A BOOK OF FISHING STORIES 



knowledge was won only after long acquaintance with the 

 fish in the nets, and in those early days these mighty fish were 

 considered a nuisance and a danger, since, when trapped in a 

 seine, they played havoc with the net, and are even said to have 

 caused the death of fishermen against whom they leaped in their 

 wild dash for freedom. Gradually, however, the angler sub- 

 dued the Silver King to his purpose, and already science has 

 bestowed on it the name Megalops thrissoides or M. Atlanticus. 



The tarpon grows to an immense size and weight. 

 Specimens of over 7 feet have been recorded, and the highest 

 authentic weight is 210 lb., though one American work on 

 popular natural history refers to a maximum weight of 300 lb., 

 without, however, giving chapter and verse. Apart from its 

 size, which alone would make it a formidable foe on the rod, 

 the tarpon is a keen fighter. It behaves, one might say, like 

 the orthodox salmon, only more so, and, but for the sulking, 

 which is no part of its programme, it goes through the 

 regulation performances with rather more than the regulation 

 enthusiasm. When hooked, it scarcely ever omits to jump, 

 and indeed the first indication of having hooked one of these 

 fish in deep water is that of the line slowly rising to the 

 surface, to be followed by the sudden apparition of the fish 

 itself, perhaps six feet out of water and sometimes fifty or a 

 hundred yards from the boat. Not all fish behave alike, and 

 it is a common experience to have one run straight towards 

 you, leaping within a few feet of the boat and drenching you 

 in the spray that it throws off in its somersault. 



There has been much argument over the greatest height 



146 



