22 THE TARPON 



be found in the rivers and creeks on the West Coast of Florida. 

 They begin to show along the Coast in January, and from 

 that time their numbers slowly but steadily increase up to 

 July. They do not take the bait readily till April, or later, 

 if the Spring is cold. The fishing here is at its best in May, 

 June and July. 



For three or four days, in October, 1924, the fishing at Boca 

 Grande was excellent. A friend of mine caught ten in three 

 hours but they soon disappeared. The late Lewis Bremer, in- 

 formed me that he never saw larger fish or had better fishing 

 in May. Tarpon ascend to the head waters of Floridian 

 rivers. On the East Coast of Florida they are caught at any 

 season, but they are never so plenty as on the other coast. 

 The tarpon feeds upon mullet, pinfish, sea catfish, sardines, 

 shrimp, needlefish, crabs and such like prey. 



Several years ago while fishing in Boca Grande Pass, my 

 attention was directed to immense schools of minnows close 

 to the beach. There were myriads of them in the clear water, 

 six feet or less in depth. They remained in this neighborhood 

 for several hours, a prey for the birds above and the fish be- 

 low. We observed the tarpon swimming through these schools 

 with open mouths, catching the minnows by the hundreds, in- 

 haling them, so to speak. The tarpon were so preoccupied by 

 their good fortune that they permitted our boat to come very 

 close. I never saw this occur except on this occasion. 



The very young of the tarpon were not observed for many 

 years. A ten or eleven-pound fish was rarely caught, and until 

 1900 the smallest tarpon in the National Museum was nine 

 inches long. Many j^ears ago Dimock recorded the capture of 

 tarpon weighing less than two pounds in the Harney River 

 near the Everglades and stated that the Allen and Turner 

 rivers on the West Coast are nurseries for them. He caught 

 them on an eight ounce rod with a fly. 



I am indebted to Mr. George E, Bruner of Kokomo, Indi- 

 ana, for some very interesting facts. Mr. Bruner has a winter 

 residence at Everglade, Florida. In a personal letter he says : 



