The Taking of Big Game Fishes 



With such an equipment, varying according to 

 tastes, the angler is ready for action, and to find 

 big game fish goes to one of the three more or 

 less well-defined regions. Florida, beginning with 

 Indian River, including Key West and the outer reef 

 up to Cedar Keys, may be considered one. Here 

 the sawfish, giant ray, jewfish, barracuda, and black 

 grouper are found. The season begins, except for 

 tarpon, in December, and March generally marks the 

 arrival of the first tarpon. At Indian River the later 

 the arrival the better the fishing, and as far south as 

 the keys between Cape Florida and Key West, the 

 angler will find sport earlier and at all times. Of 

 course the summer season is the best for sport. I tried 

 it for several years, but the intense heat and the mos- 

 quitoes more than off-set the additional catches. If 

 midsummer tarpon fishing in comfort is desired, I 

 would advise Aransas Pass. Here, at the little town 

 of Tarpon, or at the Aransas Pass Tarpon Club, 

 attractive conditions are found in midsummer an 

 omnipresent breeze, day and night, no malaria and 

 few if any mosquitoes; conditions hard to be believed, 

 but true. Here are the jewfish, the jack of a size to 

 test the strength of the angler, king fish, hammer- 

 head, the leaping shark, and tarpon, in such numbers 

 that it is a rare occurrence for an angler on any day to 

 draw a blank. Aransas Pass is reached by boat or 

 cars from New York by the former to Galveston, 

 and by the latter to San Antonio; from here the 



