FISHING AT HOME AND ABROAD 

 rod, and when he sees the slack line running slowly through the rings, he 

 quietly picks up the rod, waits till all the line is out, and then strikes with 

 all his might. By this time the unfortunate tarpon ought to have the hook 

 and its cowhide leader well down in its inside. No doubt it puts up a 

 good fight, even with such a handicap, but it cannot do itself the same 

 justice as a fish hooked in the mouth. Where tarpon have to be caught in 

 rivers, there seems, however, to be no choice. It is a case of gorge-fishing 

 or nothing. 



NATURAL HISTORY OF THE TARPON 



The life story of this splendid fish is anything but an open book, but 

 the few facts generally known about it may be of interest. That it jumps 

 high out of the water when hooked will have been gathered from what has 

 gone before. That it rarely jumps on any other occasion may also be 

 taken for granted, but that it sometimes does so, when pursuing its prey 

 or possibly when escaping from sharks, is also incontestable. This trick 

 of leaping is characteristic of other kinds of fish in the Gulf. The great 

 whiprays jump continually to throw off the sucking-fish that cling to 

 them, but they are unable to dash through the water at the great pace 

 of the tarpon, else they would not have any need of such gymnastics. The 

 little ladyfish, which may be caught on light tackle in the backwaters, 

 is an even more determined acrobat than the tarpon, throwing one 

 somersault after another when hooked. One case, at any rate, of a 

 tarpon performing a high jump without the provocation of a hook in 

 its mouth is recorded from Miami, where a fish of 130 pounds jumped 

 on board a steam yacht, in 1905, and did much damage before it could be 

 dispatched. Many a salmon has jumped into boats before now, but a 

 living projectile of such weight must have been a novel experience to those 

 on board. 



The tarpon's food and manner of feeding cannot be said to be matter of 

 common knowledge. That it preys on mullet and other small fish is certain, 

 for clouds of these may be seen leaping out of water to escape from its jaws, 

 like minnows before a trout. Most of its second cousins, the herrings — ^the 

 relationship is hardly perhaps so close, but the kinship may be thus 

 indicated for practical purposes — ^feed at the surface, and the tarpon does 

 likewise, but it also feeds forty or fifty feet or more beneath the surface, 

 as proved by its taking the bait at that depth, and Vom Hofe used to catch 

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