The Philippines: Past and Present Volume II Part 31

The Philippines offer strong attractions to the devotees of the shotgun and the rifle, and they are a fisherman's paradise.

Having in my earlier days spent some four years in collecting natural history specimens in the islands I did not need to be enlightened as to the pleasure which might be had in hunting ducks, snipe, sh.o.r.e birds, jungle fowl, and wild pigeons; nor as to those afforded to the hunter of large game by bringing down wild carabaos, hogs, and deer, bagging an occasional man-eating crocodile, or trying to outwit the wily tamarau of Mindoro, which is one of the most difficult of all forest-inhabiting ruminants to track down and kill, and has an uncomfortable habit of hunting the hunter when molested; but now, in view of my neglected early opportunities, I must confess with shame and confusion of face that it remained for Governor-General Forbes to show me, after I had resided in the islands for sixteen years that I had been missing a sport fit for kings by not sooner taking up fishing in the sea.

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 att.i.tude 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 a.s.surance 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.

In the Philippines, as in other civilized countries, there are not lacking narrators of good "fish stories." From Filipino residents of San Juan, Siquijor, I recently heard a tale of a barracuda which towed a native dugout boat all day, jumping frequently, and was finally cut loose after dark by its disgusted would-be captors who found themselves unable to tire it out!

Of tanguingui, or sail fish, there are at least two species. The smaller commonly attains a weight of twenty to forty pounds. In the open sea off the coast of Leyte I took a specimen which measured sixty-four inches in length and weighed sixty-five pounds. It proved to be of a species new to science. This magnificent fish, when fresh from the sea, was a sight calculated to cheer a graven image.

Tanguingui fight much as do barracuda, except that they seldom jump out of the water after being hooked unless pursued by sharks. This seems strange, as under normal conditions they leap for the pure joy of the thing, attaining heights which I hesitate to specify lest I be held to have qualified for the Ananias club. I know of nothing more startling in its way than the shock one gets when his eye has missed the upward leap of a big tanguingui but catches the fish as it is dropping back toward the sea, apparently from the clouds.

While barracuda and tanguingui may be taken throughout the year, there seems to be a time when the fish of the latter species "run." At all events they are found in great numbers during April and May in the vicinity of Fortune Island, a short distance south of Manila Bay, but are very scarce, or entirely absent, there during the remainder of the year. I once visited the famous fishing grounds around Tanguingui Island, north of Cebu, in August, only to be a.s.sured by a light-keeper that I would find no fish at that season. He said that the barracuda would return in November and the tanguingui in February. His prediction as to the fishing in August promptly came true.

Pampano rank high among the game fish of the Philippines. What will California coast fishermen, accustomed to taking little fellows weighing a pound or two, say to fifty-pound individuals? I can imagine what they would say if not confronted by hard facts, but the truth is that a number of such pampanos have already been taken with rod and reel in the Philippines, and that there are plenty more waiting to be caught. During a trip to Palawan in December, 1911, Captain Tornroth of the coast guard cutter Polillo took a forty-nine-pound specimen. The same evening Dr. Victor G. Heiser, Director of Health, took an individual weighing thirty-two pounds. The following August the record was raised first to fifty-three pounds and then to sixty-three and a half pounds, the latter fish being caught by Mr. Frank W. Sweitzer.

The pampano takes the hook with a rush and seldom misses his strike. He never leaps while being played, but helps himself to line very liberally at the outset and runs deep at once. A large specimen is never satisfied until almost directly under the boat with several hundred feet of line out, and will get bottom, snag the line on a sharp point of rock or a branch of coral, and break away, if such a thing is materially possible. A pampano never quits fighting until he is in the boat, and is an adept at turning up his broad side after being hooked and swimming in a circle, resisting to the utmost all efforts to raise him. Under reasonably favourable circ.u.mstances it usually takes from twenty minutes to half an hour to land a twenty-five-pound individual. Pampano run in schools and when they once begin to bite the fun is fast and furious.

The sergeant fish is one of the gamest fighters for his weight to be met with in Philippine waters. He keeps up his determined rushes until brought to the side of the boat and leaps frequently while being played, at the same time making vigorous efforts to shake the hook. None of the specimens so far taken have exceeded twenty pounds in weight.

Ocean bonito are often met with in great schools and present a wonderful sight when one drives one's boat among them and sees them leaping high into the air, close at hand, on every side. The largest specimen yet caught with rod and reel is a sixty-pounder taken by Governor Forbes. I have seen numerous individuals which must certainly have weighed a hundred pounds or more.

