540 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[April 3, 1909. 
Tarpon Waters. 
After many protests and much talk with the 
domestic authorities I was actually arriving at 
Boca Grande. It had been a long trip from 
New York, but not an unenjoyable one, and 
since early morning I had been in a land of 
oranges and strawberries, of palmettos and half 
wild cattle, and for the last hour passing over 
wide inlets and along the shores of the gulf. 
The air was warm and sweet and the breeze 
hardly salt, but laden with a wealth of new and 
agreeable odors different from any known to 
me. 
Where the train stopped at the wharf were 
many leisurely fishermen after sheepshead, and 
great strings of that banded and toothsome fish 
dangled from the piles of the dock. Two 
launches welcomed me—my friends in one—the 
Useppa Inn represented by the other, and I was 
made at home. That afternoon was spent in 
sitting on the porch, resting, in g-etting out my 
rod, and making preparations for the morrow. 
At an early hour in the morning we started 
south in the g( 5 bd ship Triton—a converted 
sloop with an eight horsepower engine, and a 
good roomy cabin—under the command of 
Frank Smith, and towing two skiffs behind. 
Charlotte Harbor was to the north, many islands 
on all sides, and Pine Island Sound before us. 
Down the sound we went, the wind rising all 
the time, until Rocky Channel was reached, 
where we began operations. A number eight 
hook on a wire snell, an eighteen-thread line 
and a very heavy black bass rod made up my 
outfit. First I took a small rock grouper, banded 
with brown stripes, and then a ladyfish, possi¬ 
bly of ip2 or 2 pounds. This beautiful fish 
fought hard. Three times he took line from 
me, three times he came reluctantly in, twice he 
jumped well out of water, shaking his head 
savagely; but at last he obeyed the clinging 
thing in his jaw, and after submitting grace¬ 
fully to my admiration, went back into the water 
none the worse for his experience. 
My friend, who was still-fishing for tarpon 
a couple of hundred yards away, began to yell, 
and out in the channel half way between us 
rose a large dark-colored fish; once he rose and 
then again, showing the white belly and cruel 
mouth of a shark. W. played him for some 
time .and finally got him up near the boat, when 
he called on us for assistance. I boarded his 
craft, and waiting until the shark showed his 
back, fired a .22 long into him. All fishermen 
should know that the revolver to have used 
was my .38, just then reposing on the big boat, 
but the .22 was all I had. Again the shark came 
up and two shots in the head had no effect what¬ 
ever. “Careful,” said Frank, “they may bound 
back,” and that was about the way it looked. 
Finally the pepper duster was put away, the 
large gaff driven into his gills, a club applied 
on the end of his nose, and after some ineffect¬ 
ual resistance, he was dragged over the stern. 
He measured between five and six feet and ac¬ 
tually weighed no pounds, a small but smelly 
brute, with a dark mouse-colored sandpaper 
skin, and as ill looking as any of God’s creatures. 
That afternoon we ran over the shoals, 
watched the pelicans dive for a dinner that 
never ends, and fished in a small creek for sea 
trout, of which we caught a considerable num¬ 
ber up to 2^ and 3 pounds. Then home before 
a setting sun and a dropping wind to the friendly 
door of the Useppa Inn. 
The next day for me was one of loafing and 
for the other boys one of strong winds and ex¬ 
plorations, which ended in finding a flock of 
snipe and an orange grove on both of which 
they levied. Then came another windy morn¬ 
ing when we wanted to try the big pass, Boca 
Grande, to see if the tarpon were coming in. 
We got a late start and then had to stop among 
the islands to catch some mullet for bait. This 
is usually done by seining them at night, but it 
now required a quick eye and hand with the 
cast net. Frank stood in the bow of the skiff, 
while one of us poled him along the edge of the 
mangroves. There the mullet lie, except at low 
tide, to keep away from their enemies and only 
venture out to jump and fall upon their backs 
to rid themselves of the slime that collects upon 
them. To catch these fellows in the cast net 
means an appreciation of where one is likely to 
dart when he sees the net coming, and it is wing 
shooting with a vengeance, but it takes a smart 
mullet to get away from Frank. Then we pro¬ 
ceeded to the pass. 
There, in the tideway in ten to forty feet of 
water, the sea was rolling in from the gulf, and 
with tide and cross wind made a turmoil that 
stirred up the sand and made the water roily. 
For two hours my good darky Julius and I 
trolled about, with the heavy rowboat standing 
“seven ways for Sunday,” but I got only a single 
strike and no fish. Then we went to lunch. 
No sooner had we finished and were catch¬ 
ing sheepshead than out in the pass the fish 
began to rise. The magic word “tarpon” came 
from Frank and the old darky at the same time. 
