Fort Myers 



time to swallow the hook, you strike (or, as 

 the local people term it, " snub him "), to fix 

 the hook firmly. Then the fun begins, for 

 that tarpon, on the instant he feels the hook, 

 jumps clean out of the water six or seven feet 

 into the air, shakes his head, turns somersaults, 

 and behaves generally as though he were mad. 

 The boatman, meanwhile, has thrown over- 

 board his small buoy that marks where the 

 anchor is left, and paddles cautiously after the 

 flying fish. The excitement is great, and the 

 exertion required is downright back-breaking 

 hard work. A good fish will jump twenty or 

 more times, taking the line from the reel in 

 rushes of one hundred yards at a time, finally 

 jumping into the air. This, too, although you 

 are putting every pound of strain on the rod 

 and thumb-brake that you can possibly exert. 

 At length, perhaps after thirty minutes' frantic 

 efforts on both sides, the fish can be towed near 

 enough to the boat to allow the gaff to be used. 

 This has to be stuck into his gills, for it is im- 

 possible to drive the point of the gaff, however 

 large, sharp, and strong it may be, through 

 those thick scales of his. At length you have 

 him ; the end of a rope is passed through his 

 mouth and gills, and he is made fast to the stern 

 of the boat, to be eventually towed to wherever 

 you are living, and then weighed. If you are 

 staying in a hotel, it is the custom to present one 



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