28 THE ENGLISH ANGLER IN FLORIDA ni 



choose his ground just as our Thames fishermen select their 



swims. It may be that you have the great tarpon all around 



you, and can see their swirls as the fish, head downwards, are 



foraging amongst weeds or on the bottom. 



Now you make ready your tackle, and bait your hook. 



The reel already described is well fashioned for the process of 



casting Nottingham style, and a 20 or 30 yards 

 At Anchor. 



cast or more should be aimed at. When the 



tarpon is biting heartily he is very free and fearless, and I have 



had my bait snapped within half a dozen yards of the boat. 



The portions of the mullet which you do not use for bait are 



broken up and cast in for " chum," which is the local name 



for ground bait. It often happens that this is the prelude to a 



long period of waiting. There yonder is the bait lying on the 



bottom ; the rod is placed down in the boat, with a few yards 



of line coiled off free, as in pike-fishing. Two rods, and even 



three, are sometimes used, one from each bow and one from 



the quarter. Your man will handle those in the bows, and it 



is your business to sit on the thwart facing the stern and look 



after your own affairs. 



Sometimes for hours you are worried by the dirty, slimy 



cat-fish, which simply swarm on these grounds. I believe 