Off we went, this time with the heavy rod, a 
twenty-seven-thread line, heavy sinker, long 
steel wire and heavy hook. A great fish with 
wings and a long black tail rose near us—a 
“whipperee”—it seemed six feet in the air. 
Again he rose a little to one side and went 
under the boat where I could see the beautiful 
mottling on his back and the quick beat of his 
wings. Then half out of water came a golden- 
backed and silver-sided tarpon, with a tail that 
slipped sinuously after it into the sea and gave 
one an idea of the great power of the fish. H. 
and Frank were in the other skiff near us. 
Tarpon were rising all about us in the clear¬ 
ing water; by ones and twos and in little com¬ 
panies of five and six. Off where the surface 
was most broken an occasional kingfish went 
up into the air like a rocket anl down again 
like the stick; then a yellow looking loggerhead 
turtle came up to see the view. 
The waters were fairly alive. We began to 
get strikes and catch some large grouper, black, 
red and banded, up to about twelve pounds, but 
no tarpon and no kingfish. The last cut off a 
bait or two but did not get the hook. Still the 
tarpon rose and rolled their majestic sides out 
of the green water, and still we hoped against 
hope for a strike till the sun went down and 
the soft colors began to mount into the sky. 
The wind dropped to a zephyr, the sea smoothed 
out, and under the quiet and dull looking stars 
we threaded our way among the islands back to 
a good dinner at the hotel. 
The few days that followed differed only in 
the direction of wind. We fished Captiva and 
saw the great fish rising and rolling in the cur¬ 
rent and caught only small fish. We traveled 
among the islands, still-fished and caught sharks 
and sea trout, ladyfish and snappers, and I spent 
two very enjoyable evenings fishing with a fly 
on the edge of the channel, along the mangrove 
bushes and by the oyster bars. In such places 
there are always some small fish and one can¬ 
not guess at what he may raise. In that way 
I caught on a coachman and Parmachenee bellh 
ladyfish, trout and mangrove-snapper. I raised 
jack and doubtless other fish that I was not 
clever enough to boat, but even one’s guide can 
only guess at what you may get fast to. 
It would well repay anyone of an inquiring 
turn of mind to spend a part of the spring 
months there. He would get enough out of a 
single day’s fishing in one of the passes to war¬ 
rant the forty-eight hour trip. He must re¬ 
member that in that country over-exertion is 
penalized more than in a moderate climate, and 
there are a number of reasonable precautions 
as to eating, drinking and exposure to the sun 
that he must keep in mind. There is every rea¬ 
sonable chance of catching one or more tarpon 
from the 20th of March on. I should be glad 
to furnish information to anyone who may wish 
to acquaint himself with the ways and means. 
The charm of the country is great. There are 
the many gray-green islands, twisting channels, 
flats, bars and sea beaches backed by palms and 
palmettos, by live oaks, pines and mangroves. 
There are cormorants and frigate birds over¬ 
head, herons flying by, sunsets that rival the 
strange monsters and great fish that the Creator 
has curiously made to seek those waters. All 
go to make up a scene that had previously 
existed for me only in books of adventure and 
comic opera. G. F. D., Jr. 
The Fishing Club of France. 
Paris, March 15. — Editor Forest and Stream:* 
I thought that it might be interesting for you 
to receive a programme of the first casting tour¬ 
nament which is to be held at Paris on the 20th 
and 2ist of March. I will send you the results 
next week. This is the first meeting of the 
kind to be given in France. Fly-fishers arc 
numerous here and bait-casters with the short 
rod and the American multiplying reel are like¬ 
wise rather numerous, but up to the present time 
there have not been in our country either cast¬ 
ing clubs or meetings. 
I advise you also of the recent formation 
(December, 1908) of the Fishing Club of 
France. It is the first French association of 
sportsmen of this kind to be formed. It has 
now 450 members. I have been made president 
of the section of sport of the Fishing Club of 
France. We have a house with reading rooms, 
93 St. Legare street. On Monday of each week 
at 5 o’clock we have a meeting with a lecture. 
The reading room is open daily and there one 
can write his letters and read the sportsmen’s 
journals. We give prizes for all the fine fish 
captured. We arc going to arrange for some 
fishing expeditions. My ideas of sport have 
been in large measure inspired by what I have 
read in the reports that you have published on 
the subject of your National Association of 
Scientific Angling Clubs. In case some of your 
amateur fishing compatriots should come to 
Paris I would be delighted, on a word of recom¬ 
mendation from you, to receive them with the 
title of temporary members of our club—natur¬ 
ally without any charge. Henry de France. 
