22 THE T A R P O N 



never seen the very small tarpon. The record in the 

 Canal waters seems to be 118 pounds, the fish being 

 6' 6" in length. Mr. Markham has had the best suc- 

 cess when fishing with a brown fly of his own con- 

 struction. 



In the Government publication entitled "Fishes of 

 Porto Eico" (Ehrmann & Marsh, 1900), Mr. Barton 

 W. Evermann reported that tarpon evidently spawn 

 near that island. The Government report describes 

 the specimens taken as follows: 



"The four examples are from Hucares, from 

 7.5 to 11.5 inches long, and were seined in a small 

 brackish pool of dark-colored water not over five 

 feet deep in the corner of a mangrove swamp and 

 at that time (February) entirely separated from 

 the Ocean by a narrow strip of land scarcely 

 twenty-five feet wide. The thirteen others are 

 nearly all very young of 2.25 to 3.25 inches col- 

 lected at Fajardo. No large individuals were 



seen." 



Fajardo is on a coast poorly protected against the 

 northeast trade winds. 



As these fish were obviously very young the evi- 

 dence afforded by their capture at Porto Rico as bear- 

 ing upon the breeding place of the fish is significant. 

 Gill states that all of these fish were the young of the 

 first year. 



It is believed by some that the young pass through 

 what naturalists call a leptocephalus stage before de- 

 veloping into perfect fish. Gill states: 



