The Taking of Big Game Fishes 



though some anglers prefer it directly astern, or as 

 near that location as possible. 



Leaping and rushing, the tarpon, under these 

 manipulations, comes slowly in, and is finally pumped 

 alongside. It is well to be ready now for an espe- 

 cially vicious rush ; but it is generally a short one, and 

 the angler ultimately succeeds in reeling the fish up 

 until the end of the five-foot leader is near the tip. 

 The tip of the rod is now slowly and steadily passed 

 forward, the thumb being on the leather brake, and 

 the boatman, gaff in hand, watches his opportunity. 

 A poor gaffer, or an excitable one, will ruin the 

 sport; but assuming that the man understands his 

 duty, he will wait until the fish is amidships, or the 

 angler gives the word, when he will slip the gaff 

 a long pole with a sharp, powerful, steel hook at the 

 end beneath the fish, and, with an upward jerk, 

 impale it in the throat or nearer the mouth if possi- 

 ble. Boatmen are usually provided with a clumsy 

 barbed gaff of indifferent point, with which they have 

 difficulty in gaffing. The gaff should be slender, but 

 strong; the point long and extremely sharp, so that 

 a moderate jerk will impale any fish, and it should 

 be fastened to the boat by a rope twenty or thirty 

 feet in length. I have frequently had the gaff jerked 

 from my hands by a large black sea bass ; to have held 

 on would have been to join the fish in its native 

 element. 



As the boatman gaffs, the angler overruns his line 

 119 



