The Tarpon 253 
Mason of Denver took eighty tarpons at Aransas 
Pass, and his record for 1902 was even more 
remarkable. Mr. Mason observed a tarpon leap 
fifteen feet over a boat containing two men, clear- 
ing the men’s heads by ten feet; and doubtless 
this is sometimes exceeded. If the records of this 
exciting fishing-ground could all be told, they 
would test the credulity of many who do not go 
down to the sea to fish. Judge Houston and a 
friend landed nineteen tarpons in two and a half 
days’ fishing, which is a remarkable feat when 
the activity of the fish is considered. 
The fishing at Aransas Pass is mainly trolling, 
and nearly all fish not desired as trophies are towed 
to the beach, hauled up, measured, and after a 
scale is taken, released. Few fish are weighed 
here. If the angler is curious as to the weight of 
his catch, he uses the following formula, which 
gives a good general average: Weight in pounds 
is equal to the square of the maximum girth in 
inches, multiplied by the length in inches, divided 
by eight hundred. The Texas tarpon is by no 
means particular as to bait. I found that live or 
stale bait was equally acceptable, and a variety of 
fishes can be used as lures. The tarpons begin 
to gather in the Pass in October, and the first 
