Evening star., 1939-07-09
sized mule and the disposition of a
Snarling tiger.
Continued From Page C-4)

have their own cruisers and their
own de luxe equipment and are sat
isfied with the white marlin fishing
in the fish mine off Ocean City. But.
like all anglers. they are looking for
new country and new conquests. So
it isn't unusual for Paul and Jack to
rev up the $50 horsepower of their
Jackpau any day and cruise away
out Of sight of land, hunting for
signs of the bigger blue marlin,
which they think can be found away
off shore. Blue marlin run any
where up to thousand pounds or
more. They haven't been taken that
heavy on sporting tackle, because no
one has been able to land the big
ones that have been hooked.
Mr.. Sutton has Crulsed straight
east for 100 miles or so. until the
water temperature reached 81 de-
grees on top. That must be the Gulf
Stream, or close enough to it to be
part of the stream. And that is
where the blue marlin hang out. It's
also the highroad the tuna use in
their annual migration from Carib-
bean waters to Nova Scotia. You
can expect anything out there. from
monster shark, the usual whales
spoutlng their jet high in air and
seemingly unafraid of a spindly lit
tie 45-foot fishing cruiser, to blue
marlin and gigantic Sunfish.
And when the white marlin are
not hitting around the JaCkSpot and
lower down, you can also get them
away out there in the blue water.
They also follow the Gulf Stream
Their detour to the JaCkSpot comes
because they love the food that
hangs around that ridge" in the
ocean floor. I've been out there
with George Sutton and have been
glad for the harnessed purr of those
twin 150-horsepower motors. And
the cracking Of that radio gave us
our bearings from shore points and
told us of possible storms. It's an
eery plaCe-that big ocean away out
there, far from land. But the fish
are there.
However for straight marlin fish
ing, at the right time, you can't
lick the JackspOt Its got any
other white marlin spot on the
Eastern Coast licked a mile.
What happens when you go after
what marlin off Ocean City? Well.
first you contact a good captain
and make a date with him. Tell
him you'll be down on Tuesday,
and he'll say, How early?" You'll
be surprised when he tells you that
he'd like to shove off at am. Bring
your own equipment along, if it is
strong enough. If not, he'll furnish
It, But don't break it. Those rods
and reels are expensive, the fish are
big, and you'll have to pay for bro
ken tackle
Get Early Start.
Tuesday morning you'll roll out
Of bed around 5 am, gulp down a
cup Of coffee, get into your old togs
and drive down to the dock. There
will be waiting for you a trim little
cruiser, 38 or more feet long, motors
idllng in silky unison. Far up into
the sky reach two poles, with rig
ging hanging from them. Those are
the outriggers. If you don't know
about them, you'll find out.
You slip out through Sinepuxent
Bay, rolling through the jetties and
meeting the long ocean swell around
the sea buoy. 1t won't be bad at
any time, unless you happen to hit
some Rough weather. And rough
weather, if it isn't too nasty, is good
marlin weather. The fish seem to
feed more on top when there's a
little cross-hop or a little kick to
the water. You'll run down the
coast for couple of hours. While
the captain rigs tackle takes down
the outriggers and tells you what
to do. You'll be all excited and
kind Of quivery and full Of anticipa-
ton.
Running down the coast, the mate
will be rigging your bats after the
captain sees that all is O. K. You'll
be interested in the way they're
rlgged
Marlin like mackerel and mullet,
but their real dessert-along this
coasts squid. or ink-fiSh. The
burned thing looks like a pink
spotted nightmare, with long fingers
OF pink stretching out at the rear
The mate rigs the squid on a light
wire leader by a clever arrange
ment of padding which keeps the
sQuld upright, looking like the real
Mccoy
Two hours run southeast and the
mate runs the line through the rig
gers, lets out about so feet abeam
and astern Of the boat and you're
trolling, watch those outrigger
bats" he says. Keep your eyes
glued on them. and you'll see a
marlin come up behind them. lay
there for minute and then strike.
And don't, for the luya Mike pull
that line before he strikes. He'll
hit that bait rap with his bill
and that will pull the line out of
the clothespin up there, and the line
will fall down to the water When
1t comes up tight. strike him four
or five times. like this" And Matey
pulls his arms into Joe Louis upper
cut position. Don't fool with him."
he says. Let him have it."
Lure for Marlin.
All the while he's rigging the same
bait, or mullet, for the two stern
lines, and giving the rods to two eX-
perienced fishermen, who know the
tap of the marlin, and how to drop
back when he hits And after that's
done he drops over the "teaser," a
husky chunk of wood, painted red
and white, which is supposed to lure
the marlin up from below to what all
the fuss is about. Once up, if he's
hungry, he'll make a pass at the
bats.
Now half this game-and most of
the fun--is seeing the fish come up
behind your bait and strike it, eX-
plains the captain. Usually you'll
see his dorsal fin. Sometimes you'll
see both his dorsal and his tail. And
when he hits you'll see his bill. He'll
sometimes lay out there like a big
brown patch in the water and won't
~ fo, wi, la p,It no III 11y- +, II