To one who has been even temporarily attached to a hundred-pound barracuda through the medium of a split bamboo rod, a tarpon reel, three hundred yards of line, and a good strong spoon hook, or has fought a sixty-pound tanguingui, or even a thirty-pound pampano, to a finish, it seems strange that any one should ever have characterized fishing as a “gentle art.”
If good old Sir Izaak Walton had struggled with a big tuna until his fingers and thumbs were blistered or skinned, and every muscle in his body was tired and sore, only to see a huge shark bite his finny prey off back of the gills when it was almost ready to gaff, it is possible that his language in discussing fishing would have been less mild, and his general attitude toward the subject less gently philosophic.
Verily, Sir Izaak missed much by not having been born after modern fishing tackle had been invented and employed in taking the denizens of deep tropical seas. Let no one be unduly dismayed over the diminution of big game fish in the vicinity of Catalina Island, or off the Florida coast, for among the myriad islands of the Philippine Archipelago one may fish to one’s heart’s content, visiting grounds already well known, or seeking new ones for himself, in the assurance that the supply of marine game fishes will not be perceptibly diminished for many a long year to come.
Soon after his arrival, Governor-General Forbes began to inquire about the opportunities for sea fishing. He received little reliable information and less encouragement, but undeterred, proceeded to find out for himself when and where to fish and what tackle to use in order to obtain the best results. At the outset his efforts netted him few fish or none, but he kept at it as opportunity offered, and, thanks to his perseverance, the sport is now firmly established on a sound basis.
One must have rod, reel, line and gaff suitable for tarpon fishing, and an abundant supply of good spoon hooks, wire leaders and swivels. Live bait and cut bait are as useful here as elsewhere, but game fish are so abundant, and spoon hooks have proved so successful in taking them, that comparatively little use has as yet been made of other lures. One should fish from a power boat which can be slowed down to four miles an hour without stopping, and will safely ride a moderately heavy sea.
When thus equipped, if the fisherman hies him to the edge of a coral reef where the bottom slopes steeply downward, runs the boat so that he sees green water on one side and black water on the other, and pays out fifty to a hundred yards of line, he will not have long to wait before his reel sings the merry tune so dear to the heart of his kind, and he finds himself vainly striving, with both thumbs on the brake, to lower the pitch of that insistent high note by slowing down the speed of the barracuda which has grabbed the spoon, hooked itself securely, and started for the coast of China with the obvious intention of getting there before dark.
A big barracuda may take fifty yards of line in his first rush and he may take two hundred, but one can be certain that when he is finally stopped he will jump clear of the water, and then will jump again just to show that he means it. After that, as he is reeled in, he will jump some more to keep up the interest. Ultimately, having acquired the habit of coming toward the boat, he will continue to practise it until he sees that craft, whereupon he is likely to start off at a rate which makes his first rush seem slow and deliberate. Now and then he will run down on the line for variety’s sake, and then is the time for the boatmen to get into action, for if he gets slack line nothing remains but to bid him good-by as cheerfully as possible.
The largest specimen yet taken in the Philippines and actually weighed was a hundred ten pound monster caught on a trolling line trailed behind the coast guard cutter Polillo, on which I was making an inspection trip along the west coast of southern Palawan.
The largest specimen yet taken with rod and reel weighed fifty-two and eight-tenths pounds. It was brought to gaff in Biobican Bay by Governor Leo J. Grove of Nueva Vizcaya.
Very numerous individuals weighing between twenty and forty-five pounds have been captured, and the only reason why numbers of much larger specimens have not been taken is that tackle was not strong enough, or the skill of the fishermen was not sufficiently great. Big barracudas have teeth that would do credit to small sharks, and have sawed through or broken many a wire leader.