FISHES 01' THE EAST Al LANTKJ CUAST. 107 



ing the water cut and slash in an unusual manner. I yelled to Mac 

 to "give bim more lin<"," and as mj' back was towards the boatman 

 I could not understand why he did not obey instructions. I turned 

 round and found that he bad not unwrapped the line. He bad 

 Lraced his feet against a seat and bad a death grip on the board on 

 which the line was wrapped. The result was a heavy cable laid cot- 

 ton line parted. , 



^ome years since several of my friends were casting in the surf at 

 Pellican Island for channel bass. In the party was an ardent fish- 

 erman, a boy of fourteen. To secure it, he had fastened one end of 

 his line around his waist. He baited his hook and threw it as far as 

 practicable from the shore, and hooked a fish. Iii-innfly the boy 

 started for the coast of Africa, struggling and yelling. The gentle- 

 men rushed into the surf, rescued the boy, and landed the p.ime 

 moving power at the other end, which proved to be a tarpon weigh- 

 ing eighty-three pounds. 



After testing various kmds of tackle, I have adopted a barbarous 

 and possibly an unsportsmanlike rig for the capture of this noble 

 fish. I take the heaviest piano wire obtainable, and make three 

 joints, four inches long, and three, six inches in length. The joints 

 of the links are made by heating the wire in the fire, bending each 

 end, allowing half an inch for soldering. Before soldering, I polish 

 each piece of wire with emery j^aper, and tin it to prevent rusting. 

 To the upper link I attach a strong brass swivel two and one-half 

 inches in length. I wrap the ends of the wire below the loops with 

 tine copper wire, and finish the job with common solder. I use hoQks 

 two inches from tip to shank. To each of the three lower links I 

 solder two hooks at a right angle. When completed, the books are 

 in two lines. For bait I cut a mullet in half from mouth to tail. I 

 ])ass one hook through the eye, one amidshi))S, and the other near the 

 tail. Three hooks pass through the bait, with points exposed, and 

 the three others pass beyond the edge of the bait. In addition, I 

 taKC a packing needle and fine twine, and tie the links to the bait. 

 By adopting this course I make an attractive and armored bait, with 

 books partially concealed, and an almost invisible snood. Tackle 

 riiTged in this way possesses great strength, for the last time I was 



