272 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



LOOT. 1891. 



PREPARATION FOR TARPON FISHING. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



It has been suggested to me that a condeused state- 

 ment of what is needed for the pursuit of tarpon, pub- 

 lished in Forest and Stream, would be appreciated by 

 fishermen intendicg to attempt the capture of that king 

 of fish. For the tarpon, so lately unknown, his name 

 even being found in no encyclopedia, and in no lexicon 

 except the latest edition of Webster, as an object of sport 

 i? now a fixture, and all the fresh-water anglers in the 

 world cannot drive away his Totaries. There have been 

 now and then lately bitter attacks upon his pre-eminence, 

 only one worthy oe notice, and that from a genial but 

 opinionated old gentleman who shows an eunuchlike 

 and petulant envy, which is a tribute to the vigor of his 

 pursuers. 



I do not claim any special qualification to supply what 

 I am told is a want beyond successful pursuit of fish for 

 five consecutive seasons and willingness to give the re- 

 sults of my experience. No one has given positive direc- 

 tions or advice except Mr. W. H. Wood and Col. Pick- 

 ney (Ben Bent), whose charming little book was com- 

 piled from what he learned from the former, bis per- 

 sonal experience being very brief and not successful. 



I assume the fisherman wishes to give four wetks to 

 tarpon. 



THE PIACE TO GO. 



St. James City, San Carlos Hotel, at the southern end 

 of Cbarlotte Harbor. This is central. Accommodations 

 are very good. If the fish are biting in salt water, go to 

 Estero Lagoon, south of the harbor. A sailboat can be 

 hired with conveniences for camping. If (as last spring) 

 they are in brackish water, take the steamboat which 

 runs daily, and move all luggage to Fort Meyers, up the 

 Oaloosahatchie, and stay there. A return of a day or 

 two for rest can be made to St. James at any time. 

 From Estero Lagoon excursions can be made into Estero, 

 Mulox, Spring and Surveyor's creeks— narrow, deep 

 streams, great favorites of the tarpon and abounding in 

 great jewfish. 



COST. 



To go and return from and to Philadelphia costs about 

 $100. At St. Jame^ sailboats cost per diem $5, rowboats 

 $3, bait about 60 cents. The best plan is to hire a sail- 

 boat. The guides should catch the bait, but they cannot 

 be relied on. A small tent is desirable. Two fishermen 

 can be accommodated and share the expense. 



I always calculate that mj trij> of six weeks will cost 

 me, from and back to my home, less than $400. Expense 

 of fishing is halved with a companion.' Board at St. 

 James is from iS.oO to $4 per diem. "Camping" (on the 

 boat) costs very little. There is a fair general store at 

 St. James, where supplies can be purchased. 



In the matter of tackle, I can only give my experi- 

 ence, which has, however, been satisfactory. I don't 

 ■want to puff any tackle maker, for there may be many 

 of them just as competent as the one I buy from, Ed- 

 ward vom Ilofe. I have but one caution to give, do not 

 experiment with his new ideas, or rather, do not rely on 

 them. Tell him what you want and insist on it that you 

 don't want any changes, and he will give you tackle that 

 you can depend on. 



THE REEL. 



His Star reel— costing about |50— is unnecessarily large 

 I think. The reel he sells for $26 (without case) is large 

 enough and much more convenient. You want a leather 

 guard on it, but you should have a shoemaker put one on 

 of stout sole leather, and have it project over the next 

 reel-bar and not have the dealer give you his short, pulpy 

 "improvement." Be careful not to have the leather so 

 wide as to bind on the sides of the reel. Stout thumb 

 stalls, crocheted at home of heavy cotton cord, are very 

 desirable as an adjunct. A single fish will wear through 

 the kind purchased of the dealers. It required twelve 

 fish (half of them brought to gafi') last March to wear 

 through a thumb stall made for me by a courteous Eng- 

 lishman last year while we were becalmed on the wav to 

 Sanibel. 



