The Tarpon 251 
and I held it with all my strength, right thumb on 
the reel-pad and left thumb and forefinger on the 
line above the reel, stopping the tarpon despite 
its struggles and resulting, as I had expected, in 
another frantic leap almost alongside. 
This jump may have been seven or eight feet. 
I attempted to throw the fish from its position in 
mid-air merely as an experiment, but failed to effect 
it; with a heavy line this could easily be done, 
from all of which I deduce that with a good drag 
there is no reason why a taut line should not be 
kept when the tarpon is in air. As to the height 
the tarpon attains when leaping, Mr. Waddell 
states that he saw a fish, hooked by Mr. L. G. 
Murphy of Converse, Indiana, make an initial leap 
of twelve feet and follow it with six leaps all 
equally high. He says, “ The ordinary height a 
tarpon leaps is from seven to eight feet.” This 
agrees with my observations, and that the fish 
attains the highest jumps of the tuna is shown 
by the statement of Mr. Mason. 
The time of my visit was considered an un- 
fortunate one, owing to the fact that the recent 
floods had filled the water with mud, which seri- 
ously interfered with the fishing; yet, at its worst, 
I doubt if there is anywhere else such tarpon- 
