20 THE TARPON 



you cannot quickly free the line your rod is 

 pulled out of your hands or broken. 



The tackle as it exists to-day is capable of 

 holding and landing a 1,000-pound game fish 

 and the reels will hold 1,200-feet of 24-thread 

 line. 



The drag is necessary for swordfish, marlin, 

 and giant tuna, for you cannot fight such heavy 

 fish for four and more hours with thumb pres- 

 sure only, but for tarpon and tuna up to 200 

 pounds in weight thumb pressure is quite suf- 

 ficient and much more sportsmanlike. 



I killed 5 tuna that weighed 491 pounds in 

 six hours with a plain reel and have landed very 

 many tarpon weighing from 187 pounds down 

 without any reel drag, so I write of my own per- 

 sonal experience. 



With the invention of the reel drag the science 

 of tarpon fishing received a coup de grace. It 

 is no longer fishing but "coffee grinding" and 

 the fish have no chance whatever. 



I have seen men at Boca Grande block the 

 line at the first jump of a tarpon, start the launch 

 engine and tow the fish ashore with his mouth 

 wide open. 



That is not fishing; it is murder! 



Tarpon can readily be killed on light tackle, 



