460 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[March 21, 1908. 
ably a solid wood rod and for long and satisfac¬ 
tory service, greenheart cannot be improved 
upon. Mountings should be of the very best qual¬ 
ity, cold-drawn German silver, as the ferrules 
are subjected to very severe strain, the continu¬ 
ous rush and leap of the tarpon quickly finding 
any defect in either material or workmanship. 
Guides should be of large size, and as there is 
considerable friction upon the line, it is best to 
mount tarpon rods with either agate or adamant 
guides. A six-foot tip requires three guides and 
a large top. Personally I favor double guides, 
that is, a guide tied upon each side of the rod. 
By thus using both sides of a tip, any tendency 
for the tip to set in one direction is done away 
with, and the rod is always straight and true. 
Guides should be carefully and closely whipped 
with stout linen thread or twist, and the ferrules 
and tops firmly cemented with an elastic water¬ 
proof ferrule cement. A one-piece rod has a 
spring seldom found in a two-piece one, and hav¬ 
ing no middle ferrule, the one-piece rod is of 
course more durable for constant fishing. The 
type of rod with a six-foot tip and a detachable 
or independent butt, cannot be improved upon. 
The tip is best made up to 12 to 15 ounces and 
the butt from 11 to 14 ounces and 22 inches long, 
the complete rod weighing some 23 to 30 ounces. 
An Irish linen cable or hawser laid line is the 
most satisfactory and strongest salt water reel 
line, and a flax line can be usually found stocked 
by the larger dealers, in sizes from 9 to 30 thread. 
The general or regulation tarpon line is of 21 
thread, although the experienced angler will prob¬ 
ably find an 18 thread line amply strong for even 
the heaviest fishing. The line should be first 
soaked thoroughly in water and stretched end to 
end to dry. This prevents any tendency of the 
line to kink as well as to even up it strength. 
After use the line should be taken from the reel 
and dried, thus preserving its strength and life 
very materially. 
A well made reel holding from 175 to 200 yards 
of 18 or 21 thread line should be purchased from 
a reliable maker, and while more expensive as to 
first cost, a good reel will outwear several in¬ 
ferior and cheaply built ones. The adjustable 
handle drag or governor, is a very convenient at¬ 
tachment for heavy fishing, doing away with the 
leather brake and thumb stalls. With this device 
it is never necessary for the angler to release his 
grasp on the handle, the reel being always under 
control and the drag is given the fish by simply 
holding the handle stationary. This drag or ten¬ 
sion can be easily regulated to suit all kinds of 
fishing and for greater convenience the governor 
handle should be ordered fitted with small thumb 
or wing screws. 
The O’Shaughnessy hand-forged bronzed hooJ< 
is the best for tarpon and general sea-fishing, 
that known as the Van Vleck pattern with tapered 
bronzed eye fulfilling every angling requirement. 
Sizes range from 12/0 down to 8/0, the larger 
hooks being generally used for surface fishing or 
trolling. 
Leaders should be at least five feet long, of 
piano wire, phosphor bronze, German silver, or a 
braided cotton snood as preferred. In shark in¬ 
fested waters the cotton snood should be used, as 
a shark can readily bite through the snood and 
escape. There is nothing so discouraging as tug¬ 
ging for an hour or more at a 300-pound sand- 
shark before finding out what seems to be the 
matter with your line. A bronze barrel swivel 
should always be used between the snood and 
line, to prevent twisting and kinking. 
Charles Stillman, 
[to be continued.] 
Sail Fishing. 
The small number of sailfish annually taken 
in Atlantic' waters is partially explained by the 
uncertainties and difficulties to be encountered 
in locating their presence, as well as the great 
skill, experience and endurance required in 
handling them with rod and reel. Although in¬ 
frequently seen near the Florida Keys, they sel- 
JOHN B. CAULDWELI.. 
With two sailfish taken five miles off Palm Beach, Fia., 
in one morning’s fishing. 
dom leave the vicinity of the warm Gulf Stream, 
whose waters approach within five miles of 
Palm Beach. One usually finds them on warm, 
sunny days, swimming with their great dorsal 
fins slightly out of water, and immediately a 
school is discovered, all power must be used to 
forge ahead of them, cross their path a hundred 
yards in advance, then stop and allow the boat 
to drift slowly, when a lively fresh bait should 
be cast. 
While they often strike at cut bait or a spoon 
in trolling, they are seldom well hooked, owing 
to the peculiar character of their jaws. As a 
rule they bite very quietly, and must be given 
thirty to forty feet of line before striking, as 
their mouths are small, hard and bony, not un¬ 
like the tarpon in their internal structure, and 
can rarely be captured unless the bait is well 
swallowed. When hooked they create a terrific 
commotion, first endeavoring to peel the most 
powerful reels in their rushes, then making per¬ 
pendicular leaps in rapid succession, clearing 
the waves by many feet, trying desperately to 
shake out the hook, and finally making long side 
dashes just under water, somewhat like a king- 
fish, only these movements are occasionally in¬ 
terrupted by low, rapid flights just above the 
water, when their immense sail seems to play its 
part in aerial navigation. 
The sail is a remarkable development of the 
dorsal fin in which the ribs are connected by a 
membrane, giving specimens of seven to eight 
feet in length an equal number of square feet 
of sail area, and this in turn is balanced by a 
long, narrow pectoral fin which apparently plays 
the part of a centerboard. Their powerful spears 
have been known to create consternation among 
the occupants of a fishing boat, as records exist 
of these fish having jumped into small boats and 
even attacked them under the waterline, pierc¬ 
ing the timbers and causing serious leaks. It 
generally takes a half hour before they can be 
brought to gaff, and when landed in a small 
boat, pandemonium reigns supreme for many 
moments, as both their powerful tails and 
dangerous spears are prepared for instant use. 
Like the tarpon, they have a common enemy 
in the large sharks that abound in tropical 
waters, and when the latter appear upon the 
scene the antics of the sailfish are greatly in¬ 
creased. The sailfish, although but little known 
to the average deep-sea angler, is destined to 
rival the tarpon in the estimation of North¬ 
ern fishermen. Only the most persiste and 
ardent sportsmen who are at home in the rough 
waters and strong currents of the Gulf Stream 
can hope to secure one of these trophies, the ap¬ 
pearance of which when first caught far excels 
in brilliancy and variety of coloring the much- 
lauded silver king. This interesting fish, which 
may be distinctly classified as an open sea fish 
(Istiophorus nigricans), is occasionally found near 
the Brazilian coast, in the West Indies and off 
the West African coast from Cape of Good 
Hope to Morocco. The first of the species ever 
taken off Palm Beach was captured about four 
winters ago by Richmond Talbot, of Tuxedo, 
and since then scarcely more than one fish a 
year bad been taken up 'to last season, but this 
winter’s catch already numbers a dozen speci¬ 
mens, and among the successful amateur fisher¬ 
men may be mentioned Messrs. Crimmins, 
Christian. Longly, Waterbury, Park, Miller and 
Cauldwell. Mr. Cauldwell has so far made the 
phenomenal record of landing two fish in one 
morning, one of which measured close to eight 
feet in length. 
Warning to Anglers. 
Angler’s Wife: “Yes, my dear, this is the 
second time that he’s taken a feather out of my 
hat to dress his wretched flies with. But I told 
him flatly I wouldn’t stand it any longer. And 
now I shall insist on his buying me a new hat.”— 
Oesterreichische Fischerei-Zeitung. 
