~maneuvering on the part
OF both my husband n the boatnan
the fish was headed inshore. Finally
the fish rose to the surface about 200
feet away from the boat. He tossed
spray into the air and made a complete
circuit Of the boat. giving the boatman
all he could do to keep the stern always
toward him.
THAT is n Of the great secrets in
angling for sea bass, the stern must al
ways be kept facing the big fish. While
the fish was making his tour Of inspec-
ton about u boat my husband was
reeling In for all he was worth. The
boatman dropped the oar and took the
gaff.
Small One Weighed Only $50 Pound,
The fish taken by the other boat
proved to be a very small fellow, weigh
ing less than 100 pounds. NY husband
caught two during our stay, but none
OF them came ANYTHING like being az
large as mine Indeed the one T
caught!--Did I catch it? Why. Ger
tainly. My husband only drew it in.
The boatman had to help him as
much as he helped me. He ALWAYS
speaks OF 1t as my fish and was mnre
proud Of my catching 1t than he would
have been had he done It himself.
SfY al ~ vy~ IL = .