THE LINE. 



Hall's bass and tarpon line, 300yds. long, No. 18 (that is 

 21 thread). If the reel will not take it all, save the ex- 

 cess for sphcing. Two balls are needed, and they will 

 make three lines. Twice a week is often enough ti dry 

 the line. Soaking in fresh water is not necessary. When 

 a line shows signs of wear change ends. 



THE SNELL. 



I must be dogmatic about snells, for every one has his 

 favorite. The one I have at last settled upon as the ne 

 plus ultra, and which has produced that repose of mind 

 which comes to him who is satisfied that he has that 

 which cannot be bettered, is this: Have your dealer— 

 Vom Hofe makes them under protest— make two dozen 

 18-inch lengths of piano wire, divided in links of Gin. 

 each. There must be a ring or swivel (former preferred) 

 at each end of the wire snell. Lash your hook to 6 or 

 8in. of stout cord— a piece of the soft, heavy cotton snell 

 ordinarily in use is to be preferred, for you might save a 

 tarpon hooked in the mouth— and fasten the cord to the 

 ring on one end of the wire and attach your line to the 

 other end. The object of this contrivance is to lose your 

 shark and save your tarpon. The shark will bite your 

 cord snell close to the hook and escape, and your tackle 

 will be saved, with but a few minutes, at most, expended. 

 On the other hand, the tarpon must swallow the hook, 

 and get it well down in his gullet, to make his capture 

 probable. Then his "shears" play upon the piano wire 

 harmlessly. I had six sharks in succession cut my cord 

 snell inside of half an hour, and saved the wire; and I 

 took three tarpon with one snell, and my companion, 

 ■who fished after I returned home, tells me he took three 

 more on the same snell, and hnally lost it by the line 

 breaking. 



THE HOOK. 



O'Shaughnessy Nos. 9 0, 10-0 or 1 1-0— the last pre- 

 ferred. 



THE GAFF, 



Buy it at "the store'" at St. James, unless your boatman 

 has one, as will be likely. 



Among the minor matters which will add to the com- 

 fort of the fisherman I will mention these: Take with 

 you a half dozen pairs of thin thread gloves as a protec- 

 tion against sunburn. Cut off the fingers, the back of 

 the hand only needs protection. The air at Charlotte 

 Harbor is deUghtf'ul, and makes one forget that the sun 



is very powerful. I have known a case of blood poison- 

 ing from sores made by sunbm'n. Spectacles or eye- 

 glasses of colored glass are useful at times. A rubber 

 air cushion adds greatly to comfort. Vom Hofe has in- 

 vented a weighing machine, about as large as the hand, 

 which will weigh fish up to SOOlbs. with tolerable accur- 

 acy. Get 50 to 100 grape fruit from Fort Meyers and 

 stow them under the forward deck of the boat— you will 

 think this the best hint given you. After a week you 

 will not regard an orange when a grape fruit is to be 

 had, 

 And lastly: 



THE ROD. 



Here should be economy. The rod should be in a 

 single piece; no joints, with double reel seats and guides. 

 Edward vom Hofe makes one at the moderate price of 

 $5. The fisherman should buy two and not take the 

 trouble to take them home when he goes North. A rub- 

 ber butt, such as is used on chairs on smooth floors, should 

 be attached. 



Bait and the manner of attaching it to the hook is to 

 be considered where used. 



The best time for fishing is in May and extends back- 

 ward with a diminuendo. Tarpon spawn late in May and 

 throughout June. From the middle of March to the 

 middle of April will suit the Northerner, and he will have 

 good results and be sure of fish. 



HOW TO REACH ST. JAMES CITY. 



The best train to take is No. 27 of the Atlantic Coast 

 Line, which runs direct from Boston to Jacksonville 

 without change of cars. That is to say, the "Boston 

 sleeper" goes all the way through. Other sleeping cars 

 are taken on at Washington. This train is called the 

 West India Mail, and is more likely to run on time than 

 any other. 



