THE TARPON 83 



that monster capable of taking a hook and holding it in its 

 leechlike sucker of a month. Sportsmen may go to Florida 

 for the tarpon, as they now go to the Arctic Zone for the 

 reindeer, walrus and musk-ox." 



In the Forest mid Stream of January 9, 1890, Dr. Henshall, 

 in the course of an article descriptive of Floridian fishes says : 

 ^*The tarpon has achieved notoriety as a game fish with- 

 in the past five or six years, principally through the writ- 

 ings of Dr. C. J. Kenworthy ; and Mr. W. H. Wood has re- 

 ceived credit generally of killing the first tarpon of over 

 100 pounds with rod and reel in March, 1885 ; but justice 

 compels me to state that the first event of this kind occur- 

 red in the winter of 1880-81 when Samuel H. Jones of 

 Philadelphia killed a tarpon of 170 pounds on ordinary 

 heavy striped bass tackle in the Fort Pierce channel of 

 Indian River Inlet on the East Coast of Florida. I was in 

 this locality the winter following this feat and learned the 

 full particulars of this extraordinary performance from 

 Mr. Thomas Paine (son of Judge Paine of Fort Capron), 

 who was Mr. Jones' boatman on the occasion referred to. 

 Afterwards I received a full account of it from a son of 

 Mr. Jones, who was also with him and witnessed the cap- 

 ture of this immense fish with striped bass rod and tackle 

 and trolling spoon for bait. Mr. Jones was two hours in 

 securing the fish. Honor to whom honor is due. Mr. Wood 

 has glory enough in being the champion tarpon slayer of 

 1885, and he has an enviable record. He was the first to 

 make known through the sporting press how the thing 

 could be done." 



Dr. Holder in an early article stated that Mr. Jones took the 

 first tarpon with rod and reel and that it weighed about one 

 hundred and thirty pounds. He says it took over two hours to 

 land it and that Mr. John Weier of New Smyrna was the lucky 

 guide. 



