THE TARPON 17 



theory but I never want any fish to dangle at 

 the end of my line and eventually commit 

 suicide. 



What anglers mean when they tell stories of 

 fighting a salmon for an hour or longer is beyond 

 me. Any salmon up to 45 pounds in weight 

 ought to be killed in twenty minutes even with 

 light grilse tackle if the angler knows how to fish. 



Fishing with a 16-ounce grilse rod I once rose, 

 hooked, landed and weighed in 50 minutes, 5 

 salmon that weighed 128 pounds. This was not 

 done with intent but in the regular course of 

 fishing. 



What I do believe in is fishing for tarpon with 

 a plain reel without any drag. The science of 

 tarpon fishing was lost when the reel drag was 

 invented. It came about in the following manner : 



The science of sea fishing was first developed 

 along the Atlantic seaboard in the early 60's 

 and the Striped Bass (Roccus lineatus) was the 

 interesting fish which started this development. 



The multiplying reels and Cuttyhunk twisted 

 linen lines were invented for this purpose, it 

 being discovered that these fish were too quick 

 for the old single action reels and that the braided 

 cotton lines were not strong enough to hold 

 these active, agile fish. 