Berths in the Boston sleeper should be bespoken at least 

 two weeks in advance. The train reaches Jacksonville at 

 noon, and cars are then changed for Train 27, running 

 from Jacksonville to Tampa. This latter place is reached 

 about 9 o'clock in the evening, 



Mr. Plant, the great railroad magnate of Florida, runs 

 a steamer twics a week from Tampa to the lower end of 

 Charlotte Hajbor; and my recollection is that the trav- 

 eler leaving Philadelphia at 7:20 A. M. Friday by the 

 West India Mail, w^ould reach St, James by this steamer 

 Sunday morning at 10 o'clock. This is the preferable 

 way to go and the most expeditious. Those who fear sea- 

 sickness can take the route inland via Lakeland, Bu-tow 

 and Punta Gorda. Information as to this can probably 

 be obtained afc the offices of the Atlantic Coapt Line in 

 the large cities. F. S. J. C. 



Florida has few more attractive fishing resorts than 

 Tampa, and beauty of color is mingled here with extra- 

 ordinary size and grotesqueness of form. In the clear 

 waters surrounding the numerous mangrove islands 

 schools of snappers, grunts, groupers, yellow-tails, squir- 

 rel fish, jewfish, porgies, sheepshead, silver perch, chan- 

 nel bass, spots, croakers, kingfish, sailor's choice and 

 hosts of other species not included among anglers' 

 fishes are to be seen at almost any time. The mullet, the 

 cero, the Spanish mackerel and the barracuda are within 

 easy reach, and the tarpon flourishes in all his silvery 

 beauty. If the tarpon fishing should fail to satisfy the 

 thu'st for excitement the fisherman need only turn his 

 attention to the great devilfish, a gigantic ray whose disk 

 reaches a width "of 20ft. and whose strength is sufficient 

 to tow a whaleboat, or even a vessel of several tons. 

 Elliott has vividly described the dangers and excitement 

 attending this kind of fishing in his "Carolina Sports," 

 and the following graphic account has recently been pub- 

 lished by the G.ilveston News: 



Tampa, Fla., Sent. 21 —A party of fishermen that came in 

 yesterday attracted great attention on acoouot of the vari- 

 ety and size of fish brought in by them. All day long a 

 steady stream of sightseers visited the boat and asked the 

 men questions regarding their adventures. 



The fishermen brousht with them the skins of three mag- 

 nificent tarpons, weighing when caught from 125 to SOOlbs. 

 The greatest curiosity was a fine devil 0sb. It had a large 

 flat body, with two Ions; flippers extending like thepoiutsof 

 a star from its sides. The breadth of the fish from tip to tip 

 of these flippers was just lift. Tin. A man could be taken in 

 its huge mouth, as it was SOin. in breadth. Prom eye to eye 

 the head was 36in. across, the eye protruding on the outsidp 

 of two big feelers, which are rased hy the fish in eating, and 

 project in front of the head abont lOin. Prom the point of 

 these feelers to the end of the tail was lift. Sk'tn. The fish 

 was estimated to weigh fully l,20Ulbs., hut'ihere was no 

 way of getting the weight accurately when the fish was first 

 caught. 



Toe fishermen had an exciting time catching the monster, 

 and it towed their three-ton schooner over an hour when 

 haipooued. It was first seen at about 6 P. M., playing in the 

 shallow water near Egmbnt Key. Running up"^, they har- 

 pooned it with a lily iron. It at once leaped high in the air 

 flung itself, and then started with a rush for deep water! 

 Tbe schooner turned with a whirl and was towt-d along 

 rapidly. The big fish plunged frantically and leaped in the 

 air in its efforts to shake onttheiron. It would run straight 

 for half a mile, and then suddenly swing under the vessel, 

 whirling the schooner like a toy. 



