Ill SPORT WITH TARPON 35 



burrowing head downwards, and it is not an uncommon thing 

 to have your boat a second time towed about a lagoon as if 

 the fish would never be tired out. Even when apparently done, 

 and the grand game Silver King, by sheer hauling, is brought, 

 apparently worn out, in on his side, he will renew his flounder 

 around, or attempt to go under the boat. This is a most 

 exciting moment, but the short rod enables the angler to frus- 

 trate the manoeuvre without great difficulty. 



You now want a sound gaff and a smart gaffer. Many 

 American fishermen, I noticed, used a strongly-barbed gaff — 



an example which I did not follow, though there 



The Gaff. 



may be crises which would suggest it. The gaff, 



anyway, is thrust underneath the gills into the throat. There 

 are stories of strong fish breaking the gaff, dashing free from 

 it, and knocking the boatman backwards, clean out of the 

 boat, in its violence. Sharp and sure, but not reckless gaffing 

 is an art, and there are some of the Florida guides who never 

 make a mistake. The operation properly effected, the boat- 

 man passes the end of a rope through the gills from the 

 outside, secures with a loop, and makes fast to the boat ; then, 

 every one satisfied, and the angler sitting him down to recover 

 his breath, the fishing-boat is paddled back to the yacht, the 