Red snappers weighing five to twenty pounds also occur in great schools. They are usually caught with bait by sinking in deep water, but at times take the spoon freely. The larger individuals make a game fight. Annually during November and December these fish run in very large numbers from Naujan Lake in Mindoro to the sea. Whether or not they can be captured with rod and line while in fresh water remains to be determined.

The lapu-lapu, or "groupers," of which there are twenty-four known species in the Philippines, do not attain very great size, but are much prized on account of the delicious flavour of their especially tender flesh. Dr. Heiser has taken one weighing twenty-two pounds and I have seen the dried flesh of one which must have weighed approximately forty pounds. The colouring of a number of the species is extraordinarily beautiful. Some are light gray with round blue spots; others carmine red with blue spots over the body and blue lines and bars about the head; others are dark blue with carmine spots. There seems no end to the variety and beauty of the colour patterns, and each new one appears for the moment more wonderful than those which one has seen before.

Lapu-lapu have a special fondness for crevices in the rocks, and for holes in coral reefs, and in consequence are responsible for the loss of much good tackle. One must fight them from the moment they strike and give them no slack. The penalty for any carelessness in this regard is a broken line.

Leather jacks, commonly called dorados in the Philippines on account of their beautifully coloured yellow bellies, are extraordinarily abundant at certain seasons of the year when they run into the shallow waters at the heads of bays and sounds, apparently to sp.a.w.n. When encountered at all they afford good sport for their size, fighting well and frequently making splendid leaps out of the water even after they are brought close to the boat and are apparently tired out. They commonly run from five to fifteen pounds in weight, but occasionally reach eighteen or twenty pounds.

The Philippine giant sea-ba.s.s, or jewfish, belongs to the same family as does the California species. While I was on sh.o.r.e at Maeander Reef in August, 1911, numerous hand lines with which sailors were fishing from the Polillo were carried away by jewfish. With the permission of the captain, the ship's log line was then pressed into service. I returned to the steamer just in time to a.s.sist in landing a hundred-and-thirty pound specimen. A steam trawler, which operated for a short time in the Philippines, took a specimen seven feet three inches in length, which weighed three hundred thirty-four and a fourth pounds.

In Coron Pa.s.sage during July, 1911, I fought a very large fish, probably a jewfish, for an hour and twenty minutes, at the end of which time his dead weight broke my line when Governor Forbes, who was with me, attempted to lift him by it after he had indulged in a prolonged sulk in deep water. Although I had fought him steadily, I could not see that I had tired him in the least. In the course of the fracas the b.u.t.t of my rod had made a two by three inch black and blue spot on my right leg and had worn the skin off over a similar area on my left leg, while my abdomen lacked a good deal of epidermis and I was tempted to believe that it lacked some dermis as well. My companions who witnessed the fruitless fight christened this particular fish the "sea carabao." [157]

Belt and socket should, of course, be used in fighting fish of such size. Heavy cots for the thumb and first finger of the left hand and the thumb of the right hand are very essential. I once got a badly burned thumb because I thought that I was not likely to hook a fish which would make a quarter-inch-thick leather brake heat through. A big ocean bonito promptly undeceived me.

Very exciting sport may be had by harpooning the huge rays which come to the surface in great numbers at certain seasons of the year. Specimens thirty feet across have been taken in the vicinity of the island of Siquijor. When one of these great fishes is harpooned, Filipino fishermen make two or three large boats fast to it as soon as possible for the reason that a single boat might be dragged under. Even so the taking of giant rays is not unattended with danger, for they make most extraordinary leaps into the air, and were one of them to fall on a boat the result would be disastrous.

We have knowledge of the existence of other very large game fishes which we have not as yet so much as seen. One species is taken by the natives of Siquijor, who use a three-quarter inch Manila rope and fish in water of considerable depth. A number of boats work close together and as soon as a fish is hooked all flock to the a.s.sistance of the lucky fisherman. A tremendous struggle then ensues and we are a.s.sured that if the fish is landed, it makes a meal for a whole village. What this species may be we do not know.

One of the charms of fishing in the Philippines lies in the fact that one can never tell what one is going to strike next. At Maeander Reef I took the first yellowtail ever caught in the islands with rod and line. Doubtless there are plenty more where that one came from. Indeed, yellowtails are common in the market at Zamboanga at certain seasons. Off the coast of Mindoro I took the first dolphin known to have been captured in these waters. On a recent trip I took a large porgy of a species new to the Philippines and likely to prove new to science. As yet we have hardly begun to explore the fishing grounds. What shall we find among the swift currents of the Batanes Islands, and what along the barrier reef of the unexplored east coast of northern Luzon? No one knows!

