244 Big Game Fishes 



Back to Paddy came this rollicking answer : 



" Dear Paddy I got your poetic epistle, 



Along with the hake that you sent by the mail ; 

 But what could bewitch you to sing, or to whistle, 

 In strains so melodious the praise of Kinsale ? 



" In all baits you're well skilled, you cod-dragging curmudgeon, 



To hook every fish, from a sprat to a whale ; 

 But your lines shan't catch me by my soul, I'm no gudgeon 

 To flounder or starve in the streets of Kinsale. 



" I know your design is, as usual sell fish ; 



For catch what you will, my old boy, I'll be bail, 

 You'll jolt off to Cork your best hake and best shell- fish, 

 And leave barely a claw for the town of Kinsale." 



Texas should add the tarpon rampant to her 

 escutcheon, as sooner or later the fame of this 

 splendid fish and the remarkable fishing found 

 along her shores will become one of the prime 

 attractions of this region. That I might speak 

 from first hand and describe the capture of the 

 Texas tarpon from actual experience, I made the 

 trip to the Gulf coast in July and August, 1902, 

 finding the fishing at Aransas Pass far beyond 

 my expectations, and what was more surprising, 

 the grounds tempered by a cool breeze which 

 made the sport enjoyable and in every way satis- 

 factory. 



