The English Angler 
 
 /iihr€ay!^c{ ^cz^^ 
 
rsl. 
 
THE LIBRARY 
 
 OF 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 
 OF CALIFORNIA 
 
 PRESENTED BY 
 
 PROF. CHARLES A. KOFOID AND 
 
 MRS. PRUDENCE W. KOFOID 
 
 
 ,,j\ 
 f'^*" , - 
 
,ME. EOWLAND WAED'B BEQUESTS 
 
 Mr. J. 'Eowland Ward, tlie -ft-oll-known 
 Tiatxiralitst and taxidermist, of Piccadilly, who, 
 AS recently &tatod in " The Glol^e," left property 
 •valued at £14139, and bequeathed shares in the 
 ibasiTiess to his employees and £5,000 to be ex- 
 pended on the purchase of specimens for tJie 
 iNatuTal History Museum, left the residue of his 
 estate to such eight of the afternamed fourteen 
 anstitutions as Mrs. Ward should select, and in 
 default of selection for twelve months after his 
 ideath then to the whole of thean equally. 
 
 The institutions are : — University College Hos^ 
 fvital. Canoer Hospital, Fulham-road, Home for 
 iWorkimr Girls, Victoria-street, Gordon Boys' 
 Home. British OTphan Asylum, Slougli, Charity 
 Organisation Society, Dogs' Home, Dr. Bar- 
 mardo's Homes, Cripples' Home, Marylebone- 
 ffoad, London Ophthalmic Hospital, Sussex 
 Co^lnty Hospital, Natural History Museum, and 
 IBoyal Boscombe and South Hants Hospital. 
 
 „^ 
 
THE LARGEST TARPON CAUGHT WITH THE ROD 
 The tarpon weighed 213 lb. full. It was 7 feet 2 inches 
 long, the girth w^as 46 inches. It w^as caught by N. M. 
 George, of Danbury, Conn., at Bahia Hunda, Florida. 
 
 ILLUSTRATED LONDON NEWS, June 23, 1906 - 
 
THE AUTHOR. 
 
THE 
 
 ENGLISH ANGLER 
 
 IN 
 
 FLORIDA 
 
 WITH SOME DESCRIPTIVE NOTES OF THE GAME 
 ANIMALS AND BIRDS 
 
 ROWLAND WARD, f.z.s. 
 
 At'THOK OK ' KECORDS OF BIG GAME,' ' SPORTSMAN'S HANDBOOK,' ETC. 
 
 WITH NUMEROUS ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 LONDON 
 
 ROWLAND WARD, l.mited 
 
 166 PICCADILLY 
 1898 
 
W37 
 
 PREFACE 
 
 Tarpon fishing sport was for many years a kind of mystery 
 to both American and English fishermen, but within the last 
 decade it has become well known, and has even developed 
 into something like a " boom." At least fifteen years since 
 a gentleman who had caught several tarpon on rod and line, 
 calling upon me in Piccadilly, showed me one of the scales 
 he had brought home from Florida ; and a striking object 
 it was, from its immense size, its horny substance, and, 
 most of all, from that partial covering of fine whitish 
 silver which, at a casual glance, looks as if it could be dusted 
 off with the light flick of a handkerchief From that time 
 forward I kept the tarpon in view as an honest object of 
 desire, and all that I read about it, and the specimens which 
 came under my notice as a taxidermist, confirmed my 
 determination to kill one for myself some day. 
 
 Last spring Mrs. Ward and myself accordingly sailed in the 
 
 ir^nA nA/%*^ 
 
THE ENGLISH ANGLER IN FLORIDA 
 
 s.s. Majestic on the 24th March. We were home again by the 
 end of May. 
 
 Meanwhile, some account of the sport I enjoyed had been 
 published in the Field and other papers, and thereafter I was 
 often asked to put together my notes and publish them in 
 handbook form, for the guidance and assistance of brother 
 anglers who might meditate a visit to Florida. As the 
 camera is always an inseparable companion for me on such 
 expeditions, I brought back a large collection of views. Owing 
 to unfriendly weather these were often much more imperfect 
 than I should have wished, but they are at least genuine. 
 They would have been better in some cases if I had taken a 
 stand and could have used it for time exposures. What I 
 have are certainly better than nothing — infinitely better than 
 the vamped -up illustrations that are often given to the public. 
 The requests made to me, and the possession of these original 
 photographs, have at length induced me to make the attempt 
 (from which I confess I at first shrank) of recording my 
 experiences in Florida ; and I do it, as an enthusiastic sports- 
 man of long standing with rod as well as gun, and also as 
 something of a traveller, in the hope that what I have to 
 say will be useful to many. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 1. From England to Florida , . . . i 
 
 2. On the Fishing Grounds . . . . .9 
 
 3. Sport with Tarpon . . .16 
 
 4. In Fort Myers Waters . . -39 
 
 5. Our Life Ashore and Afloat . . . .46 
 
 6. Pass Fishing . . . . . -57 
 
 7. Continuation of Diary . . . . 71 
 
 8. Some Monsters . . . 83 
 
 9. Small Fishing . . . . . - . 92 
 
 10. The Season of 1897 . . . . .101 
 
 11. Other Sport in Florida . . . . • "5 
 
The Book of the Tappon, by A. W. Dimock, with ninety-three photo, ,.^ 
 graphs by J. A. Dimock. (Frank Palmer.) ^ "^- O j 
 
 DURING recent years several works dealing with tarpon-fishing have aippeared 
 in print. When first anglers read that excellent book " Tarpon Fishing in ' 
 Mexico and Florida," by Mr. E. G. S. Churchill, they wondered how it was 
 possible for any photographer to get such snap-shots of fish leaping as were 
 then reproduced. We have now from the pen of Mr. A. W. Dimock, an American 
 angler, a book which graphically describes how and where to catch tarpon, 
 and also how to hold them so that the camera-man may get his pictures. In 
 this case the man behind the camera was Mr. Julian A. Dimock, and in the ninety 
 odd photographs reproduced he has given us the best series of tarpon-fishing 
 pictures yet seen. Some of the illustrations are wonderful, and every incident 
 in a day's tarpon-fishing, from the moment of hooking a fish until it is finally 
 brought to the gaff, is clearly shown by the camera. Another well-known 
 American author, Mr. C. F. Holder, has described fishing for the " silver king " 
 as being " without do'ibt the most sensational and exciting of sports, and one 
 of the most dangerous when persistently followed." These remarks may well 
 be applied to tarpon-fishing if carried out in the method employed by Mr. 
 Dimock and his companion, for they fished entirely from a small Peterboro' 
 canoe, and often using only a light trout rod. Most anglers find that 
 playing tarpon from a good-sized boat with a strong rod is sufficiently sensa- 
 tional ; but Mr. Dimock seems to relish the additional excitement of often having 
 his small craft capsized by the mad rushes of a big fish. The author writes 
 modestly of his own exploits and of the risks which he takes in landing these 
 game fighting fish under most difficult conditions. To give an idea of what 
 sport he has had we may quote the following extract from his book. During 
 two months' fishing on the coast of Florida in fifty-two days he captured 
 334 tarpon, and " the tarpon varied from ijlbs. to a hundred times that weight, 
 and in length from i8in. to 6^it. All were taken from a light Peterboro' canoe, 
 and sixty-three of them on an eight-ounce fly-rod." This, indeed, must have 
 been something like sport, and we thoroughly recommend anyone who is con- 
 templating a tarpon-fishing expedition to get a copv of this most interesting 
 
 ^'^°'^- ' a/v- >^>V^ 
 
 TARPON PROBLEMS. — In your issue of June 29 your corre- 
 epondent " F. G. A." propounds certain questions ooncerning 
 tuna and tarpon. I am unable to give ihim any information 
 concerning tuna, never having caught them, but I can" perhaps 
 answer some of his questions about tarpon. In addition to his 
 question, " What is the maximum weight of the tarpon ?" I 
 
 I would state TJSnhe largest tarpon over cauglit at Aransas 
 Pass, Texas, U.S.A., measured 7ft. 6in. in length, and weighed 
 2251b. This fish is mounted and set up in the office of the 
 Bayside Inn, at Rockport, Texas. As to the probability of 
 there being larger t«,Tpon, I oan only state that during the 
 last eleven years at Aransas Pass, probably 7000 tarpon have 
 been caught and measured, and this fish is the largest of them 
 all. Your correspondent's second question ooncernmg the food 
 of the tarpon, would seem to imply ^^^^ ^^ ^es cut bait and 
 fishes in 45ft. depth of water. The bait used at Aransas Pass 
 is the natural food of the tarpon, viz., a whole mullet about 
 6 to Sin. long. This bait is trolled very neair the surface of the 
 water, and, in fact, ia frequently oast in the path of the 
 tarpon, whose approach can often be plainly seen. It may be 
 of interest to describe the tackle prescribed by the Tarpon 
 Light Tackle Club of Port Aransas. The rod (composed of a 
 butt and a tip), wihen assembled, must not be less than 6ft. in 
 length. The tip must not be less than 4ft. 6in. in length, and 
 must weigh not more than 6oz. The butt must not be over 
 18in. in length. The linen lino must not be larger than a 
 nine-thread line. It would bo interesting to learn how th« 
 above-described tackle comparoe with that used when fishiM ^^^ 
 
 for tarpon in 45ft. depth of water with cut bait.— H. H. C. ■<> ^^t^jL. 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 The Author 
 
 Frontispiece 
 
 Map : from the Indexed County and Township Pocket-Map and 
 Shipper's Guide, published by Rand, M'Nally, and Company, of 
 Chicago and New York . . .4 
 
 The Ra\'ania ....... 9 
 
 On the Fishing Grovmds . . .10 
 
 Two Tarpon . . .11 
 
 Tarpon Scale (actual size) . .14 
 
 The Friendly Socket .18 
 
 Tarpon Reel . . . . .19 
 
 The Tarpon Hook . .24 
 
 Sloop hired from Myers for Tarpon Fishing on the River . .27 
 "He was entering the water with a resounding splash after his aerial 
 
 flight" . . . . . .31 
 
 "The tarpon with mighty power goes off in one rush" . .32 
 
 " Ever)' one satisfied " . . . . . .34 
 
 " Taking off the Scales " . . .36 
 
 A Small Orange-grower's House above Myers . , 37 
 
THE ENGLISH ANGLER IN FLORIDA 
 
 A View in Myers ....... 
 
 Young Virginian Deei' (photographed at Mr. McGregor's, Fort 
 Myers) ...... 
 
 Landing Stage at Myers 
 
 Mrs. Rowland Ward . . 
 
 The Birds here illustrated are those usually seen in Florida Waters 
 
 Yacht Tarpon ...... 
 
 Dode, the coloured Guide, sitting on Cockpit, holding Tarpon Line 
 
 Oflf the main River, about twenty miles above Myers 
 
 The Sheepshead . . . 
 
 Two Days' Catch by a Lady and her Husband at Captiva Pass 
 (Jew-Fish on the left estimated to weigh 795 lbs.) 
 
 Channel Bass . . ... 
 
 Punta Rassa Cable Station .... 
 
 Mr. McGregor's Schooner below Myers, opposite his Winter House 
 
 The Belle of Myers ..... 
 
 Fishing in the Caloosahatchie River, twenty miles above Myers 
 
 Mr. Vom Hofe's Saw-Fish 
 
 The Saw-Fish and its Captor 
 
 Saw-Fish taken on Tarpon Tackle . 
 
 The same Saw-Fish getting on to small Boat 
 
 " Some of them are very queer Fish " 
 
 Black Bass .... 
 