Although some 1400 species of fish have already been reported from the Philippines, new ones are constantly being added to the list, and it is rather a rare event when a returning party of fishermen fails to present the ichthyologist with one or more puzzles. On my first trip to Apo Reef, Dr. Heiser hooked a tremendous fish which leisurely went its way regardless of his efforts to control its movement. At one time it deigned to come under the bottom of the launch and within forty feet of the surface, where it could be seen with perfect distinctness. It was a long, slender, gamy-looking creature weighing perhaps one hundred fifty pounds, and it had vertical yellow bars on its sides. No such fish is known from these waters. Having viewed the boat to its satisfaction, it proceeded to go back to the reef and to take refuge under its overhanging edge. Vigorous efforts to dislodge it, lasting for half an hour, resulted only in sawing off a heavy wire leader.

One may tire for the moment of catching fish, but with a gla.s.s-bottomed boat at his disposal he will never tire of looking at them as he floats over the wonderful coral reefs for which the archipelago is famous. Certainly there are no "sea gardens" anywhere which can excel those of the Philippines. The powerful tropical sun penetrates the marvellously clear sea water to a great depth, revealing marine animal and plant life in endlessly varied and marvellously beautiful forms which beggar description. Former Secretary of War d.i.c.kinson is a rather serious-minded man, but when he gazed for the first time through the gla.s.s bottom of a boat into one of these wonder houses of nature, he shouted in his excitement and delight for all the world like a small and enthusiastic boy.

In a few moments one may see fish of the most amazing forms and extraordinarily bizarre colours: huge sharks; enormous rays; great sea-turtles; clam sh.e.l.ls big enough for children's bath-tubs; sea-urchins; starfish; sea-anemones; jellyfish in endless variety of form and colour; sea-fans; and many other varied forms of marine animal and plant life.

When one grows weary of the water, one may land on snowy coral-sand beaches, bordered by cocoanut palms, may visit old deserted Spanish forts rapidly being invaded by rank tropical vegetation; may gather exquisite orchids; or may for the time being subst.i.tute hunting for fishing. In the Sulu Sea he may visit wonderful bird islands where the feathered folk refuse to get out of his way and peck viciously at his legs if he comes too near.

All these delightful experiences may be had without suffering any discomfort from the Philippine climate, concerning which such absurd ideas prevail among the uninformed. From November to March the temperature is delightful, except during the midday hours of bright days, when fish do not bite well in any event, and when sensible people keep off the water.

Thus far I have referred only to those game fishes which I myself have taken, or concerning which I happen to have personal knowledge. I will now briefly summarize what is at present known about the game fishes of the Philippines.

The albacore is fairly common, especially during the cooler months.

Amberjacks, reaching a length of two feet or more, are also common.

There are barracudas of seven different species, some of which attain a length of six feet and weigh a hundred pounds or more.

Bonitos of four different species have been taken. The "ocean bonito"

and the "true bonito" are both abundant and afford fine sport. The larger individuals sometimes attain a weight of a hundred pounds or more.

There are six different species of croakers, also called roncadores. Some individuals reach a weight of a hundred pounds.

Groupers, locally known as lapu-lapu, are found in great variety, no less than twenty-four species having been recorded.

Hardtails, reaching a length of three feet, are abundant.

Leather-jacks, commonly called dorados, are also very abundant. They take the spoon freely and fight well. In weight they commonly run from five to fifteen pounds.

There are several small species of mackerel which are excellent table fish and afford fair sport.

Pampanos are found in great variety, no less than thirty species having already been recorded. Individuals weighing as much as fifty pounds are not uncommon.

Porgies of twelve different species have been taken, and some of the individuals have weighed up to thirty pounds.

Of snappers we have thirty-four known species. The red snapper not infrequently attains a weight of twelve to fifteen pounds, and the larger individuals fight well. At times they take the spoon freely. The gray snapper runs up to forty pounds in weight and makes a good fight. The rivulated snapper, which takes its name from the form of its beautiful colour pattern, is a good game fish, and I have seen specimens which weighed up to twenty pounds.

Sea-ba.s.s of two distinct species are common. Specimens weighing fifty to seventy-five pounds are frequently seen in the markets. The largest specimen as yet recorded from the islands weighed three hundred thirty-four and a fourth pounds.