166 IRISHES OF THE EAST ATLANTIC COAST. 



forenoon in August last, at Mile Point, he had ten tarpon bites and 

 i ailed to land a tish. The inside of the mouth of this fish is like 

 gutta-percha. The tongue resembles that of a calf, and with it they 

 seem to eject the bait. The lower jaw points upwards, and on the 

 upper are two moveable plates, armed with minute teeth. With 

 these armed plates they seem to cut the line. 



The tarpon takes the bait near the surface or at the bottom. At 

 times, after taking the bait they will instantly appear in the air near 

 the boat; and at others they will run with lightning-like rapidity 

 ior a long distance, and then indulge in their acrobatic performances. 

 It seems that they hold the bait in their mouths, and when they 

 jump and are in the air, shake their heads and eject the bait. It is a 

 <;ommon thing for them to retain the bait until they jump, and to 

 the astonishment of the fishermen when they reach the water the 

 bait is clear and the fish is off at a tangent. 



Over two years since I prepared a tackle which I fancied would 

 circumvent the silvery beauties. I attached three of Job Johnson's 

 No. 2 drum hooks to a stout cotton snood. I lapped the hooks one 

 above the other, so that the snood was not exposed. I then passed 

 the three ho'^ks through a half mullet, and was rewarded with a 

 bite. I " yanked," and the performance commenced. My line was 

 600 feet in length, and after a half hour's vaulting and lightning- 

 like rushes the fish succumoed. I requested the boatman to up 

 anchor and row for shore. The fish quietly followed the boat, but 

 before I reached the beach the snood was cut off with his scissor-like 

 jaws. Upon examining my tackle I found that he had swallowed 

 the bait, and the unprotected portion of the snood had been cut by 

 tlie moveable maxillary plates of the fish. 



'J'o give your readers some idea of the strength of the tarpon, I 

 shall merely refer to two instances illustrative of their prowess. On 

 one occasion I was fishing for channel bass, and McMillen, the boat- 

 man, requested permission to put out my tarpon line. I baited the 

 gang of hooks mounted on piano wire. On a board was wound 

 700 feet of line. I requested McMillen to unwind all the line and 

 coil it on the bottom of the boat, and if he hooked a fish, to pass the 

 line to me. Very soon I saw a tarpon vault in the air, and on reach- 



