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.
| 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; anal fin midway between the ventral and the caudal; bony, saw-like projections from the second dorsal fin, and from the anal 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 passed into the mouth and down the belly of the flyingfish, the barb projecting about midway of the fish. A small string is passed 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.