Tarpon Fishing in Florida 



get away from the house at about seven. 

 There is said to be no advantage in an 

 early start, except that the first boats off 

 obtain the choice of grounds ; tarpon are 

 more likely to bite on the flood tide than 

 at any especial time of day. Each angler 

 has his man and boat, an ordinary lap- 

 streak row-boat about eight feet in length, 

 such as is commonly used at seaside re- 

 sorts. There is, of course, a considerable 

 choice in guides ; and it is important for 

 a novice to get a skilful boatman, who 

 knows the grounds. The hotel is about 

 one-third of a mile from the wharf, and 

 for the convenience of everybody a wag- 

 onet and pair makes trips perpetually for 

 a trifling remuneration. The pier, as at 

 Punta Gorda, juts out several hundred yards, 

 and from the end of it sheep's-head are 

 taken in profusion. Only a few days be- 

 fore my arrival a large leopard shark had 

 been hooked and landed from the same 

 place. 



The tarpon grounds lie anywhere from 

 two to eight miles from the pier. My 

 boatman a white man, as most of the 

 boatmen at St. James City are advised 

 our trying the nearest, Matalacha Pass, as 

 it was called. The best places for fishing 

 at this season are on the points of the 



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