Tarpon Fishing in Florida 



oyster-bed bars in the shallower water on 

 the edge of the channel. The fish come 

 in with the tide, and follow the winding 

 channel, which runs close to the bars. 

 The whole harbor is intersected by these 

 oyster-beds ; and there are many sand-keys 

 and numerous islands completely covered 

 with mangrove bushes, which seem to 

 spring out of the sea, so deeply are the 

 roots immersed. The mangrove is ex- 

 tremely prolific, and is largely in excess of 

 all other growths in this neighborhood. 



I anchored by chance not far from the 

 gentleman who had killed the five tarpon, 

 and very soon another angler took up a 

 position some two hundred yards in my 

 rear. There was good fishing for all three 

 boats, my guide said ; but it is an unwrit- 

 ten law that when a tarpon is hooked, the 

 other boats on the ground shall be kept 

 out of the way of the fortunate man. I 

 observed that each of my rivals had two 

 rods in use, one of which was tended by 

 the boatman, although the process of tend- 

 ing is a very simple one until a fish takes 

 hold. 



Some one has well described the waiting 



experience in tarpon-fishing as "sitting in 



a Turkish bath looking at a string." You 



bait your hook with a collop of mullet, and 



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