 A Quiet Spot 
 
 PAGE 
 41 
 
 42 
 
 43 
 44 
 47 
 50 
 54 
 55 
 57 
 
 61 
 
 71 
 
 72 
 
 75 
 77 
 79 
 85 
 87 
 89 
 89 
 93 
 
 lOI 
 
 116 
 
THE ENGLISH ANGLER IN FLORIDA 
 
 FROM ENGLAND TO FLORIDA 
 
 The voyage from Liverpool to New York is, by this time of 
 day, too well known to require elaborate description. The 
 track is a well-beaten ocean highway, and a run across " the 
 herring pond " is seldom of little interest to other than the 
 passenger. Our experience, however, suggests that I ought to 
 remind the reader that if he sails after the middle of March 
 he may expect equinoctial gales. We had them, and obstinate 
 head seas, until the 30th, when we congratulated one another 
 upon our first really fine day ; and the assurances that had 
 been given us of arrival on the ist of April were, as a matter 
 of fact, duly honoured by our bringing up in the river about 
 
THE ENGLISH ANGLER IN FLORIDA 
 
 five o'clock in the morning to await the pleasure of the medical 
 examination. 
 
 Unless the traveller to Florida has brought his sporting 
 or other equipment from the other side, he will find it no 
 New York ^°^^ °^ 'Cvcwo. to remain a few hours in New York, 
 purchases, and more especially if he has to provide himself 
 with the fishing tackle necessary for tarpon and other fish. 
 The way, as to ship and train travelling, had been made 
 delightfully easy to me before starting. I went to Thomas 
 Cook and Son, placed myself in their hands, and after calling 
 at their office in New York there was no further trouble. 
 We and our baggage were straightaway booked to the end 
 of our land journey, namely, Punta Gorda, West Florida. 
 Roughly speaking, London is nine days from this place. 
 
 Before purchasing fishing tackle we went off to the 
 Museum, where I wanted to examine the casts of Florida 
 fishes, but as they were very indifferently done, and not 
 named, I did not waste much attention upon them, devoting 
 what brief leisure I had to the stuffed alligators, birds, and 
 other animals ; the birds well represented with their natural 
 surroundings. Here also I was deeply interested to find a 
 picture of Audubon, — with whom my father travelled over fifty 
 
FROM ENGLAND TO FLORIDA 
 
 years ago, — and the gun he used. By the advice of Mr, J. A. 
 Jameson, who had special knowledge of the subject, I bought my 
 tackle at E. Vom Hofe's, a practical tarpon fisherman himself, 
 and a well-known frequenter of the Florida waters. What I 
 bought will be described presently under the heading " Tackle." 
 It is mentioned here as a reminder, because although tackle 
 may be procured in Florida, New York is the best place 
 for the purpose. A good map of Florida should not be at 
 this preliminary stage forgotten ; there will be ample oppor- 
 tunities of studying it en route. The best map I could procure 
 was the Indexed County and Township Pocket - Map and 
 Shipper's Guide of Florida, published by Rand, M'Nally, and 
 Company, of Chicago and New York. It is well indexed, 
 and the rivers are clearly indicated. 
 
 The railway trains are of the customary American type — 
 Pullman sleepers, and drawing-room cars for those journey 
 who prefer that isolated luxury. Passing as you South. 
 do by Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington, and speeding 
 southward through Virginia and the Carolinas, past Charleston 
 to Georgia, under any circumstances the run is replete with 
 interest to the English traveller. Although our day of start 
 was the 3rd April, we found it intensely hot in the train. 
 
THE ENGLISH ANGLER IN FLORIDA 
 
 There was a buffet on board with the usual coloured attendants ; 
 but the sight of tinned goods might lead some persons to 
 
 FROM THE INDEXED COUNTY AND TOWNSHIP POCKET-MAP AND SHIPPER'S GUIDE. 
 Published by Rand, M'Nally, and Co., of Chicago and New York. 
 
 consider whether it would not have been more agreeable to 
 have arranged a portable commissariat, along with the other 
 stores, in New York. 
 
FROM ENGLAND TO FLORIDA 
 
 It may be here mentioned that you may either travel 
 through direct to Punta Gorda, sleeping two nights in the 
 train, or break the journey at Jacksonville for one night. 
 We elected to follow the latter course, and left at 9.30 A.M.; 
 the other train started somewhere about five o'clock P.M. 
 
 There is yet another route, namely, the sea voyage from 
 New York to Jacksonville. The steamers are large and 
 luxuriously appointed for passengers, and run frequently and 
 regularly during the season. This is indeed the favourite 
 route for the New York people, who are habitual visitors to 
 Florida. It is the cheapest mode of reaching Jacksonville, 
 and if a little longer in point of time, has the compensating 
 pleasures of life on board ship. 
 
 We were too early in the season for green foliage and 
 spring flowers in the northern half of the journey, and, besides, 
 there were rains, clouds, and high winds. All day on Sunday 
 (4th April) we were rattling through dreary Georgian pine forest 
 and swamp, with occasional glimpses of wild-bird life, notably 
 flocks of gulls, the species of which we were unable to identify. 
 The weatherboard houses that came into view looked very 
 desolate under these circumstances. One of the not un- 
 common incidents of long-journey travel in the States kept 
 
THE ENGLISH ANGLER IN FLORIDA 
 
 US fretting at a long delay within half an hour of the time at 
 which we were due at Jacksonville. One of the swamp bridges 
 was on fire, and the repairs kept us six hours waiting. Some of 
 the car darkies, who seemed to be frightened out of their timid 
 lives, were afraid of " crackers " (as the blacks of solitary 
 habits inhabiting those wilds are called), and it was evident 
 that you had only to put on something white, and play the 
 ghost, to scare them into fits. 
 
 Jacksonville is but a few miles south of the river boundary 
 of Georgia, and was our gateway to Florida. It is a really 
 Entering important city, and till within comparatively 
 Honda, recent times a reference to Florida, even to the 
 untravelled American, meant Jacksonville and little else. Rail- 
 way lines now centre there from all points of the compass, 
 and it has its Government buildings and a choice of fine 
 hotels. But it was night when we reached the station, and 
 we were not in the humour to admire or get up any en- 
 thusiasm, with the heavy rain and humid atmosphere in 
 which we found ourselves. The comforts of the great Windsor 
 Hotel, where a i^ysi smart people were still staying, were, 
 however, cordially appreciated. We found a good dinner ; 
 and at 8.30 next morning, after early bath and breakfast. 
 
FROM ENGLAND TO FLORIDA 
 
 resumed our journey. The season was now over, and the 
 hotel was closing in a few days. 
 
 Now in truth we were soon able to understand something of 
 the real Florida, and the enthusiasm with which it is regarded 
 as a health resort in the Northern States, whence hundreds 
 of citizens migrate from December to April, to find warmth 
 and beauty in place of merciless frosts and snows. There are 
 two aspects of Florida : ( i ) the dismal swamps and wildernesses 
 haunted by alligators, crocodiles, pumas, and rattlesnakes ; (2) 
 the fragrant orange groves, palm-trees, and semi-tropical shrubs 
 and flowers, bright home of gorgeous butterflies and birds. 
 Beautiful, in the lovely morning, after the gloom of the previous 
 day, were the orange plantations, and the graceful fan palms 
 towering above the forest trees. From some of the latter, 
 festoons of moss-like growths hung like banners. All around, 
 the greenery was as that of an English June. Here were the 
 pine and other trees tapped to furnish materials for the 
 turpentine industry. Flights of buzzards were in the air. 
 The rivers we crossed, with their banks lined with palms, 
 would have reminded me of the Upper Nile but that the 
 ground was bright in its emerald herbage. One pool we 
 passed was a reservoir of flowering water-lilies, and there were 
 
THE ENGLISH ANGLER IN FLORIDA 
 
 butterflies on the wing of the deepest orange colour. This was 
 indeed typical Florida, and it was not difficult to comprehend 
 why the visitors from the New England winter hail it as their 
 Italy, their " own Riviera." 
 
 However, before the eighteen hours in the train were at 
 an end, we longed for a change. It was in truth at the 
 last part rather a tedious journey. The principal meal 
 of the day was taken during a halt at Lakeland, where we 
 changed to a branch line, the express continuing westerly to 
 Tampa, called " the Magic City of the Gulf" ; it is the fashion- 
 able resort of pleasure-seekers, and a rival to Jacksonville for 
 the metropolitan honours of the State. It was slow travelling 
 from Lakeland, and it was half an hour after midnight when 
 we reached our terminus, the town of Punta Gorda. 
 
THE RAVALLIA. 
 
 II 
 
 ON THE FISHING GROUNDS 
 
 It was something to be thankful for that we were at last at 
 Punta Gorda, and actually on the fishing grounds of Florida, 
 on the coast where tarpon abounded, and where Punta 
 the waters teemed with other game fishes, not per- Gorda. 
 haps so distinguished for heavy weights, but beloved by the 
 angler. Had not one of the pamphlets lying about the saloons 
 in the train informed us ? " Here indeed is the ideal resort of 
 sportsmen and anglers. Located just below the 27th parallel 
 of latitude, the temperature never goes below 40 degrees in 
 winter, and frost is unknown." There was also an alluring 
 paragraph about a modern first-class hotel beautifully located 
 in the bay ; and at half-past twelve at night that was quite as 
 important as, "the scenery is all that appeals to the sentiments 
 of a lover of Nature." But we had literally reckoned without 
 
lo THE ENGLISH ANGLER IN FLORIDA ii 
 
 our host. The season here was over, and that modern first- 
 class hotel was shut up. 
 
 The dilemma, however, was not very serious, as we in- 
 tended to go on to Fort Myers by the first steamer, and by 
 
 ON THE FISHING GROUNDS. 
 
 good fortune we found that there would be one starting in 
 the morning, and that we might go on board and take our 
 berths. This we did there and then, obtaining, with the 
 welcome accommodation, our first acquaintance with the 
 mosquitoes of Florida, which did us the honour more or less 
 
ON THE FISHING GROUNDS 
 
 to keep us company during the whole of our stay in those 
 parts. 
 
 Although some days were to pass before I caught my 
 first tarpon, continual references would be made to that fish 
 
 TWO TARPON. 
 
 by the sportsmen seen or heard of on our sailings and excur- 
 sions in this interesting fishing country. As a rule, people 
 there think and talk of nothing else, and I was much amused 
 one day when a gentleman estimated the proportions of a 
 
12 THE ENGLISH ANGLER IN FLORIDA n 
 
 lady about whom we were conversing by the remark : " Well, 
 she is a very fine woman ; weighs quite as much, I should say, 
 as a 1 60 lb. tarpon." 
 
 Being now, therefore, at Punta Gorda, on the scene of 
 action, so to speak, I will take the opportunity of unburdening 
 myself of what I know about the tarpon and how to catch it. 
 Also, this is the convenient time for informing the reader that 
 Mrs. Ward undertook the task of making such rough notes 
 of our daily doings as we thought worth preserving ; and 
 when the tarpon, in its general character, has been disposed 
 of in the following pages, the entries from her Diary will 
 be added for such particulars of sport and travel as she 
 recorded. 
 
 The tarpon bears a variety of names, some of which are 
 
 already falling into desuetude, though occasionally it is still 
 
 The Fish ^P^^^ tarpum. He is " The Silver King " and 
 
 itself. « The Big- Eyed Herring " of his admirers. The 
 late Professor Brown Goode deals with it in the chapter in 
 his work entitled " The Herring and its Allies." He mentions 
 it in connection with the shads, and says the most important 
 member of the family is the Tarpum, or Megcdopus thrissoides, 
 or M. atlanticus. At the time the work was written not a 
 
II ON THE FISHING GROUNDS 13 
 
 great deal was known of the fish as providing grand sport with 
 
 the rod and line. Indeed, some notes contributed by Mr. 
 
