114 SUNSHINE AND SPORT IN 



day over fish of no great size, and, in fact, caught 

 only three tarpon weighing under lOO lbs. in the 

 aggregate. 



The sinkers weigh ^ lb., or, in some cases, ^ lb., 

 and tarpon-fishermen get through a number of these 

 (at a |- dollar, or 2s. id., the box) through a silly 

 fashion of fastening them to the top of the wire 

 snell with very fine copper wire supplied for the 

 purpose. It is contended that, unless the tarpon 

 throws off the sinker at the first jump, the inertia 

 of the lead will help it to get free. If I sold these 

 sinkers, this would seem to me admirable reasoning, 

 for it increases the demand for them incalculably, 

 since not alone every tarpon, but also every shark, 

 grouper, or kingfish knocks off a sinker attached in 

 this way, and the fisherman favoured with many 

 strikes can easily use a box of them every day. 

 This adds considerably to the cost of an outfit 

 already sufficiently high, but, as a matter of fact, 

 this slender fastening of the sinkers is quite un- 

 necessary. I am sure that the man who sells the 

 sinkers, for whom I have a warm regard as a good 

 sportsman and genial companion, has too keen a 

 sense of humour not to appreciate the fact that, 

 passing one morning very close to his boat, I 

 noticed that he fastened his own with line. This 

 I immediately imitated, and found that in a few 

 cases the mighty jerk of the tarpon's head snapped 

 even the stronger attachment and threw loose the 

 sinker all the same, and that yet more often the 

 sinker kept its place and I got the fish to the beach 

 in spite of its supposed help. When we come to 

 think of it, how should four or five ounces of lead 

 make any difference to the weight of a leaping fish 



