6 THE TARPON 



specimen that was caught in a net in Narra- 

 gansett Bay near Newport. 



Little is known of the habits of the tarpon 

 when in the open sea. I never met them at sea 

 but once, and that was in the month of Febru- 

 ary along the edge of the Gulf Stream off New 

 River Inlet. On that occasion I sailed through 

 a large school on the surface swimming south. 



Tarpon are often taken in the nets off Hills- 

 boro Inlet, which is not far from where I met 

 them. 



They arrive among the Keys of lower Florida 

 in small schools of an average weight in Febru- 

 ary, and from then on their numbers increase 

 until midsummer. These schools of fish dwell 

 in Bahia Hondo, Matecumbe Sound and other 

 channels for a few days before working their 

 way into the Gulf of Mexico. If a Norther 

 blows they go to sea, and return later. Other 

 fish enter the rivers of the east coast of Flor- 

 ida. 



The building of the East Coast Railway 

 greatly disturbed their customs, for many of 

 the fairways they were in the habit of journey- 

 ing through were closed by trestles and via- 

 ducts. At that time schools of fish appeared 

 in Biscayan Bay, and many were taken off the 