 Stearns may be interesting to quote upon the point, as, in 
 
 some respects, showing the somewhat imperfect knowledge 
 
 which existed upon the subject within comparatively recent 
 
 times : — 
 
 The Silver Fish, or Grande Ecaille, is common everywhere on the 
 Gulf coast. It is an immense and active fish, preying eagerly upon 
 schools of young fry, or any small fish that it is able to receive into its 
 mouth, and in pursuit of which it ascends fresh-water rivers quite a long 
 distance. During September 1879 I saw large numbers of Silver fish 
 eight or ten miles up the Apalachicola River, and am told that that was 
 not an unusual occurrence. They go up the Homosassa River in 
 Florida, and several of the Texas rivers, so I have subsequently learned. 
 The Tarpum will take a baited hook, but it is difficult to handle, and 
 seldom landed. The Pensacola seine fishermen dread it while dragging 
 their seines, for they have known of persons having been killed or 
 severely injured by its leaping against them from the seine in which it 
 was enclosed. Even when it does not jump over the cork line of a 
 seine, it is quite likely to break through the netting before landed. I 
 have secured several specimens, the smallest of which weighed 30 lbs., 
 and the largest about 75 lbs. The Tarpum is said to be palatable and 
 well flavoured. 
 
 Professor Goode adds that the sailors' name for the fish at 
 Key West, Bermuda, Georgia, and elsewhere, was tarpum or 
 tarpon, while in Florida it was commonly called Jew fish. 
 
14 THE ENGLISH ANGLER IN FLORIDA w 
 
 The exact range of this fish is really unknown, but I have 
 heard of some being caught at one portion of the coast of 
 
 TARPON SCALE — ACTUAL SIZE. 
 
 Jamaica, and it has occurred in other portions of the West 
 Indies, and even the Bermudas. This gigantic herring is by 
 this time not altogether a stranger to the British public, as 
 
II ON THE FISHING GROUNDS 15 
 
 large specimens, very well set up, have been exhibited from 
 time to time, and they will soon be in every museum. 
 
 The large scales, which are from 2 to nearly 4 inches in 
 diameter, with about a third of the upper curve covered with 
 beautiful silvering, are also not unknown, for many successful 
 fishers for tarpon, although they do not bring home the fish 
 itself, preserve the scales, which go very easily through the 
 post in a cardboard box, and are always acceptable as a 
 trophy. 
 
Ill 
 
 SPORT WITH TARPON 
 
 It must not be supposed that tarpon are caught every 
 
 day ; indeed you have sometimes to angle in vain for several 
 
 days without a strike. They are, in fact, like all other fish in 
 
 the world, capricious, and you have to exercise the virtue of 
 
 patience, and be thankful when you get them in the humour. 
 
 The tackle used for this big strong fish should be of the 
 
 Taroon ^^^^ ^^^^ ' ^^"^^ ^Y 'idvice to the English angler 
 
 Tackle, proceeding to Florida is to expend a portion of 
 
 his time on landing in New York so as to put together his 
 
 equipment thoroughly. 
 
 The rod is generally a bamboo pole, as shown in the 
 
 frontispiece illustration, with a short butt of about 
 The Rod. 
 
 i|- feet in length, and the entire length of the 
 
 implement should not be more than 7 feet. After the more 
 
Ill SPORT WITH TARPON 17 
 
 or less limber salmon and trout rods of the old country, this 
 rod handles very strangely at first, but you will soon fall into 
 the right manner of using it ; it proves very powerful, and it is 
 surprising how far you can cast with it. A tarpon rod can 
 be bought in New York for £2 or less, and those at the 
 figure I name, as I can vouch from experience, are really good. 
 As there is always a chance of killing a 200 lb. tarpon, or 
 something heavier still ; as, moreover, there are accidents by 
 flood and field to be always guarded against by the prudent 
 sportsman, I should advise taking three rods and sets of 
 tackle, although I only took two. Mr. E. Vom Hofe, of 
 New York, is, as already stated, himself a very successful 
 tarpon fisher ; he has therefore taken great pains to perfect 
 all details of tackle for tarpon fishing after consultations with 
 brother anglers, and, from his and their experience, is there- 
 fore both practical and reliable. 
 
 The best class of butt, including German silver reel 
 fittings, costs about four dollars, and the six-foot tips are 
 made of either greenheart, split cane, or plain bamboo, and 
 range between five and twenty dollars each. Most of the 
 habitual tarpon fishers have rings on opposite sides of the 
 
 rod, and the end ring lined with a movable collar of agate. 
 
 C 
 
 7 
 
i8 
 
 THE ENGLISH ANGLER IN FLORIDA 
 
 THE FRIENDLY SOCKET. 
 
 No doubt the rush of a tarpon, with 200 yards of line on the 
 reel, if very often repeated, would soon make short work of any 
 ordinary soft metal, but I never suffered at all from not having 
 
 an agate ring. The rod I 
 
 found most in use during 
 
 my last visit was the one 
 
 illustrated, with the butt 
 
 whipped round with thin 
 
 cane as with some of our 
 
 English trout rods. 
 
 It is not custornary to have a large knob at the end of the 
 
 butt, and this must be considered when it is remembered 
 
 that at times an enormous strain is laid upon 
 
 Friendly the personal strength of the angler. The first 
 
 Socket 
 
 tarpon I caught, for example, took me one hour 
 
 and a half to kill in rough water, holding on by sheer force 
 all the time. Hence the use of the friendly socket, which is 
 fixed to a leather belt. It is of course obtainable at the tackle 
 store. This simple contrivance is a real convenience, and 
 should not therefore be omitted in the equipment. Some 
 anglers use thumb-stalls, either thickly knitted or of leather, 
 to protect the fingers. At one time they were considered 
 
The check or dras 
 
 '^^SBilfe^ 
 
 Tarpon line (actual size). 
 \ 
 
 TARPON REEL. 
 
Ill SPORT WITH TARPON 21 
 
 indispensable for manipulating the somewhat fine line when it 
 
 is being rushed off the reel ; but I preferred the leather stall 
 
 or drag which is fixed to the reel ; and I noticed that the 
 
 majority of tarpon men from the States who go to Florida 
 
 season after season rarely use the thumb-stall. 
 
 The reel, as illustrated on p. 19, is the item of tackle which 
 
 should be most carefully selected. It often occurs that the 
 
 battle is lost or v/on by it. My purchase was 
 
 The Reel. 
 E. M. Vom Hofe's striped bass or tarpon reel, 
 
 described in his catalogue as " finest quality rubber and Ger- 
 man silver, full steel pivot with German silver bands, S-shaped 
 balance handle to screw off, sliding oil cap, tension click drag." 
 It is a beautiful piece of mechanism, runs on ball bearings, but 
 it is, from an English point of view, very expensive. It is by 
 the attached leather drag or guard, as seen in the illustration, 
 that you are enabled to put on the necessary check when the 
 line is running out rapidly. As you suffer very much from the 
 absence of this, you will never, after paying the penalty of 
 forgetting it, go without it. Cautious use is required if you 
 would avoid cut or broken fingers. The reel should hold from 
 150 to 200 yards of line, for it is always wise in this, as in 
 other fishing, to be in a position to cope on equal terms with 
 
22 THE ENGLISH ANGLER h\ FLORWA iii 
 
 the very largest fish. I used my Vom Hofe reels pretty hard, 
 and it is but fair to say that they never played me tricks, or 
 failed in the slightest degree at a pinch. The novice will 
 learn by experience how to avoid getting foul of the handle — 
 an accident that has been known to result in a" broken finger. 
 Tarpon reels vary in price, and they are made of a hard com- 
 position that renders the salt water harmless. Of course, with 
 the work they have to do, they are on the multiplying principle. 
 The best tarpon reel in the market, at the time of my visit, so 
 far as I saw, was that patented by Mr. Vom Hofe, and. it cost 
 about £7. I had two sets of tarpon tackle (besides a general 
 set), but most people take three. 
 
 The English stranger never fails at first to express his 
 astonishment at the comparative fineness of the line, and its 
 
 seeming soft texture. The Americans make very 
 The Line. 
 
 good linen lines, however, and that for tarpon is 
 
 excellent. Even the smallest-sized of the above-mentioned reels 
 
 is made to carry 200 yards of the thread linen line. Lightness 
 
 is therefore the primary essential aimed at, and however much 
 
 at first you may be incredulous, you will at length admit that 
 
 the end justifies the means. At the same time, my opinion is 
 
 that these lines would be better if they were soaked in stearine. 
 
Ill SPORT WITH TARPON 23 
 
 or some such preparation that would keep the brine out, and 
 would lessen the trouble of looking after when brought back 
 to England. Mr. Alfred Harmsworth, in the chapter he con- 
 tributed to the Badminton volume on Sea Fishing, makes the 
 suggestion that tarpon lines should have a distinct colouring 
 for each 50 yards or so ; his reason is that when the line gets 
 wet and swells, it is difficult to tell how much is left on the 
 reel. Silk lines have been tried, and other materials, for fishing 
 in Florida, but the most experienced of the tarpon men stuck 
 loyally to the thread line which I have described, and which is 
 figured on p. 19. 
 
 What in England we call a trace, collar, or snood, is in 
 America called a snell, and this is probably, next to the 
 
 winch, the most important part of the tarpon 
 
 The Snell. 
 equipment The type which I adopted and 
 
 adhered to was made of a strip of raw hide, and that is what 
 is figured in the illustration in front of tarpon. The principal 
 objection to this leather snell (though at the same time it is an 
 advantage) is the ease with which it is bitten through by the 
 sharks which you are continually hooking on the tarpon grounds. 
 If you would avoid this vexation, and can put up with consider- 
 able loss of time, you may use a snell of cotton cord, loosely 
 
24 THE ENGLISH ANGLER IN FLORIDA m 
 
 woven, and wound around with copper wire. (The 
 
 H snell that is armed with wire is often woven so as 
 
 to appear something Hke the wick of a lamp.) I 
 
 maintain, however, that, all things considered, the 
 
 raw hide snell is best, for when your bait is taken by 
 
 a shark, there is an immediate severance, and an 
 
 end of the trouble. This strip of leather is fastened 
 
 to the line by a loop. 
 
 There is a regulation hook made for tarpon, and in 
 
 the illustration it has been photographed its full size. 
 
 The reader may remember that Mr. Stearns, 
 The Hook. 
 
 quoted by Goode, refers to the difficulty, 
 
 experienced at the date of his writing, in hooking the 
 
 tarpon. The truth is, the interior of the tarpon's mouth 
 
 is most curiously plated, and there are few vulnerable 
 
 spaces into which the barb of a hook can penetrate. 
 
 There are holding places somewhere in 
 
 the roof and around the rims of the 
 
 " lips," and once I hooked a tarpon in 
 
 the tongue. For the rest, a hook has 
 
 as much chance of penetrating the sides 
 
 THE TARPON HOOK. of ^ tarpon's mouth as of a stone wall. 
 
Ill SPORT WITH TARPON 25 
 
 The hook that will pierce that plating has not yet been 
 
 fashioned. What is used for tarpon has therefore been 
 
 designed for service with gorge bait ; its destination must be 
 
 the gullet of the fish, and once there, there is not much 
 
 chance of a breakage or ejectment, if the hook be of the 
 
 right length, substance, pattern, and temper. Such a tarpon 
 
 hook as that illustrated seemed to me to ably fulfil each of 
 
 these requirements. 
 
