The sun., 1918-08-25
SQUARE DEAL FOR
GAME FISH GROWS
Sentiment in Favor Of Light
Tackle Increasing in
Florida Waters.
CONSERVATION PREACHED

CONSERVATION PREACHED
Van Camper Heilner. organiser Of the
Tuna Club OF New Jersey. member OF
the Long Key Fishing Club and for
many years advocate of light tackle.
sayv that tho sentiment in favor OF
q square deal for game fish is growing
everywhere, particularly in Florida
Tho use of light tackle by himself,
Zane Grey, Harrison Cassard. E. w.
Crowninshield. who holds the record for
tarpon. twenty-five from sun to sun. all
dsh released, Fernan Conili and others
who fish the Florida waters every win
ter 10 converting the thousands of an
giers from all sections OF the country
who 60 to tho winter resort annually.
The need for the use Of light tackle
and conservation Of fish in Florida is
great, for there is no such thing as
lad luck. On the reefs you can always get
Ash such as barracuda, amberjack. king
fish, cobia, grouper. Jewish and Spanish
mackerel. When the angler is using a
bamboo or greenheart two piece boat rod
with q to Go reel. eighteen thread
line. with q 40 hook baited with
bite from one of half a dozen species Of
nsh.
Because Of the enormous schools of
fishes in these waters II is a wanton
waste to see how many fish one can
kill unless the hsh can be used for
food, yet despite this so many
fishermen are still imbued with
the idea OF big catch that one angler
showed with pride 1900 pounds Of am
ber5ack taken in one day, the largest
Of which weighed ninety-five pounds,
and there were several In the catch that
weighed seventy-five and eighty pounds
each. No effort was made to use these
fish. and the dead fish had to be thrown
back into the sea because an anglers
grsed. posing as a fisherman Of skill
with rod and line. needed to be salts
fed.
Prises for Release of Fish.
To overcome such destruction of game
fshes Grey and Heilner have offered
prizes next year to the boatmen who
release the greatest number Of fishes.
Also to extend the idea Of conserva-
ton and fair play they have offered
through the Long Key Fishing Club ad-
ditional prizes for FISH taken on light
tackle.
More effort will be made this sea-
son to get men interested in the taxi
ing Of sailfish, ''the purple swordsman
cf the Gulf Stream" as Mr.. Hellner puts
It.
He has designed a flag. a purple
aailhsh on a white background. which
will b raised when a sailfish is hooked.
Many anglers who go to Florida do not
Try for the sailfish beoduse Of the I'M
certainty of its capture. The sailfish
are not found along the reefs, but in the
Gulf Stream and one may troll all day
or for several days and not get a strike.
But when a fish Is struck-the sailfish hits
the bait a slap with its bill-the angler
must let the bait remain slack.
The nsh. believing that it has
killed its prey. SEXES it and that is
the time for the angler to strike. To
strike before this Is merely to lose your
nah. for the sailfish will not take hold.
but proceeds on its way. Let the sailfish
be under the impression the bait has
been killed, then look out, for hundreds
of feet Of line will be carried off on the
drst rush.
Says saiInsh Gamest.
What Heilner. Grey. Cassard, Crown
inshield. Conill and other light tackle
men sometimes do is to have a coil Of rs
the fish Is struck In fact, in the Gulf
Stream that Is the only way to fish, for
you always fish for "sailfish." fish that
when they strike never stop until their
inclination leads them to, and II they
are big fish they cannot be held and
the line parts.
Most anglers who FISH In Florida place
tarpon In Class AL as the game fish Of
Florida. Mr.. Heilner. who has had
years of experience. would put the sail
fish first, wahoo second, barracuda third
and tarpon fourth. The boneflsh he
would put in a class by itsek. Inciden-
tally the bonehsh Is only taken in shall
low water, half foot or less deep. and
naturally the tactics OF bonefshing Is
different from any other kind of angling.
Mr.. Heilner one day watched Mr.. Cas-
6ard handle a sailfsh on light tackle
and stated it left a wake not unlike the
wash of torpedo, and as it SKINNED
the water he counted twenty-one Jumps.
Few wahoos are taken, the Long Key
F1shing Club members landing only four
In the history Of the club.
Selecting Fighting Fish.
There is a bay on the west coast.
Mr.. Heilner says, that is known to
only dozen or so anglers. Two guides
from Miami are familiar with it-Jimmie
and JEFF Thompson-and it Is customary
with these men to engage them for a
year in advance. One reason that the
bay Is not known Is that for miles and
miles the water Is not more than. four
Of five feet deep.
There is a channel that leads into It
that winds and winds around islands
and when the channels end Is reached
1t opens up into a bay that contains
big game fish. including hammerhead.
leopard and black cub sharks. tarpon
and sawfish Tarpon can be taken In
this bay all the year round.
An angler by the use Of field glasses
may spot the three fins of a sawflsh,
the single fin of the worst shark of
all to handle. the leopard or the black
cub, the latter species OF SO vicious a
nature that one of them bit the bot
tom out of boat In which was Paul
Rainey. the famous sportsmen and lion
hunter. The hammerhead shark will
also attack a boat. for a dory OF Mr..
Heilner's still shows the marks where
two splinters were taken out of It by
the sharks teeth.
The angler having looked the bay
over carefully and decided what prey
he shall seek, starts out for an adven-
ture with sawfish. leopard shark,
black cub or may decide to go where
the tarpon are leaping and indulge in
angling for these acrobats Of the sea.
II. on the other hand. he wants the
excitement that goes with the harpoon
he selects a sawfsh. Then he takes
his position and when the time is op-
perfume. strikes, plays the rope, shuts
of the engine and gets the boat under
leeway, so that when tho rope has
reached Its end there shall be no Jerk
that may overturn the vessel or dump
the occupants overheard Then It is