THE TARPON, 123 



one can see the Bay Mullet makinj^^ their customary three 

 long skips, in any one of which they could easily clear a small 

 boat. When chased by large fish, I have seen them make 

 great leaps, darting out of the water with the rapidity of an 

 arrow. Tarpon frequently leave the water while chasing 

 Mullet, and when it comes to jumping, they are without an 

 equal in the piscatorial world. 



With the recital of a typical day's sport at Naples, I believe 

 I will have told the reader about all that I know and that I 

 consider worth relation in connection with this superb sport. 

 I say "typical," but I mean that word only in a circumscribed 

 sense. Possibly I should have said "typical good day's" 

 sport; for many are the days when the Tarpon fisherman 

 returns without anything to show for his efforts. 



It was early in April, and the day was a bright and beauti- 

 ful one. In company with my boatman, Ben, I started 

 from the Hotel Naples at about nine o'clock in the morning. 

 They do say that he who would catch a Tarpon must be up 

 with the dawn; but, as I have almost invariably hooked my 

 fish shortly before or after noon, I do not bother about an 

 early start. The half-mile walk from the hotel back to the 

 boat-house on the Bay of Naples is soon accomplished. The 

 fishing-grounds are very accessible. A row of two miles up 

 the bay, and we are at a favorite spot. The Bay of Naples 

 is lined with Mangrove trees. These form a verdant border 

 which blends happily with the dark waters, rendering the 

 picture as lovely an one as human eye ever rested upon. Back 

 of the Mangroves are the pine and hammock lands. Near 

 our anchoring-point was a grove of tall palms, whose fans 

 were rustling in the brisk southern breeze. Before casting 

 anchor I drop my hook, baited with the tail-half of a Mullet, 

 and direct Ben to row off twenty-five or thirty yards. The 

 bait sinks to the bottom in five or six feet of water, near to 

 the channel. Nothing to do now but await developments; 



