THE SILVEE KING 



did not, I doubled the line for six feet as it is liable to chafe off. 

 The leader, to my mind, should have several swivels, and a short 

 chain at the hook is a clever idea, as when the tarpon is in the air, 

 thrashing from side to side, endeavouring to throw the hook at 

 you, the wire is apt to Mnk, which is in the nature of a tragedy^ 

 Before going tarpon fishing the angler should consult some 

 first-class dealer, as Edwin Vom Hofe, Abbey & Imbrie, or 

 Mills & Co., New York, who rank with Hardy, Farland, Milward, 

 and others in England. One can fish by day or by night, but 

 the latter is a dangerous pastime, as the fish of the man ahead is- 

 liable to land in your skiff and throw you out, which has occurred 

 in the day-time. I have seen tarpon jump on the Florida 

 reef at night, turning the sea into a maelstrom of blazing Kght, due 

 to phosphorescence. I have caught them with live mullet, with, 

 very ancient mullet, and on one occasion was tempted to seize 

 one in my hands as I crept up within two feet of where it was 

 lying perfectly qiuet on the surface. 



The tarpon has been taken with a spoon, and on the bottom 

 Adth bait, but troUing would appear to be the method best adapted 

 to so large a fish, when it is necessary to have the boat free on tha 

 instant. 



There is much mystery about the young of the tarpon. For 

 years no one had seen a small one ; finally one was reported from 

 Porto Eico. But the life history of the tarpon is yet to be^ 

 written. This is true of many fishes. The young seemingly 

 disappear at once, only the adults being known. 



Tarpon fishing in Florida and Texas lacks, in a sense, the 

 charm of reaUy beautiful surroundings, though to me there 

 is a certain fascination about both localities. In Texas I often 

 wandered about at night and skirted the great sand-dunes with 

 the coastguard. The wind was always blowing from the same 

 direction, and as far as the eye could reach down the coast 

 toward Mexico there was a mass of silvery light, a weird, uncanny- 

 phosphorescence. The roar of the waves was a deep and solemn 

 requiem, adding to the weirdness. In the moonlight I could. 



17 257 



