872 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[May 9, 1903. 
men like Bowers, Moser, Wilcox, their valuable asso- 
ciates and assistants, to perfect this great science, and 
thereby lay the foundation of a work that will supply the 
coming generations with unlimited quantities of the 
choicest food fishes that would otherwise become extinct. 
C. H. Barkdulu 
Further Notes Concerning Tarpon 
Tackle. 
Victoria, British Columbia, March i.— Editor Forest 
and Stream: In order to bring up to date some of my 
papers on tarpon fishing that you have pttblished durnig 
the last two or three years, I send you the following 
notes, embodying the results of my latest experience. 
Lines. 
Hitherto I have recommended two or three tarpon 
lines, but now prefer a newer one, viz., Vom Hofe s 
No. 36, a bottle-green line of great strength and dura- 
bility. It is coarser than most tarpon lines, but still 
by no means too coarse for the sport, although the 
standard reels used in tarpon fishing will barely carry 
four hundred and fifty feet thereof. 
Tarpon fishermen are getting down to sensible ideas 
about the best size of lines, using much coarser and 
stronger ones than they did a few years ago. Even if it 
be true that a No. 24 line is the best for tuna fishing 
(which I most decidedly doubt), it has been proven too 
light for handling the silver king. 
One should not adopt such a light line for big fish as 
to keep him constantly in dread of its snapping every 
time he holds the brake. On the other hand, the finer 
the line that is employed the more of it one can get on 
the reel, so there is a happy medium, and this, I think, 
is reached by Vom Hofe's new No. 36. 
There are three of these lines on my reels to-day, two 
of them having been used at least five days per week for 
six weeks; and there is some life in them yet, although 
they have both been changed from end to end. These 
lines were not only used constantly by myself and friends, 
but were worked hard on tarpon, sharks, jackfish, jew- 
fish and stingrays, many of these fish, being of great 
weight. 
Concerning the minimum length of line to use on a 
tarpon reel, I would state that I have never yet seen more 
than about 350 feet taken off; consequently I consider 
from 400 to 450 feet to be a sufficiency. In fact, it is 
very seldom, indeed, that one needs over 250 feet, excejit 
when he is fishing at anchor in a rapid current. Under 
such conditions a large tarpon will generally take out 
about 300 feet of line before the anchor is raised and 
before the oarsman has the boat under control. 
Even if one is confident that he will never have to use 
more than 300 feet of line, he should not start out with 
less^ than 400 feet of new line on his reel, because, before 
it is worn out, it will be reduced considerably either by 
breakage or by cutting off of injured or overstrained 
ends. ^On this account I prefer 450 feet as an original 
length; and, as my reels will barely hold properly that 
much of the Vom Hofe No. 36 line, I have concluded that 
the size of the latter is my best limit for coarseness. 
It is to be regretted that the numbers given to thiir 
lines by the various manufacturers are no indication of 
the diameters. For instance, the No. 36 Empire City 
line is much smaller than the No. 27 Hall, and, I think, 
smaller than even the standard No. 24 tuna line. 
It seems that the number given to the line indicates 
only the number of strands of which it is composed. 
Some sportsmen at Aransas Pass use a very coarse, 
inexpensive cotton line that is quite short-lived. Its only 
advantage is its cheapness, which, after all, is more ap- 
parent than real, owing to the greater loss of snells that 
its employment involves. It is furnished on the cheap 
outfits that are to rent at Tarpon, which outfits I would 
recommend no one ever to try. 
It is now my invariable practice to tie a twenty foot 
loop on my tarpon line, fastening the end with a bowline 
knot. The end of this loop I run through the swivel of 
the snell and tie back about a 'foot with another bowline, 
thus making a short, four-ply length of line for the boat- 
man to grasp when hauling a fish on to the beach. 
Reels. 
While there are in use no new reels that are superior 
to the old standbys, nevertheless there have lately been 
effected in the latter some decided improvements. The 
first of these is the "Rabbeth" handle drag, patented on 
January 14, 1902, and sold by Messrs. Wm. Mills & Son, 
of New York city, who, 1 believe, control the patent. 
