IV 



THE TACKLE 



SOMETHING has already been said of the extremely 

 strong tackle used in tarpon-fishing. When it is 

 mentioned that a boy of under thirteen years of age 

 has been known to kill a tarpon of over six feet 

 long, and that ladies have killed some of the 

 heaviest fish on record, much of the result must 

 obviously be conceded to the leverage of the reel 

 and strength of the tackle generally. 



The rod, which measures in all about seven 

 feet, is made of hard wood, in two pieces, a short 

 butt of twenty-two inches and a "tip." The butt is 

 fitted with German silver and has an excellent grip 

 bound round with fine cane. The rings are large 

 and upright, and the top ring is particularly calcu- 

 lated to let the line run with as little friction as 

 possible. Beyond combining great strength and 

 little play, the modern tarpon-rod has nothing very 

 distinctive about it. It looks powerful enough to 

 hold a runaway team of horses harnessed to a fire- 

 engine, but I have seen sharks break the tip like a 

 spelican, and I once saw one of these rods actually 

 go in the butt just as the fisherman had got his 

 tarpon to the beach. 



The reel, by far the most important item of the 

 equipment, is a wonderful piece of mechanism. The 

 chief fault about even the best English reels designed 

 for the same work is extreme bulkiness. The Ameri- 



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