 For the one pattern of hook used by the tarpon fisher there 
 
 is generally one kind of bait, namely, a piece of the common 
 
 gray sea mullet. There are seldom times or 
 
 The Bait. 
 places on the coast when an ample supply of bait 
 
 cannot be secured, since the elevation of tarpon catching to a 
 popular sport has resulted in the creation of the businesses of 
 guides (or gillies), bait-catchers, and hangers-on. The mullet 
 is cut into three parts, and the tail section is generally chosen for 
 bait. All scales are removed, but the head is preferred by some 
 fishermen, and I think Mr. W. Ashby Jones caught his big six 
 feet nine inch fish (172 lbs.) with this. He told me that in his 
 opinion the tail was a " mean bait." The hook is passed so that 
 the snell is threaded through the lump of fish, which will be per- 
 haps five inches in length, and therefore heavy enough to be cast 
 
26 THE ENGLISH ANGLER IN FLORIDA iii 
 
 out without a leaden sinker. The narrow part of the bait is 
 upwards, and the barb of the hook sufficiently embedded not 
 to assert itself too rudely during gorging, yet not too far to 
 admit of ejection should the tarpon feel that way inclined. 
 
 There is no fishing for tarpon from " the bank." You 
 have to go afloat, cruise hither and thither in pursuit of the 
 The Anjrler shoals of fish as they rove in search of food over 
 in action, ^^g oyster beds, amongst the marine vegetation, 
 or on the shallows of the lagoons. To proceed with comfort, 
 you hire a sailing sloop or steam launch, taking in tow the 
 flat-bottomed, square-sterned fishing-boat which is in general use 
 on the waters of the Floridan coast. It has a revolving arm- 
 chair fitted to the after thwart. I saw a very nicely arranged 
 keel boat with centre-board, however. It belonged to Mr. R. 
 T. Holloway, who used only this kind of boat, and got about 
 remarkably well in the river. You often have a sail of twenty 
 miles before finding your fishing-ground, and all the while your 
 glasses will be sweeping the surface of the water on the 
 search for signs and tokens of fish movement. 
 
 At last you are in sight of a shoal of tarpon. They may 
 be in commotion, either breaking the water sharply, showing 
 their backs in the slow and regular movements of the porpoise. 
 
Ill 
 
 SPORT WITH TARPON 
 
 27 
 
 or swimming with the dorsal fin, and its queer whip-like 
 terminal, hoisted above the surface. The anchor is dropped, 
 sails are taken in, and if the ground is suitable for gorge bait 
 
 SLOOP HIRED FROM MYERS FOR TARPON FISHING ON THE RIVER. 
 
 operations the angler and his man get into the rowing-boat, 
 and pull say lOO yards from the yacht, though sometimes the 
 pull is a matter of a mile instead of yards. The small boat is 
 anchored, and sometimes a pole is fastened near the stern to 
 keep it steady. Your guide, indeed, will take his bearings and 
 
28 THE ENGLISH ANGLER IN FLORIDA ni 
 
 choose his ground just as our Thames fishermen select their 
 
 swims. It may be that you have the great tarpon all around 
 
 you, and can see their swirls as the fish, head downwards, are 
 
 foraging amongst weeds or on the bottom. 
 
 Now you make ready your tackle, and bait your hook. 
 
 The reel already described is well fashioned for the process of 
 
 casting Nottingham style, and a 20 or 30 yards 
 At Anchor. 
 
 cast or more should be aimed at. When the 
 
 tarpon is biting heartily he is very free and fearless, and I have 
 
 had my bait snapped within half a dozen yards of the boat. 
 
 The portions of the mullet which you do not use for bait are 
 
 broken up and cast in for " chum," which is the local name 
 
 for ground bait. It often happens that this is the prelude to a 
 
 long period of waiting. There yonder is the bait lying on the 
 
 bottom ; the rod is placed down in the boat, with a few yards 
 
 of line coiled off free, as in pike-fishing. Two rods, and even 
 
 three, are sometimes used, one from each bow and one from 
 
 the quarter. Your man will handle those in the bows, and it 
 
 is your business to sit on the thwart facing the stern and look 
 
 after your own affairs. 
 
 Sometimes for hours you are worried by the dirty, slimy 
 
 cat-fish, which simply swarm on these grounds. I believe 
 
Ill SPORT WITH TARPON 29 
 
 there are two or three varieties of them, but the grunting ugly- 
 beggars are a terrible nuisance, very frequently spoiling your 
 baits one after another. You may get a sudden Some 
 rush with a shark, which had better be off than Nuisances. 
 on, or you may be bothered by crabs which fool about the 
 bait most aggravatingly, and manage at last to cut the line, you 
 being all unconscious at the time of what has happened. 
 
 By and by you will see the line running out a few yards 
 and stopping, and that should be your warning that a tarpon 
 has seen and taken your offering of dead mullet. Tarpon at 
 The fish may keep on running in greater or smaller ^^st. 
 spurts, but anyhow your business is to let him gorge the bait 
 thoroughly. The line must not be checked for a moment ; so 
 slight a hindrance as the obstruction of a weed or blade of 
 submarine grass coming in contact with the line has been 
 known to result in the tarpon rejecting the bait. 
 
 By this time you have your rod in hand, ready for events, 
 and ever watchful that the line is free. Take time ; let the 
 tarpon gorge at his ease. In this, as in some other kinds of 
 fishing, there is more danger in being too hasty than in being 
 too slow. At the same time there is a limit to caution, and 
 the warrant for striking is when the fish has taken out from 
 
30 THE ENGLISH ANGLER IN FLORIDA iii 
 
 30 to 60 yards of line ; gorging will by that period be in nine 
 cases out of ten effected. Then you tighten the line gently 
 but firmly. If your reel is supplied with the leather guard 
 before referred to, you press your thumb upon it and upon the 
 spool of the reel ; or if you use the thumb-stall this is the time 
 to test its value. When the line is taut you may strike, but not 
 very hard. Some good anglers do not strike at all ; they treat 
 the tarpon as old gorge-bait pike-fishers did the jack. Never 
 forget that the tarpon if suspicious is marvellously quick in 
 ejecting a bait which has not been absorbed beyond recall. 
 
 One of the most glorious sights I know of is the dashing 
 action of a tarpon when hooked. Frequently, perhaps, in the 
 majority of cases, he shoots perpendicularly out of the water, 
 with rolling eye, and head to sky shaking with fine fury ; when 
 it is a big fish, and this soaring column of silver is 6 to 7 feet 
 high, the effect is verily exciting. One of the tarpon which I 
 caught leaped at least its own length in the air, not only once, 
 but several times in succession, the water-drops scattering in 
 showers as he rose. 
 
 My ambition (let me remark in passing) was to take a series 
 of photographs of the hooked tarpon in its fights for liberty. 
 Wind and weather were against me at the otherwise favour- 
 
Ill 
 
 SPORT WITH TARPON 
 
 31 
 
 able opportunities, and my success was not what I had hoped ; 
 still, such as it is, it is a genuine photograph of what happens. 
 I tried hard to get my fish as he shot out of water into 
 
 i ''T?'8ssg w > w:« 'dM|Htwttiggai^* 
 
 "HE WAS ENTERING THE WATER WITH A RESOUNDING SfLASH AFTER HIS 
 AERIAL FLIGHT." 
 
 mid-air, but missing that situation, just succeeded in fixing 
 him as he was entering the water with a resounding splash 
 after his aerial flight, having also blown the bait far up the line. 
 
32 THE ENGLISH ANGLER IN FLORIDA m 
 
 Finding after its leap and fierce shaking of head and 
 shoulders that the hook is not to be got rid of in that manner, 
 the tarpon with mighty power goes off in one rush, perhaps 
 a hundred yards, without stopping. The wise angler, of 
 
 "THE TARPON WITH MIGHTY POWER GOES OFF IN ONE RUSH." 
 
 course, lets him go, with a taut line, but without any real 
 attempt to check the express pace. The guide in the boat 
 meanwhile will be getting in the other lines so as to have 
 presently a fair field and no favour for the hooked fish ; the 
 
Ill SPORT WITH TARPON 33 
 
 anchor and pole of the boat must also be. let go. Although, 
 therefore, you do not attempt to stop the game, you by 
 and by put on all the drag you can with the short rod. 
 You fix the butt in the socket of the waist-belt, the leather 
 protection (either guard or thumb-stall) is pressed with judg- 
 ment, but firmly against the spool, with one hand, while the 
 line is pressed with the fingers of the other above the reel. 
 
 You are now in for probably a smart tussle. The rod is 
 held perpendicularly by sheer strength ; it is " giving him the 
 butt " with a vengeance, and the top of the little implement, if 
 of the proper make, bends well to the work. Far away from 
 the boat, as if it were some one else's fish, out comes the 
 tarpon again, glittering, into the air^ with its portmanteau-like 
 mouth wide open ; then on falling back with a splash upon the 
 water it lashes the surface, trying ever to get rid of the hook. 
 Sometimes the fish is pretty quickly killed : I have known 
 it done in twenty minutes or half an hour ; at other times, as 
 I have previously stated, the sport may last over an hour, with 
 the severest strain on arms and back during the entire contest. 
 Many an American fisherman employs great force just to see in 
 how little time he can get his tarpon in. 
 
 The fish should be brought up to the boat as quickly as 
 
34 
 
 THE ENGLISH ANGLER IN FLORIDA 
 
 III 
 
 possible, for that is a golden rule in all angling. It will not 
 be done without frequent rushes, but the experienced boat- 
 man will meanwhile have been backing towards and following 
 
 "EVERY ONE SATISFIED." 
 
 the fish about, paddling gently ; so that you may find yourself 
 the best part of a mile away from the place where you hooked 
 your fish before you come to close quarters. The tarpon when 
 near the boat, and partially exhausted, has a vicious habit of 
 
Ill SPORT WITH TARPON 35 
 
 burrowing head downwards, and it is not an uncommon thing 
 to have your boat a second time towed about a lagoon as if 
 the fish would never be tired out. Even when apparently done, 
 and the grand game Silver King, by sheer hauling, is brought, 
 apparently worn out, in on his side, he will renew his flounder 
 around, or attempt to go under the boat. This is a most 
 exciting moment, but the short rod enables the angler to frus- 
 trate the manoeuvre without great difficulty. 
 
 You now want a sound gaff and a smart gaffer. Many 
 American fishermen, I noticed, used a strongly-barbed gaff — 
 
 an example which I did not follow, though there 
 
 The Gaff. 
 
 may be crises which would suggest it. The gaff, 
 
 anyway, is thrust underneath the gills into the throat. There 
 are stories of strong fish breaking the gaff, dashing free from 
 it, and knocking the boatman backwards, clean out of the 
 boat, in its violence. Sharp and sure, but not reckless gaffing 
 is an art, and there are some of the Florida guides who never 
 make a mistake. The operation properly effected, the boat- 
 man passes the end of a rope through the gills from the 
 outside, secures with a loop, and makes fast to the boat ; then, 
 every one satisfied, and the angler sitting him down to recover 
 his breath, the fishing-boat is paddled back to the yacht, the 
 
36 THE ENGLISH ANGLER IN FLORIDA iii 
 
 tarpon towing astern. Arrived at the yacht the fish is 
 triced up. 
 
