The Tarpon 265 
will make many desperate rushes and leaps 
which seriously interfere with the best-laid plans 
of the most astute angler; but if all goes well, 
in from fifteen to thirty minutes the fish should 
be alongside. The angler holds it firmly, then 
passes the tip of his rod forward, on the port 
side if he is right-handed, and the game swims 
into the field of the gaffer, the angler’s right 
thumb on the pad; the left hand may now steal 
to the reel to overrun a foot or two as the gaffer 
does his work, but he should hold himself well 
in hand, as the work is not complete until the 
fish is in the boat; at any moment it is liable to 
make a rush and escape. I have seen a large 
fish leap out of a barrel ten minutes after it had 
been gaffed and its capture supposed to be a 
closed incident. 
If the fish is not desired as a trophy, the gaffer 
seizes the doubled portion of the line and holds 
it at the gunwale, inserts a short gaff just beneath 
the lower jaw and holds the fish while it is un- 
hooked and cast off, perhaps to be caught again. 
If the fish is to be kept, the gaffer does not 
touch the line, nor does he attempt to gaff until 
the fish is in position; then the gaff is placed 
under the head and jerked heavily upward be- 
