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BATTLE WITH A SWORDFISH Pasadena Mans Experience with Sea Fighter of the Pacific Fish Gets Atvay Trlth Thousand Feet of Line After Two Hours The following lively account of his fight with a swordfish is given by Joseph Welsh president of the Pasadena Hardware Co in the Hardware Age AgeAfter After a good nights rest with interspersed dreams of hauling in a monster swordfish of 250 pounds to 350 pounds on a sixteenounce rod and a five oclock breakfast J felt as if I could land any sized fish So off we started a beautiful cloudless sky and water as blue as a turquoise turquoiseDan Dan the Tuna Club boatman pointed out a large flock of birds feeding and steered a course to see what was doing Here were thousands of gulls pelicans and whale birds wheeling screaming and diving after the myriads of anchovy and sardines that the large fish had driven to the surface surfaceDan Dan said they were only barracuda and mackerel feeding I said those barracuda were big enough to catch and make good sport sportAll All right we will catch a ifew ifewSo So in an instant I had the rod in hand and Dan threw over the spoon hook Quick as thought I had a barracuda of six or seven pounds Again and again I pulled them in inDan Dan says Thats enough enoughGee Gee I thought hes not going to land ine with such a catch catchNo No sir we were only catching bait Says Dan A marlin or swordfish does go for barracuda barracudaBait Bait says I You dont mean to tell me those twentyfourineh fish are used for baitV baitVSure Sure says Dan DanDan Dan all this time had his binoculars scanning the ocean surface for a sign of a tuna or sword fish Finally away he went making fine speed farther toward Clemente Island I said nothing He was miming things thingsAfter After about fifteen minutes full speed ahead Dan says Do you sec that black fhrV Looks like a saill oat says I IThats Thats the back fin of a broadbill swordfish swordfishWell Well its getting neurer I said 1 thought I saw another fin finYes Yes said Dan thats the end of his tail tailGee Gee says I How big is that fish fishWell Well you can judge You only see about one half of his length besides he has a sword three feet long on the end of his nose noseSay Say I was having a change of heart about caus ¬ ing the poor things death deathAll All this time Dan was doing stunts getting on the bait Over he threw it and told me to let the line go out of the reel without brakes I did Dan moved in a circle around the fish I held the pole sixteen ounces twentyfour strand line The line was moving out easily when all of a sudden the fish disappeared disappearedI I says Dan hes gone goneNaw Naw says he lies down after the bait baitHe He then put on one ratchet drag and told me to hold gently no motion 1ut the point of your rod down almost into the water and when I tell you to strike strike as hard as you can and keep on strik ¬ ing ingWell Well say I struck once all I needed That fish had the bait swallowed for ten minutes and the first I knew he was up on his tail making for the Gulf of Mexico Gee how that old reel did screech One thousand 1ect of line About 850 feet out says Dan He had marks on the line to tell the distance distanceWell Well says I when is that fish going to stop stopHe He wont stop until after he gets to where it is ovr 1000 feet and then go down down bore a hole in the bottom with his sword and rest up a few hours before he starts moving again againA A few hours says I IYes Yes says Dan We sometimes play them twentyfour hours and then lose them themWhy Why its almost lunch time now nowLunch Lunch time says Dun Its past four oclock but we are too busy to eat now Probably we will get a bit by the time the moon comes up upFISHERS FISHERS SPINE JOINTS WERE WABBLY WABBLYSay Say I was all in by this time I had pulled pumped lifted on that rod until I felt my spine joints were all wabbly and did not fit fitCut Cut the line says I ICut Cut it out says Dan No man ever cut a line on this ship of mine If you bust the line pulling all right or break the rod pumping again all right but no such thing as cutting a line lineWell Well Dan that fish is still resting and me holding as strong a line on him as I can canWell Well thats the way these 300 to 400 pound fish act They rest and fight and fight and rest until the angler is all in and the line seesaws and parts them As a general thing both the fish and the angler nre happy happyBut But Dan says we are going to stay with this baby to death We have grub enough in the locker for a twodays scrap scrapBy By this time I was plumb full of new fish ideas and while talking I was still keeping that fish on a strain of all I had power to lift liftNow Now Captain Dan goes below and among other things he produced a ring like a bull ring He opened it and laid it down Then I noticed he had about four pounds of plug tobacco and a handful of sinkers also a piece of fish net of about one half inch mesh and about eighteen inches square squareWhats Whats that for says I IThat That says Dan is a little supper we are going to pass down to his nibs on the bottom bottomSo So the sinkers and tobacco besides about three sacks of Durham and some cigar clippings were put in the net tied up in a bag shape and made fast to the bull ring The ring snapped around the line and all was ready Down down it went as a messenger goes to a boys kite only in the opposite direction I felt the friction as it wended its downward way then all of a sudden it stopped stoppedGood Good says Dan DanWhat What now says I ISay Say when that dose gets soaked up and the simbier gets through his gills hell think the Huns are giving him a dose of gas and he will sure move moveAll All of a sudden the line slackened I says Hes off offNo No no Hes running for the surface head on at that thatDan Dan moved the boat about thirty feet I reeling for all I was worth worthLike Like a thunderbolt that fish came out of the water clear out in the air shaking his mighty head to get rid of that pesky sack of stuff stuffDown Down he went in to the ocean with a mighty splash but did not try any down movements and no jore stops that ambier was getting his goat To stop was to get another dose and say if you hail seen the antics that fish cast making the sea boil boilHe He did not seem to care a penny for us but just to get rid of that obnoxious sack of tobacco at his jaw How he did shake it as a terrier does a rat ratWas Was it exciting Well I never had any con ¬ ception that a fish of any size could stand the pace That boy was dancing on his tail most of till time Sometimes he was dancing the highland fling Irish jigs reel time Reel time is good goodAll All I could and had been doing for two hours was rounding in the slack line as he jigged up and near us usHow How long can that fish stand this Cap says I IWell Well Ive seen them dance like that for eight to ten hours before smashing the line Hes a goner says Dan DanStill Still going Ilink went the knot in the reel Away he went with the thousand feet of line lineI I looked nt Dan hi at me meWell Well Ill bo jiggered or something like that was what I said saidWell Well lie got rid of that gas bag sure says Dan DanWeil Weil Dan started to rig up another reel and said we might see another one oneOne One what I says saysSwordfish Swordfish says Dan DanNot Not for me Never again Look at that thumb Skin all off my knuckles Not for a thousand dol ¬ lars would I again hang on to a swordfish swordfishDan Dan cooked some supper I drank the coffee too tired to eat Dan saw I was all in almost dead Holled into a comfortable bunk below decks By the throbbing of the engine I knew we wore speed ¬ ing for Avalon It seemed an allnight sleep when I woke up and the ships log showed we had been twentyseven miles off shore shoreBelieve Believe me channel cat are good enough for me But I have a story to tell of the swordfish that got away that will last me until the cows come homo homoAnd And I ani told that anglers come from Europe ns well as all over the rnitfd States and Canada to deepSome do battle with those monsters of the deep Some have spent as much as 000 and never hooked one and I a greener of the worst kind and only ouce out had a real tussle at least