 No one eats tarpon, and the series of photographs, here 
 The Dead reproduced, of the catching of a tarpon will indi- 
 
 arpon. ^^^.^ ^^^ ^^^^j disposal of the game to obtain which 
 so much trouble is taken. The yacht has arrived in port, the 
 
 "TAKING OFF THE SCALES." 
 
 tarpon is landed, and the coloured man in the foreground is 
 in the act of taking off the scales. The fish is weighed and 
 measured, and entry made of the size and circumstances. The 
 operation of removing the • scales is done by the guide. This 
 does not concern the angler much, and as a matter of passing 
 
Ill 
 
 SPORT IVITH TARPON 
 
 37 
 
 incident, the angler in this particular case (myself) may be 
 seen disappearing up the wharf towards the hotel. The tarpon 
 is not prized for anything but its sport, and after the scales 
 have been stripped off, the carcase is left on the wharf; next 
 
 A SMALL orange-grower's HOUSE ABOVE MYERS. 
 
 morning it may be covered with vultures, and it is finally 
 taken away to be used as a fertiliser for the orange trees. 
 
 Mr. Charles Stewart Davison, a New York gentleman, 
 contributed to T/ie Spirit of the Times, at the close of the 
 season in which I took my share, the results of long experience 
 
38 THE ENGLISH ANGLER IN FLORIDA m 
 
 and observation as to tarpon. He observed that the fish feed 
 up with the flood tide, along the banks of the channel, and 
 Taroon settle back with the ebb. As the season pro- 
 Haunts, gresses, however, they are found farther up, in 
 the narrower parts of the river ; but in March, when the season 
 may be said to begin (though May is the best month for sport), 
 the gorge-bait fishing grounds would be where the river is per- 
 haps a mile or so wide. I have traced the tarpon forty miles 
 up the river, which would be twenty odd miles above Myers. 
 The favourite haunts are along the edges of banks of the 
 channels, in perhaps five or six feet of water, and here they 
 love to be on the alert chasing mullet. 
 
IV 
 
 IN FORT MYERS WATERS 
 
 The reader may not have forgotten that we had arrived at 
 Punta Gorda (see page 9) and found refuge on board a 
 steamer, the St. Lucie; nor that Mrs. Rowland Ward was 
 appointed note -taker in ordinary to the expedition. The 
 following entries from her Diary will be, therefore, a resump- 
 tion of the narrative which was broken off in order to discourse 
 upon the fish of which we were sure to hear everlasting talk 
 wherever we went ; and I make no apology for using them, 
 because they will indicate very fairly what lady visitors to 
 Florida would be likely to experience. And here beginneth 
 the Diary. 
 
 Tuesday, 6th April. — Awake at 5.30 a.m., and up and about by 
 seven, when the steamer left Punta Gorda ; not many passengers 
 on board, but among them an elderly gentleman, a Mr. Plant, the 
 owner of the well-known Plant railroads and steamers in this part 
 
40 THE ENGLISH ANGLER IN FLORIDA iv 
 
 of Florida. He was going to visit Mr. and Mrs. McGregor, who 
 very kindly saw that he caught a big tarpon before he left, which 
 for a man of his years is a great accomplishment. We had a 
 lovely journey, as there was a delicious breeze. One cannot see 
 much of the country on such a trip, as the rivers are so wide and 
 the steamer keeps in the middle, except at the ports, where she 
 touches to land passengers, mails, etc. Passed a lot of small porpoises, 
 which kept right along by the boat ; coming up the Caloosahatchie 
 Rhver passed the boats out fishing for tarpon. Fort Myers looks very 
 pretty from the river — all the wooden houses with their verandahs in 
 amongst the green orange groves, and large palm trees. Landed 
 about 3 P.M., and after looking at the Hendry House decided to stay 
 at Myers Inn. Have two nice rooms, unpacked our things, had 
 dinner, and went to bed, very tired and hot. 
 
 Wednesday, 'jih April. — Got up about seven, and after breakfast put 
 our things straight and looked about the village, which is a funny 
 little place, with a street running even with the river, with a good 
 many stores, which the men seem to laze about outside ; in these 
 parts they work very little. In the afternoon, sailed over and rowed 
 up to Yellow Fever Creek, which is very pretty along the banks, 
 with their mangoes, big palms, palm fans, and large ferns. Jim^ 
 fished with the Phantom minnow, hooked five fish, but lost all, 
 which was unlucky. Saw a Moccasin snake curled upon some 
 rushes ; Jim shot him. We also saw some ducks and water turkey. 
 Lovely day, and in the evening no breeze. The tarpon boats had 
 to row back. One gentleman brought home three fish weighing 
 i6o lbs., 123 lbs., and 71 lbs. ; they looked very handsome, lying so 
 silvery in the moonlight. 
 
 ^ "Jim " in these entries means Rowland Ward. 
 
IN FORT MY'ERS IVA TERS 
 
 41 
 
 Thursday, %th April. — Jim was off by 6 a.m. fishing. I had a 
 lazy day, working, reading, and writing on the verandah ; it being very 
 hot we could not walk about, but there was a nice breeze on the 
 
 A VIEW IN MYERS. 
 
 river. Jim returned about 4.30 p.m., having had no luck with tarpon; 
 no one caught any to-day from Myers. 
 
 Friday, <)th April. — Jim went fishing at 6 a.m. Lovely, fine, 
 sunny morning, but about 10 o'clock a bad thunderstorm came up, 
 with torrents of rain and a strong wind ; the river looked quite rough. 
 Jim returned about 4 o'clock, tired, without having caught anything 
 except two lady-fish. Rained all the evening. Went to bed early, as 
 Jim had bad cold. 
 
42 THE ENGLISH ANGLER IN FLORIDA iv 
 
 Saturday^ \oth April, — Jim did not start early, and as by ti 
 o'clock the weather looked bad again, windy and cloudy, he made 
 up his mind not to go fishing to-day. At 2 o'clock it blew hard and 
 commenced to rain, and continued until evening. After breakfast. 
 
 YOUNG VIRGINIAN DEEK (PHOTOGRAPHED AT MR. MCGREGOR'S, FORT MYERS). 
 
 walked round village stores and met Mr. McGregor ; then walked out 
 to his house and saw the tame deer. Such a nice house and grounds, 
 and they have a yacht in which they cruise and live. 
 
 Sunday, nth April. — A fine sunny day, but windy indeed. Jim 
 
IN FORT MYERS WATERS 
 
 43 
 
 started about 6 a.m. The guide hooked a tarpon opposite the hotel, 
 but his line broke and it got away. The fishermen did not hook 
 any others. Returned about 5 o'clock. I read and sat on the 
 
 LANDING STAGE AT MYERS. 
 
 verandah. Mr. Parkinson called in the morning, and while talking 
 to him a black snake walked along the middle of the verandah, but 
 directly we got up and went to look at it, it dropped off and glided 
 
44 
 
 THE ENGLISH ANGLER IN FLORIDA 
 
 away through the grass ; they are quite harmless snakes, and as they 
 are believed to kill rattlesnakes, rats, and mice, the people do not 
 destroy them. But I don't like the things. Very tired ; went to bed 
 early. 
 
 Monday, 12th April. — Jim off by 6 a.m. Sunny morning, but 
 
 MRS. ROWLAND WAKU. 
 
 windy. I had breakfast at seven, then walked up the village to the 
 stores ; on returning met Mr. Parkinson, who called to give me a 
 rattlesnake poison fang, which I shall have mounted as a pin, like 
 that which he wears. Went with him to a "Canning Co." in the 
 village, where they have 25 acres of guava and orange trees, and 
 make guava jelly and preserve the fruit in tins. There was no 
 ripe fruit, but Mr. Gardner, the owner's son, said he thought they 
 
IN FORT MYERS WATERS 
 
 45 
 
 would have a thousand barrels of guavas this year. I tasted one the 
 other day, and did not care for it at all ; it was something like a very 
 poor green fig. On our return we went into Hartigan's and saw some 
 small alligators and skins of rattlesnakes, very handsome ones. Jim 
 returned about 4 p.m. with a fine tarpon, 125 lbs. weight and 6 ft. 3 in. 
 long, a beautiful silvery fish ; sent it to Hartigan's to be skinned. 
 Went up the village and on The Tarpon, which arrived about four, and 
 ordered in our stores, etc., to make an early start in the morning. 
 Terribly windy day. 
 
V 
 
 OUR LIFE ASHORE AND AFLOAT 
 
 While entry by Diary has its advantages when it is written 
 from a lady's point of view, and should therefore not be 
 tampered with (as the foregoing has not been), there are 
 drawbacks. For example, the Diary states that I lost five fish, 
 " which was unlucky." In truth it was due to the hooks 
 hanging loose (I afterwards rectified this) from the Phantom 
 minnow, and the snags. That day I saw numbers of ospreys, 
 darters, buzzards, coots, and other birds. As to Punta Gorda, 
 when I came on deck in the morning previous to our start I 
 found a white mist veiling all the prospect, mullet splashing 
 all around, and flocks of duck (scaup) sitting in happy con- 
 fidence on the smooth water. 
 
 At Fort Myers Inn my first impression was that it was 
 all verandahs ; and one evening (it must have been the 9th) 
 
V OUR LIFE ASHORE AND AFLOAT 49 
 
 the fireflies were splendid, floating through the rainfall. Those 
 
 verandahs were certainly a fipe institution when you wanted 
 
 to get away to write, read, or meditate. I may 
 
 Life Ashore, 
 state, too, that on the 8th April Mr. Holloway, 
 
 a noted tarpon fisher, caught three tarpon, one weighing 
 163 lbs. On that day I saw another angler losing a tarpon 
 after it had towed his boat about a mile and a half, and 
 jumped out of water several times. The catastrophe occurred 
 quite close to my boat, and the angler had lost three pre- 
 viously on the same day. In the morning I was startled 
 while reading by the noise of wings, and looking up saw 
 some two hundred ducks within shot. 
 
 At Fort Myers, just where the Diary on a preceding page 
 is interrupted, a break occurred in our method of living. We 
 left the inn and took up our quarters on board an auxiliary 
 naphtha yacht, named The Tarpon, on the nth April. I 
 chartered her for 22 dollars a day, and put in her about five 
 pounds' worth of naphtha, which is very cheap there. Besides 
 this the crew have to be provided with food. The reader 
 may see what she was in appearance by the illustration. 
 
 As to the living ashore, perhaps the fairest opinion I 
 
 can offer is that it might be better and it might be worse. 
 
 E 
 
so 
 
 THE ENGLISH ANGLER IN FLORIDA 
 
 In an out-of-the-way corner of the world like this you 
 cannot expect the luxuries of a great city, or a fashionable 
 watering-place like Tampa, higher up the coast. The style 
 of living at the inn was, generally speaking, the American 
 
 Viii^iii ■ lAKPON. 
 
 fashion, which surrounds you with a number of little dishes ; 
 but it is no use pretending that the meat was otherwise than 
 tough, and as it is produced from the lean kine of the adjacent 
 woods, and has to be cooked very soon after killing on 
 
V OUR LIFE ASHORE AND AFLOAT 51 
 
 account of the heat, its quality may be readily imagined. 
 There is, however, an abundance of good fish, but the most 
 acceptable dishes were the turkeys and the chickens, though 
 they were not on the menu as often as they might have 
 been. 
 
 The chief meal (dinner) was at 6.30, and the vegetables 
 consisted of ordinary and sweet potatoes, white French beans, 
 and tomatoes. Corn bread was the general staple, and they 
 gave us sweets, with either iced tea or hot coffee. The cook 
 was a black man, so also was the waiter, who, besides looking 
 after us at meals, did all sorts of things, I believe, such as 
 milking the cow, feeding the chickens, and meeting and seeing 
 off people by the steamers. It is true there were no baths at 
 the inn, but good-sized washing tubs were provided as a sort of 
 compromise. I must say that the host and hostess did the 
 very best they could for their visitors, and were unceasing in 
 their attention. Probably by this time there is a large hotel 
 built at Fort Myers, with all the improvements and attractions 
 for visitors which I understand characterise the hotel at Punta 
 Gorda, which we found closed. Our charges at the hotel were 
 two and a half dollars per day, or fifteen dollars a person per 
 week. Wine, beer, or spirits you must provide for yourself; 
 
52 THE ENGLISH ANGLER IN FLORIDA v 
 
 and if you want good whisky take it from the Windsor Hotel, 
 
 Jacksonville. 
 