Fire was opened on the monster with Winchesters every 

 time it appeared above water, but they seemed to make him 

 only more furious. At the fifth volley it turned suddenly 

 and rushed for the vessel. The men were crowded at the 

 side, and the flsh struck the schooner just below them, 

 throwing them down on the deck and breaking tbe collar 

 bone of one of the sailors. The fish seemed to be somewhat 

 stunned by the blow, and floated. Two more harpoons were 

 put into it. and musket balls were fired into its big body. 

 Ropes were then thrown around it, and it was drawn aboard, 

 it taking the united .strength of all seven men to get it up. 



The eyes are lateral and not at the ends of the so-called 

 "feelers," as intimated in the narrative. The "feelers" 

 are the ear-like prolongations of the front part of the 

 pectoral fins. The devilfish, sea devil or manta is among 

 the largest of the fishes, and a good stuffed skin is one of 

 the greatest desiderata in museums. The name manta 

 means blanket, and is used at the pearl fisheries off the 

 west coast of Merico "to designate an enormous fish 

 much dreaded by the divers, whom it is said to devour 

 after enveloijing them in its vast wings," 



From "Tarpon's" account of his cruise, presented last 

 week in our yachting columns, we have extracted this 

 tritmte to the harrytoitiveness of the tarpon fishermen: 

 "On the way we pass several tarpon fishermen patiently 

 waiting for that big fish that they do not get. By the 

 way, it taies a very peculiar man to make a good tarpon 



crank. He must be lazy to begin with, and have an un- 

 limited stock of patience, while his bump of hopefulness 

 must be large. 1 met one man who told me he had been 

 tarpon fishing for five successive seasons, and had not 

 caught one yet, but he thought he should next time. 

 Poor fellow, I wonder if he ever figured out the fun he 

 had lost by not fishing for fish he could catch," 



AROUND LAKE MICHIGAN. 



IT is claimed by the fishermen along the north shore of 

 Lake Michigan that fishing is greatly injured by the 

 bark that is ground very fine by the constant chafing and 

 rubbing of the logs as tbey are boomed and towed 

 through the lake, becomes water soaked and sinks, cover- 

 ing the food of the whiteflsh, destroying their spawning 

 grounds and driving the fish away. Tons of this bark can 

 be seen along the north shore of Lake Michigan, At one 

 place I measured, near Epoufette, Mackinac county, an 

 average depth at edge of vvHter of 2^ ft., extending back 

 23ft. and 250ft. in length. Every few miles similar banks 

 can be seen, especially in small coves where the surf is 

 not high enough to wash it aw.ay. All aloug the shore 

 the bottom can be seen covered with this bark. About 

 17,000,000ft. of lumber passed through the Mackinaw 

 Straits last spring, and this has done great damage. For 

 the past three years logs have been towed through in the 

 shape of slack booms, made by chaining a number of 

 large logs together by their ends'and f ormine an immense 

 circle around the rafo of loose logs. In this shape tbey do 

 more damage to the fi^jhing grounds than the rafts did 

 when the logs were aU chained together, and of course 

 could not chafe and rub as the new method will allow 

 Ihem to. In 1889 the fishing along the north Fbore was 

 better than it has been for a number of years, Tne fisher- 

 men claim that few logs were brought out of the woods 

 on account of the very mild wintpr, consequently the 

 fishing was much improved, 



A great deal of complaint is made about the sawdust 

 that is also driving the whitefish further out in the lake 

 and destroying their spawning grounds. It can be seen 

 washed up on shore for a distance of forty miles from the 

 nearest mills. Whitefish will not remain in waters pol- 

 luted by sawdust. Occasionally they are found dead 

 floating on tbe surface of the lake, and in most every in- 

 stance sawdust is found in their intes'ines. which, it is 

 claimed, caused their death. 