The apparatus consists of a rather clumsy-looking double- 
handled attachment, suited to any large reel, and having 
a friction plate lying between two other plates. The 
inner plate is fitted tightly to the squared axle of the 
reel ; the lower or main plate is attached to the two 
handles, and the third or upper plate is fastened by 
screws to the lower plate; and by the tightening or 
loosening of the said screw, the maximum tension on 
the lines is increased or diminished. The accompanying 
cut will illustrate the working of the apparatus. 
I purchased one of the first that were sold and used 
it at Tampico in March, 1902, and last fall at Aransas 
Pass, and found it is all that the makers claim. It pre- 
vents absolutely the breaking of one's line, provided that 
the latter be not rotten, saves both reel and rod from 
injury by overstrain, and avoids almost all danger to 
one's hands. The tension can be set for any amount up 
to ten or twelve pounds by simply tightening the screws. 
By the way, the first drags manufactured Iiacl two of the 
screws made as thumbscrews; so that, when a great deal 
of line is taken out, the grip on the friction plate can be 
reduced instantly; but I see by the diagram that these are 
no longer employed. Before trying my handle I had these 
thumbscrews removed and replaced by ordinary screws 
like the others which form the attachment, recognizing 
that the said thumbscrews would certainly take the skin 
off one's knuckles, in case the handle should slip out of 
one's fingers. A late modification of the Rabbeth handle- 
drag is the insertion between the plates of one or more 
paper washers so as to increase t|if frictigpj ^specially 
jjft^r the plfites be^:om^ worn, 
Soon after the appearance of the Rabbeth drag, Vom 
Hofe, recognizing its effectiveness, brought out a modifi- 
cation of his tarpon reels involving the same results by an 
adjustment inserted under the handle. 
I had this modification put on two of my reels last 
summer, and tried it last fall at Aransas Pass. It was 
qi'ite satisfactory. There is but little to choose between 
the Vom Hofe and the Rabbeth drags, but the very 
clumsiness of the latter is a feature in its favor, as the 
handle is less likely to slip from one's fingers. 
Vom Hofe has still later added another improve- 
ment to his reels, by means of which the handle is 
prevented from turning in the reverse direction; which 
improvement will. I think, make his reels the best that 
can be had. In fact, it looks to me as if the final perfect 
tj-rpon reel has at last been evolved. This latest improve- 
ment is a very simple one, consisting of a small beveled 
cylindrical stopper backed by a spring, so that when reel- 
ing in the handle strikes the beveled face and pushes 
the stopper back, thus letting the handle pass by, and 
vfhen the handle is turned backward by the pull on the 
line it strikes against the cylindrical face of the stopper 
and is arrested instantly. A convenient little lever on 
the periphery of the reel throws the stopper into and out 
of action. 
With this latest reel, when one is sitting waiting for a 
strike, he does not have to paralyze his thumbs by hold- 
ing on to the brakes, but can simply grasp the rod itself 
in both hands and strike as hard as he likes the instant he 
feels a touch on his bait. If he so desire, he can reduce 
the preliminary intensity of his surge by fixing the handle 
so that it can make a single turn before it is stopped. 
Again, if one wants to make a cast, he can do so by 
throwing out of action both the stopper and the little 
drag, which is still a feature of the Vom Hofe reels. 
Although I have had two of my reels fitted with this 
new stopper, I have not yet had an opportunity to test 
it; but I feel just about as sure of its effectiveness as if 
I had already given it a trial. 
The proper tension for the line when it is all on the 
reel is from six to ten pounds. Any more would be liable 
to wedge the line on the spool and thus stop the reel's ac- 
tion, while any less would not be sufficiently effective. 
Of course, as the line is taken out, the action of the drag 
becomes more powerful because of the decreased leverage 
of the pull, so the adjustment of the tension should be 
made with due consideration for this condition. 
These modern reels obviate the necessity for using any 
more the finger-guards that I recommended a couple of 
years ago; but I still expect to use a guard on my left 
thumb, because I intend to adhere to the forward brake, 
which consists of a small strip of thick rubber hose at- 
tached to the rod some twelve inches above the reel. 
Again, I think it advisable to adhere also to the use of 
the old leather brake on the reel, because, at the end of 
one's struggle with a big fish, when the doubled line has 
reached the reel, it is desirable to be able to put more ten- 
sion on the line than the new handle drags will afford. 
