II 



THE COST 



As tarpon-fishing is attracting an increasing number 

 of enthusiasts, partly, no doubt, owing to the ap- 

 parent falling off of tuna at Santa Catalina Island, 

 on the Californian coast, a brief digression on the 

 cost of the trip may perhaps be of use to others 

 minded to try a fall with this grand fish. Why 

 there should be so much mystery about this question 

 of expense I do not know, but I had the greatest 

 difficulty in arriving at an even approximate idea of 

 the money I should require to take with me, so 

 that, as already related, I took none at all. The 

 explanation may lie in the fact that many who go 

 after tarpon are sufficiently endowed not to bother 

 ibout ways and means and they honestly cannot say 

 just how much the trip cost them. 



Briefly, I should suggest a sum of one hundred 

 and fifty pounds and a holiday of six weeks as the 

 minimum expenditure of money and time. This 

 should allow for first-class travel all the way, a fort- 

 tight at Useppa and the mounting of one specimen 

 ish as a trophy. On the other hand, it makes no 

 allowance for a stay in New York or any other city 

 by the way. 



The expenses of the tarpon-fisherman fall under 

 three heads : the cost of travel, the cost of tackle, 

 and the cost of fishing and hotel accommodation on 

 the spot. 



95 



