TARPON FISHING 



Indian River now has less water at that point 

 than it had before. By letting in the salt 

 water, they changed the character of the 

 lovely St. Lucie River; for the brackish 

 water killed all the vines that hung in gar- 

 lands from the trees. It also changed the 

 character of the fish to be found there. 

 Mullet in great schools came into the river 

 on the flood-tides, and were to be found ten 

 miles up the North Branch, and tarpon fol- 

 lowed the mullet in large numbers. I saw 

 more tarpon that winter, and larger ones, 

 than I have seen in the ten years since. It 

 was that winter that I acquired the taste for 

 river fishing. 



The tarpon that come to the rivers, 

 bayous, and inlets of our coast in April and 

 May in great numbers leave in the autumn, 

 supposedly for the warmer waters of the 

 Gulf Stream; but some fish remain in the 

 deep rivers of the east coast of Florida all 

 winter. They do not show on cold days; 

 but if the water is sixty-eight degrees, or 

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