 The yacht, on which we made our home on leaving the 
 
 hotel, was a little vessel between 20 and 30 tons. 
 Cruising. 
 
 There was a main cabin used for a dining-saloon 
 
 and drawing-room, and its centre-board top made a tray, on 
 which stood the iced drinking water, with its usual tap, and 
 various odds and ends. Two beds were made up on the cabin 
 cushions, and we were supposed to be protected from mosquitoes 
 and other insects by a gauze screen, which, as usual in such 
 cases, proved ill-fitting, and admitted the few pests which were 
 amply sufficient to interfere with our comfort. 
 
 We had much better food on board, for our little Jap 
 cooked admirably, and we took care to lay in plenty of stores, 
 having arranged for a supply of beef and mutton from Jackson- 
 ville. This meat came down by steamer in a box, packed in 
 ice, and all we had to do was to send our boy in the yacht's 
 boat to fetch it. In this way we also got chickens and venison. 
 The prices paid for these welcome contributions to our larder 
 were — venison, 1 2^ cents per lb. ; eggs, 2 5 cents per dozen ; 
 chickens, 3 5 cents each ; turkeys, i dollar ; milk, i o cents per 
 quart. 
 
V OUR LIFE ASHORE AND AFLOAT 53 
 
 Our best meat was the venison, which was very tender. I 
 believe it was the close time for deer, but somehow we had 
 no difficulty in purchasing a supply. We had delicious tomatoes 
 and French beans, and we could get any quantity of these 
 wholesome vegetables at low prices. Indeed we had them for 
 nearly every meal, and thus by the aid of omelettes and a sort 
 of pancake, in the composition of which our clever Jap chef 
 was a real artist, we did fairly well. How he managed his 
 work was a standing wonder to us, as the galley at which he 
 had to do everything was only a few feet square, and his fuel 
 apparatus was the three fires of gasoline making big flames, 
 with usual fittings for cooking utensils. 
 
 There were, of course, on board drawbacks of no inconsider- 
 able character, but as we survived them all, I will not enter 
 into details as to the monster cockroaches which used to run 
 over us, and the leaks which soon forced their attention upon 
 us. These boats being uncoppered, the hull has no protection 
 from the destructive worm which bores into the wood ; and it is 
 not pleasant when you get up in the morning to put your feet 
 into dirty water which has come in by leakage during the night, 
 and to have to get the pumps used daily. Naphtha launches 
 are used a good deal in these waters, and I saw no accident 
 
54 
 
 THE ENGLISH ANGLER IN FLORIDA 
 
 nor heard of one with them. At the same time, they require 
 very careful handHng; and as an American said to me years 
 ago in New York, " They are all right in some people's hatids." 
 
 DODE, THE COLOURED GUIDE, SITTING ON COCKPIT, HOLDING TARPON LINE. 
 
 As 1 went to America long since to see this type of engine, 
 I perfectly understood what was meant. The fact is, naphtha 
 is a more dangerous spirit than most people ever really imagine. 
 I should recommend, however, a sloop as the best form of 
 sailing-boat for cruising on the fishing grounds — such a boat as 
 
OUR LIFE ASHORE AND AFLOAT 
 
 55 
 
 is depicted on another page (p. lo). It is much cheaper, and 
 can be hired at reasonable prices. You can engage a man with 
 sailing boat and small boat at, say, from 5 dollars a day. 
 
 OFF THE MAIN RIVER, ABOUT TWENTY MILES ABOVE MYERS. 
 
 It is not necessary to follow my example and pay 22 dollars 
 a day. 
 
 A man wishing to be very economical, and who has no 
 objection to living under canvas, may set up his tent on a 
 place like Captiva Pass, about which something will hereafter 
 
56 THE ENGLISH ANGLER IN FLORIDA v 
 
 be said. He would then only require a rowing boat and a 
 man for fishing purposes, and if only intending to fish for 
 tarpon, two rods and lines and one reel will be sufficient. 
 There is generally a launch or sailing boat at hand to tow 
 him to the grounds, or he may have his lug sail for his 
 own open boat. He might cook for himself, or utilise his 
 boatman. As there is a steamer passing daily, there is no 
 reason why, wind and weather permitting, he should not 
 get away as far as five miles for choice of fishing grounds. 
 The insect pests, however, would be a consideration as the 
 season advanced. Stores he might procure from Jacksonville. 
 At the time of going to press I hear that Captiva Pass now 
 has a floating hotel — not a bad idea at all. It was constructed 
 and is conducted by Mr. J. B. Hughes of St. James' City. 
 

 THE SHEEPSHEAD. 
 
 VI 
 
 PASS FISHING 
 
 The expression " Pass Fishing " which you hear so frequently 
 amongst the regular fishing visitors to the west coast of 
 Florida, the guides, and the residents, is both geographical 
 and, in a measure, technical. It at once indicates a special 
 fishing ground and a style of angling which is different 
 altogether from the commoner practice, in pursuit of which 
 the angler sits meekly in his boat, praying humbly and waiting 
 meekly for a bite. 
 
 The place is the Captiva Pass, spoken of sometimes as 
 Captiva, but more often as " The Pass." As a Captiva 
 reference to the map shows, it is off the west coast, "ass. 
 a channel between two islands ; and the tide, in and out of the 
 
58 THE ENGLISH ANGLER IN FLORIDA vi 
 
 Gulf, according to the laws of ebb and flow, spring and neap, 
 runs at from 5 to 8 knots an hour. The breakers outside are 
 no doubt picturesque and musical in their roar and murmur, 
 but they are mighty in power, and always gave me the 
 impression that, although this may be and is an excellent place 
 for miscellaneous sport, it is not exactly the spot in which one 
 would care to be capsized. In fishing, however, the boat is 
 anchored well clear of this apparent danger. Sometimes at a 
 push it is necessary to have your boat on the move as quickly 
 as possible, and it is the custom therefore to attach a buoy to 
 your anchor, and so, at the critical moment, it becomes simply 
 a case of casting adrift from your moorings and picking them 
 up afterwards. 
 
 The style of fishing here is commonly called trolling, but 
 Trolling or it is not at all that according to our English 
 Trailing, acceptation of the term. Perhaps it may be best 
 described as automatic trailing. It differs in most essential 
 respects from gorge fishing for tarpon. In the Pass you sit 
 with your rod in hand, with some 30 or 40 yards of taut 
 line out, and everything free for the running of the reel when a 
 fish strikes. The current works the bait briskly enough for all 
 practical purposes. A large spoon or an artificial minnow 
 
PASS FISHING 59 
 
 would of course be serviceable at this work, but as you are 
 always likely to get hold of tarpon, bass, and other big fish, it 
 would be necessary to reckon upon an enormous loss of baits. 
 It is in consequence the common practice to bait your single 
 hook or triangle with a thin strip from the side of a mullet. 
 
 There is very seldom any mistake, in one sense, about Pass 
 fishing, for the tarpon and other species when they are on the 
 feed dash vigorously at the moving bait They prowl around 
 within a few feet of the boat, and take the bait almost before it 
 touches the water. The hours sometimes are very lively, but 
 the percentage of misses is enormous. In the case of tarpon 
 the bony mouth explains the cause, and if you get one fish in 
 ten you may think yourself very fortunate. It should also be 
 remarked that a very strong reason for fastening your boat 
 to moorings rather than an anchor, as at Fort Myers and up 
 the river, is the likelihood there is of a big fish, on being 
 hooked, making directly for sea as hard as he can. Yet it 
 occasionally happens that even in this style of fishing in the 
 Pass there is no sport, no sign of fish, and then it is the proper 
 thing to cast yourself free and pull slowly about, adopting 
 what is, to all intents and purposes, the harling method which 
 we all know so well in Norway and Scotland. If you hook a 
 
6o THE ENGLISH ANGLER IN FLORIDA vi 
 
 monster when so engaged, the sport is prolonged at will ; your 
 man can take you leisurely ashore, and gaff the fish at his ease 
 in shallower water. 
 
 It always occurred to me that an angler who was content 
 to see his baits carried frequently away, and equipped him- 
 self now and then with ordinary spinning tackle, might have a 
 real glut of sport in this style of fishing, casting from right and 
 left, and experiencing sensations and excitements, along with 
 smashes and losses, such as could not be exceeded anywhere. 
 
 On another page I have made allusion to Mrs. Grimshaw. 
 
 She is the lady who, in the Badminton Magazine, described 
 
 „ _ . her experiences of tarpon fishing, and of Florida 
 
 shaw and generally. She pictures Captiva Island as a very 
 
 er po . ijgg^yj-jfuj spot, its beach sparkling with myriads of 
 
 shells, and its semi-tropical growths of prickly pear and palmetto, 
 
 all charming. Indeed, she describes the spot as enchanted, and 
 
 was evidently much in love with it. She stopped in one of the 
 
 huts inhabited by the Spanish fishermen, but in 1897, I fear, she 
 
 would have had a very hard time, for the place was infested 
 
 with mosquitoes and sandflies, which at times made life almost 
 
 unendurable. The fisher people, who supply you with bait and 
 
 are very obliging to the visitor, told me that there had been 
 
PASS FISHING 
 
 6i 
 
 none the previous year, so Mrs. Grimshaw was very fortunate. 
 The lady's first impression as to the general scenery of Florida 
 was similar to our own. She was struck by the monotonous 
 dead levels, and the succession of swamps and lagoons, but 
 
 TWO DAYS' CATCH BY A LADY AND HER HUSBAND AT CAPTIVA PASS. 
 Jew-fish on the Ifft estimated to iveis;h 795 tts. 
 
 she saw a certain charm in the groups of palmetto trees, 
 the brilliant masses of creeping flowers, and even the murky- 
 looking bogs and lagoons, with the possibilities of alligators and 
 rattlesnakes. 
 
 In the matter of sport, Mrs. Grimshaw's experience in this 
 
62 THE ENGLISH ANGLER IN FLORIDA vi 
 
 Pass (which is f mile wide and \ mile long) is that the likeliest 
 
 haunts of the fish are the tide rips. When there are a number 
 
 of fishermen out, and each is striving with amusing eagerness 
 
 to get the best anchorage (" swim " we should call it at home), 
 
 the sport is intensified by the necessity there is of the boats 
 
 looking after one another ; for it is an unwritten law amongst 
 
 Florida sportsmen to clear out at the moment of action, and 
 
 not get in the way of another man's fish ; and when, as I have 
 
 seen, three or four men happen to be engaged simultaneously 
 
 with a fish, the fun is fast and furious. The raw hide snell is, 
 
 in Pass fishing, exchanged by many for a length of piano wire, 
 
 which will hold anything ; and the same rod is used as in 
 
 gorge-bait fishing. 
 
 The number of misses in proportion to strikes is illustrated 
 
 by Mrs, Grimshaw's statement that her husband once counted 
 
 seventeen strikes in thirty minutes to his own 
 Fine Sport. 
 
 rod, without one fish being hooked. It did 
 
 actually happen to her that, hooking a big fish which came 
 
 up four times, always in a fresh place, shaking his head 
 
 frantically, her guide promptly flung out his buoy, and the 
 
 boat was at once towed with a seven -knot tide towards the 
 
 Gulf This was by a hooked tarpon, and the course I have 
 
PASS FISHING 63 
 
 described of pulling gradually in towards the beach was fortu- 
 nately adopted. The boatman jumped into the knee-deep water, 
 Mrs. Grimshaw scrambled after him, and waded ashore, and 
 it was then that the real tug-of-war seemed to commence. 
 The lady angler confessed that it was no joke running up the 
 shingly beach, as she did, with 130 lbs. of fish fighting for dear 
 life at the other end of the line. The battle is most vividly 
 described in the Badminton Magazine ; victory came, the fish 
 was duly gaffed, weighed at 125 lbs., and measured at 
 6 ft. 3 in. 
 