The large fiaherics that are carried on in the Great 

 Lakes where lugs are used ar.- liie means of driving away 

 the whitefish and eausiog sume pxrts of the fishing 

 ground to become deserted, Wnen they go out to their 

 nets, which are from five to tliirty llvi" miles off shore, 

 and which they do whenever the weather permits, and 

 take aboard their catch which amounts to from 1,200 to 

 3,0001bs. per day, to save lime -.md trouble the fish are 

 cleaned on the way in, and the off al is thrown overboard, 

 causing the fish to leave immediately. This custom is 

 strictly contrary to law, which requires them to bring all 

 offal ashore and deposit it eight rods from high-water 

 mark. They do sav'e tbe offil rccasionally and bring it 

 ashore in order to avoid suspicion By depos.ting one 

 barrel of offal in the water it has a bad effect from 400 tO 

 SOOvds, in circumference by driving tbe fish away. The 

 cinders and clinkers that are thrown overboard from the 

 steamers passing through the straits also prove very de- 

 structive to whitefish. 



Whitefish make their appearance in a body and are 

 very seldom caught in water le^'s than five fathoms, and 

 from that to 90 and 100 fathoms. 



Whitefish and lake herring prove the be^t bait for hook 

 and line fishing. It is cut u[> in pieces about lin. square. 

 When this kind of bait is not to be had trout is used 

 wilh very good efff'ct. A great many sportsmen during 

 the summer and fall months visit the North Shore of 

 Lake Michigan and also the inland lakes for the fishing. 



The best months for whitefish are June, July, October 

 and Nove mber. They run best in the fall. Trout fishing 

 is generally the hest in September, October and Novem- 

 ber, April and May. They leave the feeding grounds 

 close in shore in the summer and go out to deeper 

 waters where it is cooler. Trout spawn in September 

 and October, whicefish in October and November. 



Very little benefit is derived from the flsh hatcheries 

 in this vicinity, as the large fisheries from this and other 

 Stales locate here with their small mesh-nets, as small as 

 2 in., and destroy millions of small whitefish. The law 

 requires dim. mesh for pound-nets and 4iin. mesh for 

 gill-nets. I have the names and addre-sses of two gentle- 

 men who claim they can prove that a large fishery came 

 hei'e from the coast and destroyed tons of small white- 

 fish, that were thrown ashore to rot; as many as fifty 

 could be put in a cigar box at once. The hatcheries 

 would do excellent work if the law were enforced so that 

 these small fish would not be caught. The small fisheries 

 claim that they are not allowed to use a net smaller than 

 is required by law, as they are watched all the time, but 

 very little, if any, attention is paid to the large fisheries, 

 consequently they catch most of the large fish and most 

 all of the small fish, forcing a numbpr of small fisheries 

 to abandon fishing altogether. The spawn has to be 

 shoveled out of the boat very often while returning: and 

 unloading their catch. Men claim that they have waded 

 in .spawn up to their ankles. 



Tne "pot-gut" or deep water trout are caught in goodly 

 numbers on the banks oft' Marquette (Lake Superior). 

 They are caught in water from 7a to 80 fathoms. The 

 average length of the fish is 16in.; the average weight is 

 2ilbs. They are caught every month in the year. 



The lake bottom of Whitefish Biy is composed of 

 gravel, sand and rock, mostly sand. The food for white- 

 fish commonly called the whitefish worm is found more 

 abundantly on muddy bottom. The snail or small clam 

 is another important article of food for the whitefish. 

 Millions of them can be seen along the lake shore. They 

 grow to the size of a thumb nail— those eaten by the 

 whitefish are from the size of a small pea down to the 

 size o2 a pin's head. 



From the town of St. Ignace and six miles out is the 

 beautiful Mackinac Island, whose shores are in some 

 places low and in other parts perpendicular from the 

 water's edge. A fine hotel and a number of beautiful 

 cottages are found here. A great many sportsmen spend 

 the summer months on the island fishing and strolling 

 about its shores. Trolling seems to be the principal and 

 most successful mode of fishing, lake trout and masca- 

 longe being mostly sought after. 

 The eel-pout, or what is called around the Soo the losh 



