Game Birds and Game Fishes of the Pacific Coast Part 19

From their fine size--three to forty pounds--they stand well with the angler as a game fish and furnish good sport if the tackle is light enough. Their rushes are not equal to those of the steelhead or the salmon or the yellow-tail, nor do they fight with the same vigor or with the same persistency.

The striped ba.s.s is unlike any other coast fish. Its back is light olive; sides, nearly white with seven or eight longitudinal stripes running the whole length of the body, the dorsal fin is double, but not joined like that of the black ba.s.s. The first half is spiny with the after division rayed and soft. It is a salt water fish, making its habitat in and near the mouths of rivers, and often running up them for 100 miles or more. Use the same rod and line as for salmon.

THE GAME FISH OF THE SEA

There certainly is no better sport to be had any place with the trout, salmon and ba.s.s than that furnished by the rivers, lakes and bays of the Pacific Coast. To this excellent sport must be added another of the most exciting character, and one distinctly Californian, and that is the capture with rod and reel of the large sea fishes found in the waters of the Santa Barbara Channel, and more especially of Catalina Island. The great variety, gamy qualities and ma.s.sive size of these fishes furnish a sport at once exciting and exhilarating, and challenging the keenest exercise of the ability of the sportsman.

The world-wide fame of these waters, and the grand sport they furnish have resulted in the establishment on Catalina Island of one of the finest, if not the most perfect and best equipped angler's resort in the world, from its launches and boatmen to its clubhouses and hotels, and made it the Mecca of the expert anglers of the civilized nations of the earth.

[Ill.u.s.tration: LEAPING TUNA (Thunnus thynnus)]

THE TUNA

(Thunnus thynnus)

The leaping tuna is the largest of the great game fishes of the Pacific. It ranges from Monterey Bay, where it is sparingly met with, south to Mexico. About Catalina Island they are found in great numbers and of great size. The excellent sport their capture with rod and reel furnishes, has drawn to the island the expert anglers of the world, and resulted in the formation of the now famous "Tuna Club of Catalina," with its members residing in all parts of the world; and of which no one can become a member until he has landed a tuna of 100 pounds or more with rod and reel and with a line not larger than a 24-thread Cuttyhunk.

Professor Charles F. Holder, an expert angler with a national reputation, and who has angled for all fishes and in all waters, says, "The most sensational fish of these waters is the leaping tuna. It is the tiger of the California seas, a living meteor, which strikes like a whirlwind, and played with a rod that is not a billiard cue or a club in stiffness, will give the average man the contest of his life."

The record for the largest tuna caught with a rod and reel is held at this writing by Col. C. P. Morehouse of Pasadena, who brought to gaff a 251 pound tuna after a six-and-a-half-hours' fight, during which it had towed his boat over ten miles. But even a greater fight than this is recorded, but the fish was not landed. This fish fought for seventeen hours and thirty minutes before its wonderful endurance and splendid courage mastered the skill of the angler. Mr. C. B. Stockton has to his credit a fight which not only shows the great endurance of this angler but the remarkable vitality of these fish. This fight lasted for sixteen hours and fifty-five minutes before the fish was brought to gaff. It weighed 170 pounds and was taken on the regulation tackle.

Body, round and sloping rapidly from the middle to the caudal fin, and very small and round at the base of the tail; tail divided into two long forks; two dorsal fins, the first beginning just behind the gill-covers with the pectoral and ventral fins a trifle farther back; second dorsal fin smaller than the first and located nearly half way between it and the caudal; a.n.a.l fin midway between the ventral and the caudal; bony, saw-like projections from the second dorsal fin, and from the a.n.a.l fin to the tail; color, blue on the back and silvery white on the sides.

=Tackle and Lure=--The flyingfish is about the only bait with which the tuna can be caught. The hook, which must be attached to about 3-1/2 or 4 inches or light chain and with a wire snell, is pa.s.sed into the mouth and down the belly of the flyingfish, the barb projecting about midway of the fish. A small string is pa.s.sed through the nose and under lip and tied through a link of the chain to keep the mouth shut.

The speed of the boat should be from two to four miles an hour. In the middle of the day, when the tunas are feeding in schools, the sinker should be removed, and the lure skipped along the surface of the water. This effect can be helped by the motion of the rod.

The Catalina Tuna Club has adopted the following tackle specifications:

For Tuna and Swordfish--Rod to be of wood, consisting of a b.u.t.t and tip, and to be not shorter than 6 feet, 9 inches over all. Tip not less than 5 feet in length, and to weigh not more than 16 ounces. Line not to exceed standard 24-thread.