Notwithstanding all improvements in the reels, I still 
favor the wearing of gloves for tarpon fishing; because it 
is often the unexpected that happens, and one can still 
get a severe rap on the knuckles from the patent handle 
if the stopper happens to be thrown out of action. 
Vom Hofe manufactured last summer, according to my 
specifications, five large tuna reels, one of which I own, 
capable of carrying some 900 feet of his No. 36 line. 
None of these reels have yet been used on tuna, but it 
was on one of them last November, at Aransas Pass, that 
I landed my record jewfish of 450 pounds, and my record 
leaping shark of seven feet seven inches length, concern- 
ing both of which fish I have already written you. I 
would state, though, that this was merely a happening, 
as either of my two smaller tarpon reels would have done 
the work as well — in fact, I landed a still larger fish on 
one of them. 
With this large reel, a stout line and a good rod, I feel 
confident that a strong man would bring to gaff in two 
or three hours any tuna up to 500 pounds in weight, and 
this without wearing himself out. If luck befriend me, 
I may some day be able to prove the correctness of my 
surmise. 
,Tying on Reels,^ 
Quite lately 1 have found a much easier way to tie on a 
reel than the one described in a previous paper. It con- 
sists simply in winding tightly with old tarpon line the 
short space between the upper end of the sliding cylinder 
and the rib at the top of the reel seat, thus preventing the 
reel from slipping, even should the ring work loose. The 
old method of attachment was both tedious and cum- 
bersome. 
Mills & Son have a patent method of fastening on tne 
reel without tying ; but I have not yet had occasion to 
try it, so cannot speak concerning its merits. 
Rod Socket. 
niicre has been in use for a year or two a strong 
leather socket that is screwed on to the front edge of the 
tarpon fisherman's chair, costing $2.50. No tarpon fisher- 
man should be without one, for it both reduces the 
danger of injury from the butt of the rod and lessens the 
Inbor in handling a fish. 
Hooks. 
Some improvements have of late been made in tarpon 
hooks, mainly in the manner that I have been advocating, 
viz., the use of more metal. The large Van Vleck hook 
manufactured by Mills & Son appears to be the favorite, 
but Vom Hofe's latest is about as good. 
Mills manufactures a small tarpon Tiook that is liked 
by some fishermen, but I do not find it to be sufiiciently 
durable, as it both bends and breaks. It is useful as the 
lower hook of a pair, if one desires to try a double hook. 
Concerning the advisability of employing double hooks, 
I am at a loss what to say. When the fish are biting 
fiercely, the two hooks are not needed, and are, in fact, a 
disadvantage, because they often injure the fish so that it 
is likely to die after it is released. When the fish are 
merely nibbling, the small lower hook will sometimes take 
them as they bite at the tail of the bait ; but, on the Other 
hand, it is possible that the second hook tends to frighten 
the fish and thus reduce the number of one's strikes. 
Double hooks should be attached by chain about five 
j^clij^^ Spart. li] putting on the bait the lower hook 
should be passed into the mouth and out of one gill, then 
transversely through the body, just above the tail, and the 
upper hook should be driven through the lips from be- 
neath in the usual manner. It would be interesting to 
hear from some of your readers on this question oi 
double hooks. 
There is a hook on the market having a flattened head 
and comparatively small eye, against which I wish to 
caution tarpon fishermen, for the flat eye causes the wire 
to break at the bearing. A sportsman at Aransas Pass 
presented me with three of these hooks, and by reason of 
them I lo.st a fine tarpon and a big leaping shark. How- 
ever, it vvas on one of them that I landed my record- 
breaking jewfish; so, after all, my friend did me a good 
turn in presenting me' with the hooks. 
Chains. 
Chains inserted between the hooks and the wire are an 
improvement over snells in which the hook is attached 
directly to the wire; but, as the said chains are expensive, 
it may be a case where- "le jeu n'en zmit pas la chem- 
delle." At any rate, I have lost very few, if any, fish for 
want of the chain. ^ 
Wires. 
