Tbe Tarpon 253 



Mason of Denver took eighty tarpons at Aransas 

 Pass, and his record for 1902 was even more 

 remarkable. Mr. Mason observed a tarpon leap 

 fifteen feet over a boat containing two men, clear- 

 ing the men's heads by ten feet; and doubtless 

 this is sometimes exceeded. If the records of this 

 exciting fishing-ground could all be told, they 

 would test the credulity of many who do not go 

 down to the sea to fish. Judge Houston and a 

 friend landed nineteen tarpons in two and a half 

 days' fishing, which is a remarkable feat when 

 the activity of the fish is considered. 



The fishing at Aransas Pass is mainly trolling, 

 and nearly all fish not desired as trophies are towed 

 to the beach, hauled up, measured, and after a 

 scale is taken, released. Few fish are weighed 

 here. If the angler is curious as to the weight of 

 his catch, he uses the following formula, which 

 gives a good general average : Weight in pounds 

 is equal to the square of the maximum girth in 

 inches, multiplied by the length in inches, divided 

 by eight hundred. The Texas tarpon is by no 

 means particular as to bait. I found that live or 

 stale bait was equally acceptable, and a variety of 

 fishes can be used as lures. The tarpons begin 

 to gather in the Pass in October, and the first 



