170 FISHES OF THE EAST ATLANTIC COAST. 



l);i>.> weigliing inuu lueuty lu tixiy pounds ; or if they fish at the 

 Jetties they can kill time by landing sheepshead, cavalli, sea troutl 

 and medium-sized bass. 



As yet, no one in this section except myself has attempted ilie cap- 

 ture of a tarpon with a ro^T- and reel ; and thus far I have been so 

 fortunate as not to ho<^k one with tnis description of tackle. Anothe 

 summer, I will destroy several first-class heavy bass rods or capture 

 one of the silvei ngs with rod, reel, and Cuttyhunk line. 



Tarpon fishing will open a new field worthy of the notice of pis- 

 catorial experts. At present, this sport is in its infancy, but it is 

 probable that the time will arrive, when we shall succeed in captur- 

 ing the silver beauties in greater number than in the past. What is 

 required for the successful capture of these fish, is a double spring, 

 hook, eighteen inches in length, and so arranged that the hooks can 

 be closed ; a half mullet securely attached, and when the bait is 

 interfered with, a catch or ring shall be displaced and the hooks sep- 

 arated to a distance of at least eighteen inches. With such a rig, 

 these fish can be captured ; and the question arises who will inven^ 

 and make a spring hook adapted to tne capture of the silver kings 

 The southwest coast will soon be opened up by railroads and steam_ 

 boats, and, as many fishermen will visit that section, tackle for tar. 

 pon fishing will be required and it should be supplied. 



As a game fish, the silver kings have no equal ; in their lightning- 

 like dashes for liberty, they excel anything wearing scales, and as 

 vaulters they cannot be equalled. I write eulogistically of the tar- 

 pon, for he and I have had more than one tussle. In an article in a 

 recent num/ber of a contemjDorary, a gentleman offered to pay for an 

 excursion ticket to Florida, and three months hotel bill, tc any bne 

 who would land a tarpon with a rod and reel. My impression is, that 

 the gentleman making the offer " has been there," and had his " fing- 

 ers burnt." In Orvis and Cheney's new book entitled "Fishing with 

 a fly," Di". Henshall informs us that " the capture of the salmon is an 

 epic poem, and the taking of the trout an idyl," but we opine that if 

 he found a seven-foot tarpon on the end of his line and succeeded la 

 landing the vaulter, that he would describe the operation as a tragic 

 fc poem. 