 The next night her husband hooked a gigantic fish which 
 towed him quite into the Gulf, and he and his guide 
 disappeared for two hours, were searched for, and found 
 triumphant but exhausted after a fight with a tarpon weighing 
 175 lbs. Mr. and Mrs. Grimshaw were in great luck at that 
 time, for the same night the former caught a second tarpon 
 weighing 1 5 o lbs., and she herself another of 135 lbs. ; well 
 might she write, "they did look three beauties lying side by 
 side in the moonlight." 
 
 Reference will be noticed in the Diary to Mr. Mygatt. 
 There is no better known name in these waters than his, and 
 it may be remembered that he also contributed two articles 
 
64 THE ENGLISH ANGLER IN FLORIDA vi 
 
 on tarpon fishing to the Badminton Magazine in 1895. He 
 
 has fished the same waters on successive seasons, and is 
 
 therefore fully qualified to speak. His first season 
 
 Mygatt's left him a decided pessimist, for his luck was 
 ^ ' wretched ; but after his second and subsequent 
 
 seasons he became, and remained, what he calls a " rabid 
 optimist on the sport." That w^s a grand day of his when he 
 caught eight tarpon of 155 lbs., 138 lbs., 128 lbs., 139 lbs., 
 136 lbs., 1 10 lbs., 119 lbs., and 78 lbs. With the exception 
 of the last, which was 5 ft. 10 in. , long, all these fish were 
 considerably over 6 feet in length, one of them, and that not 
 the heaviest, reaching 6 ft. 8 in. 
 
 During the satne .season he had other enviable days, and 
 his heaviest fish was 182 lbs., and at that time it was, as far 
 as Mr. Mygatt knew, the longest of which there was any 
 accurate record, for it measured 7 ft. 4 in. 
 
 * According to this gentleman's observation the tarpon fre- 
 quent the shallow lagoons and the brackish and often sheltered 
 Tarpon water of the adjoining creeks from September to 
 
 Seasons. June, but during the rainy season, viz. from 
 June to August, they seem to abandon the creeks altogether 
 and also the upper lagoons ; he imagines that this may 
 
PASS FISHING 
 
 be accounted for by the combined reasons (i) that the 
 water becomes too sweet for the fish ; (2) that they go out 
 into the Gulf to spawn. From my own inquiries and the 
 answers I received to my questions I should imagine that there 
 is no very authentic information as to the times and manner 
 of spawning, but Mr. Mygatt states distinctly that he never 
 caught any fish in roe before May. He confirms my 
 opinion that the best months for catching tarpon are April 
 and May in the spring, but he also adds that October and 
 November are good months. For the angler who wants to 
 have real sport, concurrently with pleasant weather, April 
 and early May are preferred. I notice that Mr. Mygatt, 
 like myself, would also like to hear of a specially effective 
 hook, devised to penetrate and grip the hard interior of the 
 tarpon's mouth. He believes that then the fish might be 
 taken with a large fly. 
 
 It has been said on a previous page that small tarpon may 
 be caught with a fly, and that Mr. Parkinson, an English 
 gentleman, actually did obtain the record for the Artificial 
 smallest specimen of tarpon with one caught with Tarpon Fly. 
 that lure. Mr. Mygatt narrates how he took his very first 
 tarpon with a huge fly made by himself. He was up the south 
 
66 THE ENGLISH ANGLER IN FLORIDA Vi 
 
 fork of the St. Lucie River, using a channel bass rod, troHing 
 and casting for crevalli, with a spoon bait, when a tarpon seized 
 the hook, jumped, and escaped scot-free. All that day he 
 continued striking fish and losing spoons and phantom minnows. 
 In one tarpon school he thus had nearly fifty strikes. He 
 returned sadder and wiser to his sailing boat, and spent hours 
 in dressing " most complex and weird jumbo flies " ; returned 
 to the spot next day, and found what he thinks was the same 
 school of tarpon, which had advanced by this time some two 
 miles farther up stream. 
 
 His flies were made of pieces of wood 3 inches long by 
 \ inch in diameter, covered with red flannel, and tied with 
 three or four feathers. Each was about 4 inches long, and 
 terminated with three bass hooks, set at different angles — a 
 lure, in fact, very much like the flies we use in England for 
 pike fishing in shallow lakes. There was no end to the rises 
 at this delicacy. The angler repeatedly struck hard enough to 
 make the fish jump out of water, but they always managed to 
 get rid of the fly or sever the snell. One fish at last did take 
 the fly and the hooks, and after forty minutes' battle was 
 gaffed. This was Mr. Mygatt's first tarpon, but it had been 
 taken by one of the hooks entering the skin that covered the 
 
PASS FISHING 67 
 
 head. There must have been a bit of smart angling here, as 
 the hook had ripped along the skin for about two inches, 
 and the hold was so precarious that the fly fell off as the 
 fish flopped about in the boat. 
 
 Tarpon fishing at night is recommended by Mr. Mygatt. 
 He declares it if anything more exciting than in the daytime, 
 since to " the many usual details are added the indescribable 
 fascination and mystery of darkness. To catch Night 
 tarpon at night by moonlight is pretty hard to r»sning. 
 beat for sport, but I must say that to catch them on a pitch- 
 dark night when all the playing has to be done by the feeling 
 of the strain on rod and line is the most exciting sport I 
 know of. I certainly prefer night fishing. It is always cool, 
 there is rarely any wind, and if not late in the season, not 
 many mosquitoes."^ 
 
 At Captiva Pass you fish best on the flood-tide, and it 
 was while here that Mrs. Ward and myself lived on board the 
 yacht. We arrived there on 1 4th April, after some . . . . 
 " small fishing," and reached our anchorage in time Pass 
 to have an hour or so of fishing before dark. Here ^ 
 
 we soon had strong evidence of the obdurate character of the 
 
 * "Some Tarpon Adventures," by Otis Mygatt, Badminton Magazine, October 1895. 
 
68 THE ENGLISH ANGLER IN FLORIDA vi 
 
 interior of a tarpon's jaws, for we lost a number of fish, and 
 the other boats that were there seemed to be having a similar 
 experience. Mrs. Ward lost two fish in succession, after she 
 had played them some time and certainly deserved to bring 
 them to land. 
 
 Sharks are a great nuisance here, and it is no uncommon 
 thing to hook your tarpon, and after holding it a while, the line 
 
 comes back, and you find a couple of feet taken 
 Sharks. 
 
 off the fish at one fell swoop by one of these preda- 
 tory sea-wolves. In still, shallow water, sitting one day in my 
 boat angling for small fish at the back of an island and over an 
 oyster bed, I saw a shark sheer alongside the boat, punting 
 itself lazily and unconcernedly along, and it certainly was not 
 less than 14 feet long. On the point of Captiva Pass at the 
 time of our visit was the camp of Mr. Von Blake. He caught 
 a large number of tarpon, and the season before our visit, I 
 believe, he had achieved the very fine record of 70 fish. We 
 were not the only English visitors : there were several English 
 gentlemen there, doing well ; and one of them told me he had 
 had ten strikes, but had lost every fish. 
 
 The Pass, at certain times of the tide, seems to abound 
 with fish of all kinds, and with their antics on the surface re- 
 
PASS FISHING 69 
 
 sembles nothing so much as a boiling cauldron. While you 
 are fishing, the tarpon are on the move all around, and some- 
 times they are so numerous that they might be j^. . 
 taken for a shoal of gigantic mackerel. There laneous 
 is no shyness in these uneducated fish : they come 
 near the boat ; indeed they sometimes jump right over and 
 even into it. The tarpon, which in certain lights show a 
 bright blue edge to the scales, look most charming in the 
 water with their light green backs and silvery sides. Turtle, 
 although very shy, come up and go down in the Pass alongside 
 your boat, and having shown their Venetian brown heads, 
 silently steal away. Some of these I should imagine would 
 weigh at least 400 lbs. 
 
 The beautiful Spanish mackerel {Scomberomorus maculatus) 
 is caught here ; it has shades of gold all along the side, 
 curiously marked, and suggesting that they have Spanish 
 been smudged on with a human finger. One day "Mackerel. 
 I saw a gentleman catch 35 mackerel with his fly-rod and 
 artificial fly. My fly -rod was of course left behind, but I 
 furbished up and put a white fly on the tarpon tackle, and 
 caught a number of mackerel with this primitive form of fly- 
 fishing. 
 
70 THE ENGLISH ANGLER IN FLORIDA vi 
 
 There is another species, known as the lady fish. It is the 
 
 same species, I think, as that called the bone fish, or grubber, in 
 
 The Lady ^^^ Bermudas. It is the Albula vulpes, and it is so 
 
 Fish. prime a game fish that it elicited the praise of Dr. 
 Henshall, the famous American angler-author. He had been 
 catching in quick succession " salt-water trout," as the squete- 
 ague are called, a few red fish or channel bass, some ravallia 
 and crevalli, but his 3 lb. lady fish gave him more real sport 
 than any of the others. The specimens I caught here were 
 certainly remarkably sporting. Slender and silvery, they fought 
 as well as the black bass, and leaped from the water — not going 
 straight upwards, however, like a tarpon, but shooting out right 
 and left, as if they wanted to learn the tricks of the flying iish. 
 
 Mrs. Ward celebrated her Good Friday inside the islands of 
 Captiva Pass by catching a large number of channel bass, and 
 so-called trout, in the slack, shallow water. My remembrance 
 of the place is principally of fishing I had by moonlight, when 
 the heat and mosquitoes gave me the agony of swollen feet 
 and general discomfort that were very trying. I lost a very 
 decent tarpon on this ground, but went out next morning at six 
 o'clock and got 20 lbs. of weak fish, two bass weighing 9 lbs. 
 each, and eight lady fish averaging 14 lbs, 
 
CHANNEL BASS. 
 
 VII 
 
 CONTINUATION OF DIARY 
 
 We may now return to Mrs. Ward's Diary, taking up the record 
 at Fort Myers, from which I have somewhat strayed, by antici- 
 pation, to explain the different style of fishing in the Pass. 
 
 Tuesday y i2>^h April. — Hairdresser came at 6.30 and shampooed 
 my hair ; had breakfast, and about nine we were ready to start on The 
 Tarpon. When we left the hotel dock, large buzzards were all round 
 it after a tarpon which had been thrown down there and was not 
 wanted. There was a fine strong breeze and we sailed well. Passed 
 all the httle boats, tarpon fishing, and about 11.30 arrived at Red Fish 
 Point, where we dropped anchor and put up the awning. We had 
 lunch and then started fishing ; Jim and his guide in one boat, and the 
 Captain and I in another. I caught a Spanish mackerel and missed 
 one or two strikes. Jim caught two "trout" and twenty other fish. 
 This was not considered good, as the tide was wrong and there was 
 too much wind. Still, very peaceful and nice on board. 
 