I am still experimenting on wires for snells, hoping to 
find one that will fidfill all the conditions for an ideal 
snell ; but up to date can make no favorable report. Thus 
far I have tried the following: High steel piano wire, 
both heavy and light; soft Bessemer steel wire that is 
sold in straight four-foot lengths and which is pretty 
large in diameter; copper wire, both heavy and light; 
brass; phosphor-bronze; German silver. The objections 
to these various wires are as follows : 
High steel piano wire soon gets brittle from 
the chemical action of the salt water, thus ne- 
cessitating the adoption of heavy wire, which is 
extremely hard to make into snells. Moreover, 
it always comes in rolls and is impossible to 
straighten, or (when partially straightened) to 
keep straight. It is, however, the best of all the wires 
that I have yet tried. The soft Bessemer steel wire pulls 
out like molasses candy after it has been used on two or 
three fish. Copper is fairly satisfactory, but is not very 
strong, so it is necessary to employ a pretty heavy size, 
which is sometimes objectionable on account of sinking 
the bait too deep. I have not yet given up the hope of 
finding a copper wire sttitable for snells. The brass wire 
which I tried was so stiff that it was necessary to take 
the temper out of the ends before bending. The snells 
broke at the bends. It is possible that there is procurable 
brass wire without quite so much temper; but, if so, I 
have not been able to find it. The phosphor-bronze wire 
that I tried was in the form of a cable, but it was so re- 
fractory that the loops came undone. The German silver 
wire proved to be too weak, as it broke in the eye. 
If any of your readers will put me on to a good wire 
for snells T shall be much obliged to him, and shall cer- 
tainly give it a trial on the first opportunity. 
Leggins. 
In one of my papers I outlined a pair of leggins that 
I stated my intention of having made in order to protect 
my legs from being bruised by the butt of the rod when 
handling heavy fish ; so now desire to report that T have 
had them made, and that they are a great success, having 
saved me much discomfort on my last outing when strug- 
gling with sharks, jewfish and large tarpon. The leggins 
are rnade of two thicknesses of stout canvas, and each one 
is stiffened by sewing in four strips of thin hard wood 
about three-quarters of an inch wide, the fastening being 
done with three buckles. 'The leggins are attached to a 
belt by straps to prevent them from sliding down the 
legs. Their length is about eight inches, and the canvas 
w-raps entirely around the leg. Although they look 
clurnsy, they are quite comfortable. No one who tries the 
device will be disappointed therein. 
J. A. L. Waddell. 
A Commission Suggested. 
Editor Forest and Si ream: 
Those disputants who really seek only for the truth in 
the "question" about the .sea trout, and who are so posi- 
tive, should be willing to have a commission appointed to 
settle the matter; else they are subject to the imputation 
that they are posing as "naturalists" and wiseacres, 
wrangling for no other purpose than to see themselves 
in print. 
- The "question" is a strictly pedantic and immaterial 
one; and yet, to relieve many readers of Forest and 
Stre.^m from the weariness of the discussion, why not 
ask for say $500 from these gentlemen to defray the ex- 
penses of a commission of three expert North Atlantic 
Coast anglers, to be selected by your publication, to set- 
tle the "question" on briefs to be filed by the disputants, 
they to accept the decision as final. 
It is quite immaterial to me which way such a com- 
mission might decide; but I will contribute fifty dollars 
toward the expenses of s^ch a commission, provided the 
disputants will each conlribnte a like sum. 
I do not believe that these disputants want this "ques- 
tion" (raised by themselves) really settled. They want 
to play it with hook and line, and to perch, as did iEsop's 
fly. on the revolving wheel of the chariot, and cry out ; 
"What a dust I raise!" If this is not .so. let them now 
c'isprove it by coming forward and sett'nig it by an 
outside conunission where they cannot pose as experts 
and "jiaturalists," or know that they are dinning their 
"views" into the general ear of the sporting public under 
the delusion that this public is edified. 
L. F. Brown. 
A Lecture on the Yellowstone. 
A VERY delightful entertainment was enjoyed by a party 
of about forty invited guests on the evening of Tuesday, 
April 28, at the store of Messrs. .Miercrombie & Fitch, 
314 Broadway, when Mr. F. C. Todd, of Baltimore, Md., 
gave an interesting account of his various trips' through 
the Yellowstone National Park and the Jackson's Hole 
country, illustrating his remarks by a great number of 
most beautiful lantern slides. The occasion was one of 
very great interest and all present were enthusiastic about 
the talk and the illustrations \Yhich accompanied it, 
