20 THE TARPON 



machete to cut their heads off as soon as they strike the 

 deck. They are not esteemed for eating and nobody at- 

 tempts to catch them." 

 Lake Nicaragua is over one hundred feet above the Atlantic 

 and its outlet has five sharp rapids. It is probable that fine 

 sport can be obtained in the river although Simmons' state- 

 ments are possibly too highly colored. (See: Miller's Art. 

 "Fresh Water Tarpon" listed in bibliography.) 



Dr. Townsend and Mr. Henry D. Whiton found great num- 

 bers of tarpon feeding on cutlass fish about a foot long in Cal- 

 casieu River, Louisiana, which flows into the Gulf of Mexico 

 about thirty miles east of the Texas line. After the river 

 leaves a lake it flows through the Calcasieu Pass and enters 

 the Gulf. In this Pass the tarpon were so thick that the oars of 

 the boat frequently hit them. The water was brackish and the 

 time was August, 1928. As the water was shallow and the bot- 

 tom was lined with oyster reefs which cut the line, it was found 

 almost impossible to land the fish which refused mullet and 

 crabs but took a Wilson spoon and a tuna lure as soon as they 

 hit the water. 



The fish has been reported from all the States of the Atlan- 

 tic seaboard, as well as Central America and all the West 

 Indies. It abounds at the spillway of the Gatun Dam, where it 

 is caught on a fly at any time during the year. Dr. Samuel F. 

 Hildebrand observed them in Miraflores Lake between Pedro 

 Miguel and Miraflores Locks. No doubt by this time they have 

 entered the Pacific, where they probably will prosper. I have 

 a doubtful record of one having been caught in the Pacific 

 near the Canal. As it is a warm water fish it is natural that 

 it should retire toward the tropics during cold weather; and 

 therefore, it is not found at the northern and southern ex- 

 tremes of its range, save when it is warm. The ocean absorbs 

 but few of the sun's rays and heats up very slowly for it re- 

 quires a greater amount of heat to raise the temperature of a 

 given quantity of water than any other substance. In a very 

 cold season I assume the fishing is late, even in Florida, be- 



