The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1933-01-16
THAR'S FISH I'm THEM THAR WATERS
He States 40 Hook To 24-O Or Hook Progression
KEY WET--CLAIMS EDWARD A. LOUIS

attuned, to feel the slightest touch
on the bait. Nothing happened.
Possibly that fish was on its way
to the hospital that faces the Sub
marine Base, to get an exploratory
done, that is, if the
same fish has all the hooks in it's
gullet.
I chopped up some more cut
bait and chummed it overheard,
letting the rod, set con the click"
rest on the dock. The reel click
ed gently, evenly but steadily.
Something would take hold while
my hands were fishy" / grabbed
up the rod, set the drag and struck.
"Wow! What weight I couldn't
stop it. Line kept paying out at
the same gait, slowly but as in
exorably as fate. The line was
under the dock again; and was
being chafed on the under-side of
the string pieces. 1t stopped run
ming out and ! heard a lusty
Laundering splash-also deliber-
ate-only Jewish Tor more prop
erly, june-fish, the first cousin to
the gian black sea-bass) could act
like that. Then, the tactics of the
Jewish that stole my snapper yes
terday, were re-enacted and the
of the deep had sound
ed or took a couple of half-hitches
arund something, for my line came
free again but, once more, minus
all the fishing rigging.
/ won't repeat the "poetry" l
said. The paper won't print it,
anyway, but it 'helped" a lot.
What to do now? My biggest
hooks gone. But, No! / still had
my gaia 24-0 steel hook, set
with molten lead into the German
silver ferrule end of a stout green
heart shaft, nearly three inches in
circumference, in length about
four and a half feet. 1t was once
a surf casting rod that had won me
prizes for casting. 1t was as tough
as whalebone. / had a 100-foot
long rope seized to it and used it
to hoist fish to the bridges that
were too heavy to lift without. The
hook on this gaff was barbless, tis'
true; but hadn't caught sea-trout
on barbless hooks and sewing cot
ton line? / had. In anger and
desperation, picked up this pre-
cious gaff, selected the biggest
and by this time, rather "ripe"-
mullet, one about sixteen inches
long and impaled it on the gaff's
hook, then lowered it down into
the twenty-six feet or more of
water there. The weight of the gaff
and the metal trimmings, combined
with the loaded head, made it sink
to the bottom.
1t was by this time, almost dark.
The coil of rope on the gait was
little tangled. / started on the
end of the rope to untangle it,
stripping the decks for action as it
were and let the slack go over
board. Coiling down the line in
'ship-shape order, / took up the
slack in the water and found that
my fishing rig" was once more
under the dock with something
very heavy on the other end that
/ couldn't bulge. / tugged and
got some cable retrieved, feeling
at the same time a series of tugs
that took rope away from me on
the penalty, otherwise, of pulling
me overheard. This give and take
of line lasted for some minutes--it
felt like hours-and then, all at
once, was pulling at some inn
movable object; the fish-or DEM
on--had once more got the "rig"
snagged.
What to do? / valued the gait
and certainly was curious as to
what sea-brute this was that har-
bored in our Key West waters. !
took couple of turns with the
line around a piece that had held
battleships and went for help.
Very generously, 1t. Tellman
responded and getting a Waterman
and calling for volunteers at the
non-commissioned officers bar
racks we went for the yard skiff
to recover the gaff and the fish
if such a bad-actor could be a fish.
The crew of the skiff seulled out
into the channel Juggling the cable
tow from out of under the dock.
The oar churned the water white
while we, topside, paved out line
with bated breath to the boat.
Then, there came a surge in the
water beneath the decking Of the
dock and the freed end came from
under.
What came was, what had once
been an ''unbreakable" gaff. now
severed roughly in twain, the hook