THE BOOK OF THE TARPON 



fisherman, and was strong enough to tow him 

 in his skiff for miles. 



Slowly tackle was fitted to the fish. Special 

 lines were constructed, two hundred yards in 

 length, which would support a weight of thirty 

 pounds, and big reels built that would hold the 

 lines and stand the strain of their use. Many 

 fishermen wound two hundred yards of fine line 

 on jfieir reels before putting on the heavier one 

 with which the fish was to be fought. If, then, 

 the tarpon got away with the fighting line he 

 could be followed through the lighter one for 

 another two hundred yards. Snells were con- 

 structed of braided flax, soft and strong, of so 

 many threads that before they could all be 

 ground apart between the jaws of the quarry, 

 either fish or fisherman would be dead. The 

 early rods were simply eight-foot lengths of 

 tough bamboo, and for real business they are 

 about as serviceable as the thirty-dollar rod of 

 to-day. 



The first bait used was the half of a mullet, 

 through the skin of which the tarpon hook was 

 ingeniously sewed in a way that completely con- 

 cealed it. The earliest fishing grounds were the 



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