THE TARPON 155 



SHARK FISHING AT BOCA GRANDE PASS. 



"Third Fisherman. Master, I marvel how the fishes live in the 

 sea. 

 First Fisherman. Why, as men do a-land; the great ones eat 

 up the little ones." 



Pericles 



When fishing is at its height and anglers are releasing many 

 spent tarpon and miscellaneous fish, the sharks haunt the scene 

 and become bold and voracious. There are about one hundred 

 and fifty species of sharks, but on this portion of the West 

 Coast the hammerhead, the gulf, the mackerel and the sand 

 shark are most numerous, and it is the hammerhead which 

 chiefly preys upon the tarpon when it is struggling to free it- 

 self from the hook of the angler. Sharks rarely attempt the 

 capture of a vigorous fish which is free to defend itself by its 

 speed, but Dr. Beebe has established by his submarine work 

 that when a fish is struggling upon the hook and a wandering 

 shark perceives that it is hampered, it is instantly attacked 

 and devoured. 



In 1928, at Boca Grande Pass, that veteran and accomplish- 

 ed angler, Hon. W. R. Turner, observed a shark seize a free 

 tarpon which was rolling with others close to his boat. But 

 such instances are rare. I have heard of only a few others. 



After the angler has had one or more tarpon taken off his 

 line by a predatory shark, he meditates reprisals and a few 

 suggestions may not be amiss. 



The necessary equipment for this fishing is neither costly 

 nor elaborate. You will need a shark hook of moderate size. 

 The hook should be equipped with a bronze cable to which a 

 telegraph wire about ten feet long should be attached. The 

 rope is then out of reach of the shark 's jaws. The loop of the 

 wire to which the line is attached should be wrapped with cloth 

 to protect the line from cutting. Any strong rope will do as a 



