THE BIG GAME FISHING OF BRITAIN

Evening Post, Volume CXVIII, Issue 90, 13 October 1934, Page 25

THE BIG GAME FISHING OF BRITAIN

The big-game fishing season has been in full swing on the Yorkshire coast, and one of the largest tunny fish ever landed was caught 30 miles off Scarborough by Lieut. A. H. Terry, E.N., writes Frank Hoban in the "Daily Mail."

The tunny is just a giant mackerel ranging from 4001b to, 10001b in weight, usually 9ft to ,10ft long, and with a girth double the thickness of a normal man 's body. . They leave the warm waters of the South Atlantic and follow the Gulf Stream round,the north of Scotland and down the east coast.as far as the Humber, where they arrive about the end of July. When first sighted' they are usually from 30 to 60 miles from land, but as the summer wears on they come as near as 12 miles.

Mr. Mitchell-Henry, a renowned biggame angler, was the first man to land a giant tunny on rod and reel in British waters. That was the beginning of the annual rush of big-game anglers from all parts of the world to our shores. A British Tunny Club was recently formed, and one of its chief rules is that an angler must hook his fish and fight it single-handed until brought alongside the boat to gaff—an operation which may take anything from four to twenty-four hours. The rod is generally made of lancewood in a single piece, eight ■ feet long,. two inches thick at the butt, tapering to half an inch at the other extremity. The reel is made to hold several thousand yards of the best cotton line, with a wire trace leading to the hook, which is sis

inches long. The whole outfit costs about £60.

When the angler arrives on the coast he usually hires a local fisherman with his rowing boat. A swivel seat is then securely fixed to the boat.

The angler takes his place in fhe swivel seat, to which he is harnessed. He then places the butt c.nd of his rod in the universal socket which is fixed to the bottom of the boat. Then he hooks the rod on to his harness as a drummer hooks his drum to his shoulderstraps. A stout rope is tied round the angler and passed along and tied round the oarsman as' a precaution against the angler being pulled, seat and all, overboard by these giant fish. Next, the tunny hook is baited with a whole herring, which is wired on. This is then dropped over the side with other herrings, and a shoal of tunny will sweep by at an estimated speed of 50 miles an hour, taking all before them. The tunny is hooked and the reel screeches as the lino runs out at a terrific speed.

It is essentially a sport for the strong man or woman, as seasickness often takes sides with the fish in the great fight. Experienced anglers have been known to hook and lose as many as twenty fish before being successful. Tunny markings are similar to those of mackerel when.fresh, but underneath the smooth skin they hava a coat of quarter-inch armour of horny scale. The contour of the tunny's body is the most perfect specimen of streamlining known. •