mpossible to touch the reel
except at the risk of cutting the fingers. The fisherman sits facing the
stern of the launch, with the butt of his rod fixed in a hole under his
seat. If little line is left, the fisherman may put on the leather brake
hard down, and try to enable the fish to break his line; or else wait
until the end comes, and chance a damaged reel or rod. Unless he has a
spare rod or reel in the boat, the former course is the best. It is
thought that this course of events, which is by no means rare, is caused
by the hooking of a very large fish.

If a fish of about 100lb. is hooked, his usual tactics are either a
series of lightning rushes, which must be followed by the steersman,
who must be as quick to go astern as to go forward, or else the fish
goes off at tremendous speed a few feet below the surface. The tuna
never jumps like the tarpon when hooked, he either rushes along below
the surface or goes deep. There are 2000 fathoms of water round Avalon.
His mouth is not hard like the tarpon, and the hook therefore goes well
in; he apparently knows that he cannot shake it out by leaping in the
air. Sometimes the hook tears out, but most fish are lost by breakage.
It is perhaps more by the skill of the steersman and the quickness of
the launch than by the merit of the fisherman that the capture is
effected. When beaten, the fish is gaffed.

Many tall stories are told in Avalon of adventures with tuna, though
many of them probably happened when the fish was pursued in a rowing
boat. In the launches now in use the fisherman has a better chance. The
small boats were towed by the fish at their will. It is reported that on
one occasion a boat was towed over to the mainland during the night, and
was off Avalon again in the morning. Mr. F.V. Ryder, the Secretary of
the Tuna Club, informed me that he went off with provisions to a launch
that had been engaged for seven hours with a tuna, and found the boatman
in charge of the rod, owing to the complete exhaustion of the
fisherman. He returned again seven hours afterwards, and found the
boatman still struggling with the fish, which was nearly beaten. At the
boatman's request, he gaffed the fish, which went off with the gaff and
was lost, owing to the hook tearing away. The fish was the largest he
had ever seen hooked, appearing to be probably 400lb. or 500lb. Mr.
Ryder informed me that he had landed six tuna in one day, and also in
one day had lost no fewer than five