Vol. XC 
FEBRUARY, 1920 
No. 2 
TARPON FISHING AT PORT ARANSAS 
ALTHOUGH ANGLERS MAY DIFFER ON THE FIGHTING QUALITIES OF GAME [FISH 
ALL MUST AGREE THAT THE LEAPING TARPON FURNISHES THE MOST EXCITEMENT 
I T may interest some of your readers 
to peruse the record of a tarpon-fish- 
ing trip made by my son, Leonard, and 
myself in May and June of 1918, at Port 
Aransas, formerly called Tarpon, Texas. 
We had been discussing the proposed trip 
for some months with very little hope, 
though, of being able to materialize it, 
because Leonard anticipated being called 
at any time to the colors, and my profes- 
sional work gives me very little leisure. 
About the middle of May I was called to 
New Orleans from New York in connec- 
tion with an important engineering pro- 
ject; and, after spending a week there, 
I learned that I would not be needed for 
another two weeks, consequently I wired 
Leonard to join me at Port Aransas and 
I took the first train for that place my- 
self, arriving late in the afternoon on 
May 22. 
It was thirteen years since I had vis- 
ited the locality, and I found so many 
changes that I scarcely recognized any 
of the old landmarks except the Tarpon 
Inn and the Life-Saving Station. The 
first thing that struck my eye as being 
incongruous for Mustang Island was the 
presence of a number of automobiles. 
Later I found that the market fishermen 
use them to transport their nets, tackle, 
bait, etc., between their houses and the 
fishing grounds, or the nearest attainable 
points thereto. Under the conditions that 
used to prevail, the earnings of fishermen 
were so small that not one of them could 
have saved enough money in a thousand 
years to purchase an automobile — in fact, 
in 1905, there were very few motor boats 
used by them, but now one half of the 
tarpon oarsmen possess such craft. Fish- 
ermen just now are earning big wages 
because of the high price of fish and the 
great demand there is for it in lieu of 
meat. Many fishes that in the old days 
were hardly considered edible now bring 
a fair price; and the figures paid for the 
choice kinds have increased about three- 
fold. Almost every day several big jew- 
fish were being caught, the largest that 
I saw weighing some 350 pounds. No 
By J. A. L. WADDELL 
• 
longer is the jack-fish thrown away as 
useless, for the large ones bring two 
cents per pound and the small ones twice 
as much. Even sharks are being dressed 
for their hides, which, I understand, are 
utilized for making shoes. Altogether, 
the fishermen are thriving and happy; 
but their ability to earn big wages, and 
the fact that many of them have gone 
elsewhere have combined to make it dif- 
ficult to provide enough oarsmen for the 
tarpon fishing while the season is on. 
Tarpon caught at Port Aransas, Texas 
The town is .several times larger than 
it used to be, and the new residences 
are finer than the old ones. This gives 
the place a more thriving appearance; 
but the great storm which struck the 
coast some two or three years- ago did 
much damage to Port Aransas; and all 
the ravages thereof have not yet been 
repaired and perhaps never will be. 
The most important change, however, 
is in the jetties, the north one having 
been repaired and extended, and an en- 
tirely new one having been built at the 
south side, as shown on the accompany- 
ing picture. These constructions have 
changed the location of the tarpon fish- 
ing; for in the old days the fish came into 
the Pass and were caught anywhere be- 
tween Point of Rocks (or even farther 
within the harbor on the St. Joseph’s 
Island shore) and the open water of the 
Gulf. Today they are found mainly out- 
side of the jetties, at their ends, or a 
short distance only within the Pass. Of 
course, some of them make for the in- 
land waters of the Bay; but they are 
generally small ones, and they do not 
seem to linger in the Pass as they did 
formerly. 
This modification of the fishing grounds 
has necessitated the use of motor boats 
to tow the skiffs out to the ends of the 
jetties and back. Generally one motor 
boat takes care of two skiffs. The 
standard charges are $6.00 per day for 
an oarsman with his motor boat, skiff, 
and bait, and an additional $4.00 per 
day for the second skiff, boatman, and 
bait. These figures are reasonable, being 
much less than those charged at the 
Florida resorts. Board and lodging at 
the Tarpon Inn comes to $3.00 per day. 
The accommodations there are as com- 
fortable as any true sportsman could ask 
for, and the food is both good and plenti- 
ful. The Inn is now run by my old 
friend, Ed. Cotter, his mother having re- 
tired to private life in a fine cottage 
which she built a few years ago. Ed, or 
I should say, His Honor, Mayor Cotter, 
was married about a week before my ar- 
rival to a most charming young lady, the 
daughter of one of the old yearly patrons 
of the Tarpon Inn. 
My first evening was spent in looking 
up some cf my old friends, including Mrs 
Cotter and Bob and Will Farley, with 
whom I have spent many a pleasant day 
in both fishing and shooting. Will no 
longer does any rowing, but is the pro- 
Contents Copyrighted, 1920, by Forest and Stream Publishing Co. 