[Ill.u.s.tration: ALBACORE (Germo alalunga)]

THE ALBACORE

(Germo alalunga)

The albacore is another genus of the same family, and reaches a weight of 40 to 80 pounds; averaging 25 pounds. It is seldom seen as far north as San Francisco, but is abundant from Santa Barbara south to Central America. Like all of the family it is a gamy fish, and affords good sport to the angler. In general shape and appearance it resembles the tuna, but will always be distinguished by its long, sword-like pectoral fins that start from near the gills, and a trifle lower than the eye, and reach beyond the second dorsal fin.

=Tackle and Lure=--The albacore will take almost any lure from a sardine to a white rag. The speed of the boat can also be varied very much. I have known them to be caught on a hand line trolled behind a coast steamer. About three miles an hour, however, will give the best results. The following light tackle specifications of the Tuna Club will be found quite satisfactory for the average albacore:

Rod to be of wood, consisting of a b.u.t.t and tip, and to be not shorter than 6 feet, over all. b.u.t.t to be not over 14 inches in length. Tip not less than 5 feet in length, and to weigh not more than 6 ounces. Line not to exceed standard 9-thread.

THE YELLOW-FIN ALBACORE

(Germo microptera)

Another of the =Scrombridae= family, and very closely allied to the albacore, is the yellow-fin albacore. This fish has erroneously been called "yellow-fin tuna." It does not belong to the genus =Thunnus= any more than does the albacore or the bonito. It is only a visitor to the California waters, and often does not make its appearance for one or two seasons at a time. They are common to the coasts of j.a.pan and the Hawaiian Islands, and are supposed to migrate with the j.a.panese current. This species fights altogether on the surface, but lacks the sterling gamy qualities of the tuna.

In shape it is built very much on the lines of the albacore, but with its pectoral fins only extending back to about half way between the a.n.a.l and ventral, the other fins are placed the same as the albacore, and all except the pectoral strongly tinged with bright lemon; pectoral fin is more of a bright brown; eye, large and prominent.

A few have been taken weighing as much as 40 pounds and one even 65 pounds. The average, however, is about 30 pounds.

[Ill.u.s.tration: BONITO (Sarda chilensis)]

THE BONITO, OR SKIPJACK

(Sarda chilensis)

To the angler who is not looking for the largest of game, the bonito--known as skipjack to the Catalina anglers--is possibly the most interesting of the ocean game fishes. Its beautiful metallic colors, its rapid movements, and pleasing habit of always fighting on the surface, and rarely, if ever sulking, makes it a most attractive game to the discriminating angler.

The bonito also belongs to the =Scrombidae= family, and ranges from Point Conception to Mexico and south through the tropics.

Body, rounded, tapering rapidly to the tail, which is strongly forked, but not so much as the albacore; pectoral fins, short and placed opposite the eye; dorsal fin, double, with saw-like ridges from the second dorsal and the a.n.a.l fins to the tail, the same as in all of this family. Color, dark blue on the back, with a metallic l.u.s.ter; sides, silvery white, with dark longitudinal lines. Weight, from six to twelve pounds.

=Tackle and Lure=--The light tackle specifications of the Tuna Club, given for albacore cannot be improved upon for these fish.

[Ill.u.s.tration: SPANISH MACKEREL (s...o...b..romorus concolor)]

SPANISH MACKEREL

(s...o...b..romorus concolor)

This is another of the =Scrombidae= family. It ranges north to Monterey Bay, where it makes its appearance in September, remaining until November, when it goes south to the Santa Barbara channel; remaining in these waters and about Catalina Island during most of the winter.

This fish is called bonito by many of the Catalina anglers, which is a misnomer, as it is a much slimmer fish than the bonito.

The pectoral fins are small and located a little above the center of the body and close to the gill covers; front dorsal starts just above the base of the pectorals and extend along the back for a distance a little more than the length of the head, and nearly meeting the second dorsal, which is about the same width as its heighth; ventral fins, a little in front of the pectorals and rather small; front of the a.n.a.l fin under the back of the second dorsal. Back, steel blue; sides, silvery. Oblique lines, of the darker color of the back, running forward and downward to a little below the lateral line.

Weight, usually from nine to twelve pounds, though they occasionally attain a weight of eighteen pounds.

=Tackle and Lure=--The same as for the bonito.

[Ill.u.s.tration: CHUB MACKEREL OR GREEN-BACK (s...o...b..r j.a.ponicus)]