76 THE TARPON 



In No. 1 specimen the length was 6' 4" measured in a straight 

 line from the lower jaw to the tip of the caudal fin. It was 6' 

 51^" following the contour of the body. The scales may not 

 have been quite accurate and the weight included the rope by 

 which the fish w^as suspended. The matured eggs in a female's 

 body will increase the normal weight from about three to five 

 pounds. 



A six-foot fish of normal conformation will have a girth of 

 about 32-33". It will scale from 95 to 105 pounds. You can esti- 

 mate its weight quite closely if you get the length. A simple 

 way to obtain this dimension is to lay off a distance of six feet 

 along both rails of the boat near the stern. If the guide will 

 hold your fish on top of the water opposite the scale for a mo- 

 ment before it is released, its length can be approximately esti- 

 mated. If the boat rides too high to do this comfortably, mark 

 off a similar distance on a harpoon or lance shaft and use it as 

 a measuring stick. I wish to emphasize the fact that I am 

 speaking of normal fish. I have carefully weighed several tar- 

 pon of about six feet in length and had them vary as much as 

 fifteen pounds. 



If you will refer to the above measurements, you Avill note 

 that fish No. 1 had a length of 6' 4" and No. 2 6' 2". The shorter 

 tarpon was 2" larger in girth and the heavier fish. If the latter 

 fish had a measured girth of one and one-half inches more 

 (38"), it would doubtless have weighed over 130 pounds. The 

 girth is the determining factor and tarpon differ quite widely 