 Wednesday, \\th April. — Up at 5.30 a.m. After coffee, started off 
 fishing in the boats soon after six, A beautiful calm morning, and the 
 
72 
 
 THE ENGLISH ANGLER IN FLORIDA 
 
 sun shining; but no luck followed me, and the Captain and I only 
 had one strike and caught nothing, though we trolled for two hours 
 before returning for breakfast. Jim caught some "trout." After 
 breakfast, at about lo a.m., we started for Captiva Pass; there being 
 little wind, we steamed as well as sailed. Passing Punta Rassa, the 
 
 PUiMA KAbSA CABLE blATlON. 
 
 men hailed us and gave us a cablegram for Jim. Already they had 
 learned to identify us by the boat. 
 
 Arrived at Captiva and dropped our anchor soon after 4 p.m. 
 A few minutes later we were both out in the Pass fishing. I caught 
 nothing, but Jim hooked a tarpon, which jumped finely and got off. 
 
VII CONTINUATION OF DIARY 73 
 
 A very hot day ; could not stay on deck. Coming along from Red 
 Fish Point, the heat was great, but now it is deliciously cool under the 
 awning. We are only about loo feet from the shore of the island, 
 which has a beach of nothing but small shells ; a few Spaniards live 
 on it in huts made of palmetto grass. They are fishermen and catch 
 the mullet in nets. The water is alive with cat-fish ; when anything is 
 thrown overboard, they generally come round in hundreds and fight 
 for it. 
 
 Thursday^ \ph April. — Up at a quarter to six and had a cup of 
 coffee, then started out fishing. I went over to the other side of the 
 Pass and along the shore of the island ; trolled and caught thirteen 
 squeteague weighing 17^ lbs., one bass 6| lbs., and two bass 5^ lbs. 
 Returned about 9 a.m. to breakfast, and found Jim had only caught 
 six squeteague. Nice fine morning with strong wind. The 
 mosquitoes are very tiresome, and last night bothered us a good 
 bit ; the Captain had to come up and sleep on deck, they were so 
 bad in his cabin. Jim caught two red grouper and one black grouper 
 in the morning. Started out to the Pass again about 3.30 p.m. 
 Heaps of tarpon playing about in the water ; I hooked two, but after 
 two or three jumps they were gone ; they were very big fish and 
 the pull was tremendous. I fear I should never have strength to 
 play and land one, but must try. I saw only one gentleman catch a 
 tarpon this evening, but several had strikes. Went in to dinner at 
 seven, and early to bed. Terribly hot night ; Jim could not sleep 
 at all with the heat and mosquitoes. 
 
 Friday, 16th April. — Lovely sunny morning. Up at 5.30 a.m. and 
 out fishing early. Caught three squeteague and a small "jack " ; seeing 
 a shoal of mackerel, went and trolled among them and tried all kinds of 
 bait, but could not hook one, though the water was alive with them. 
 Landed at the island at Mr. Von Blake's camp, and saw two lovely 
 
74 THE ENGLISH ANGLER IN FLORIDA vii 
 
 tarpon he had caught this morning at 4 a.m. One weighed 165 lbs. 
 Several other tarpon were hooked, but a shark mangled two of them, 
 leaving only the head of one. 
 
 Jim had good luck before breakfast, for which he returned rather 
 late, having caught two bass of 9 lbs. each, fourteen squeteague weighing 
 20 lbs., and eight lady fish weighing 14I lbs. He had thrown several 
 lady fish in again and lost a very big bass. About 4 p.m. he went out 
 into the Pass after tarpon, and hooked one but lost him. Cooler 
 towards evening ; the wind got up, and it became very cloudy. The 
 mosquitoes seem less plentiful ; last night they were terrible. 
 
 Saturday^ i "ith April. — Under weigh about 6.30 a.m. Wind having 
 all dropped, had to steam. Stopped at St. James ; went ashore and 
 bought some bread and eggs and other things at the store ; then 
 walked up to look at the Don Carlos Hotel, a nice building, with only 
 one gentleman staying there. In the garden, tied to a tree, was a 
 small alligator, about 6 ft. long ; its mouth was bound up with string, 
 it made a most funny noise, and would have lashed one with its 
 tail if you had gone near enough. Steamed up to Red Fish Point, 
 dropped anchor about three, started to fish for tarpon, but had no 
 luck. Wind got up in the evening, and it blew very hard in the night. 
 It had rained off and on all the morning, and was very cloudy. 
 
 Easter Sunday, 1 8//^ April. — Still at Red Fish Point. We started 
 fishing off the boat about seven, before breakfast. Had no luck, only 
 hooked two small sharks. Fished all day off the boat, but caught 
 nothing. Jim rowed down the river a little way and caught some 
 squeteague and lady fish. Fine day with strong wind. 
 
 Monday, 19/// April. — Saw no tarpon about when we looked out; 
 therefore determined to go up the river, and at 6.30 started and 
 steamed three miles above Myers. Jim went out in the row-boat, but 
 seeing no fish about, we started down the river and I went off the 
 
CONTINUATION OF DIARY 
 
 75 
 
 yacht to the inn. Jim, however, went out fishing again, but soon had 
 to return, driven home by a terrible wind-storm with torrents of rain, 
 and thunder. 
 
 Tuesday, 20th April. — Jim up at 5 a.m. and out fishing by six ; 
 caught a tarpon 114 lbs. weight opposite Mr, McGregor's, the other side 
 
 MR. McGregors schooner below myers, oprosiTE ins winter house. 
 
 of the river, about 3 o'clock ; landed at the McGregor and walked home. 
 Fine, but very windy day. 
 
 Wednesday, 2\st April. — Very windy. Jim did not go fishing and 
 had a quiet day. 
 
 Thursday, 22nd April. — Another windy day, and as it blew hard 
 all day, none of the gentlemen went out fishing. Mr. Batley arrived 
 
76 THE ENGLISH ANGLER IN FLORIDA vn 
 
 about 7.30 in the morning with a pair-horse hack, and we drove nine 
 miles out in the country to see some fine orange groves. We 
 travelled through ground thick with palmetto green and fir trees, 
 except where it had been burnt down or cleared for an orange grove. 
 The road was in places very sandy, and we went through streamlets 
 and across wooden bridges over the creeks. Some of the orange 
 groves were fine big trees, twenty years old, and others quite small 
 ones just planted ; between the trees, sugar cane or tomatoes were 
 growing. The tomatoes are ripe now and being shipped daily in 
 boxes to the northern markets. On our way back, we stopped at the 
 experimental station supported by the State, and saw some acres of pine- 
 apple, but none of them ripe. There are twenty varieties growing 
 there, and all kinds of plants and flowers. The man in charge gave me 
 a beautiful crimson hybiscus bloom and two or three roses. Got 
 back about 12.30 to the inn. 
 
 Friday, 2yd April. — Lovely sunny morning with wind dropped 
 a little. Jim took a black guide, named Dode, and started off fish- 
 ing about 8 A.M., returning about 5 o'clock with a tarpon weighing 
 41 lbs. Mr. Van Cortlandt got one also, weighing 62 lbs. ; none of 
 the others staying here brought any home. They hooked several but 
 lost them. 
 
 Saturday, 24//; April. — Fine morning, but still windy. Jim started 
 off about nine, fishing, and returned about five with a tarpon of 
 92 lbs. ; he was the only visitor at this inn who caught one. 
 
 Sunday, 25M April — Lovely morning with wind dropped. We 
 were up at six, and at seven started off up the river in the little steamer, 
 the Belle of Myers, which we had hired for the day. We voyaged 
 1 8 miles to a place called Telegraph Creek, where we stopped for two 
 or three hours and fished. It was very pretty going along the 
 river, which gets narrower as we advanced. We saw five or six 
 
CONTINUATION OF DIARY 
 
 77 
 
 alligators, which dropped quietly down into the water when they heard 
 the boat, and were lost to sight. One small fellow was swimming 
 across the Creek in front of our boat. We caught about twenty 
 fish, mostly small bass. Stopped on our way down and fished a 
 creek ; reached Myers about six. The wind had by this time risen, 
 and was blowing hard from the west in the evening. 
 
 Monday, zdth April. — Lovely morning. Went out with Jim, 
 
 THE "BELLE OF MYERS. 
 
 fishing, about seven, and returned about 3 o'clock, but never even saw 
 a tarpon. Mr. Jones caught a tarpon weighing 187 lbs. 
 
 Tuesday, 21th April. — Jim up and off by 6 .\.m. Lovely day, very 
 hot indeed and calm ; he never even had a bite, though he saw lots of 
 tarpon. Mr. HoUoway caught four beautiful fish and Mr. Van Cort- 
 landt one. 
 
 Wednesday, 2?>th April. — ^Jim off by six. A lovely morning, and 
 still very hot. He returned about five with a nice tarpon of 1 2 2 lbs. 
 Mr. H. caught two of 162 lbs. and 157 lbs.; and Mr. Van C. two 
 just over 100 lbs. each. 
 
78 THE ENGLISH ANGLER IN FLORIDA vii 
 
 Thursday^ 29M April. — Dull morning, with more wind. Jim did 
 not go out early, but after breakfast went up the town, and started 
 about nine fishing. Blew up to a strong gale, and river got very rough. 
 The fishermen all returned early about three with no tarpon. 
 
 Friday, T,oth April. — Woke at 2.30 a.m. by a bad thunderstorm, 
 which lasted until eleven with pouring rain. No fishing. 
 
 Saturday, ist May. — Jim went out fishing. 
 
 Sunday, 2nd May. — Jim up early and went out fishing. A lovely 
 day; he returned about 4.30 with a large saw-fish on his boat which 
 Mr. Vom Hofe had caught ; he had it on for over two hours before he 
 could see what it was ; it was 1 4 ft. long and 4^ wide, and weighed 
 about 600 lbs. We all photographed it. 
 
 Monday, T^rd May. — Up at 4.30 and had breakfast; went on board 
 the Clara to start at six ; proceeded to Punta Gorda, thence by train to 
 Lakeland and Jacksonville. 
 
 There is really very little in the shape of narrative to add 
 to the entries of this Diary. Lady readers will, no doubt, have 
 Ladies been interested in reading of the sport which Mrs. 
 in Florida. Ward herself enjoyed, and if a lady can endure 
 the heat, mosquitoes, and a certain amount of roughing it in 
 Florida, she might pass a very pleasant time with a lightish 
 rod and tussles with a variety of fish. I managed one day to 
 get a " shot " at the good keeper of our Diary, but it was not 
 under favourable circumstances. The overpowering sun on 
 that May day proved too much for the details one would have 
 
CONTINUATION OF DIARY 
 
 79 
 
 liked to emphasise. This was towards the end of our visit, 
 and the angler, as seen, has been having some fair sport in the 
 river, very near the spot where Mr. Parkinson caught his small 
 tarpon with a fly. She is really engaged in putting on a 
 
 ;;;.NG in the caloosahatchie river, twextv miles above myers. 
 
 phantom minnow to replace one which has just been rudely 
 snapped off by a predatory bass. 
 
 Tarpon fishing is, however, very severe work for a lady, 
 but it must be remembered that the record amongst anglers of 
 
8o THE ENGLISH ANGLER IN FLORIDA vii 
 
 both sexes is the tarpon of 205 lbs. caught by Mrs. Stagg. 
 We saw her tackle on board the yacht, and in the cabin were 
 photographs of five fish caught by her in two days' fishing in 
 the Pass. One of these tarpon had the best part of two feet 
 bitten off by a shark. 
 
 As to all that has been said about mosquitoes, although 
 perhaps the references to these little pests have been too many, 
 they made such an impression upon me that I am bound to 
 say the facts have not been at all overstated. They always 
 made very free with my ankles, and on one occasion they had 
 bitten me so furiously that I was absolutely unable to sleep, 
 and had to keep my poisoned and swollen feet and ankles in 
 iced water for a while. The sandflies are also, as in other 
 parts of the world, worse than the mosquitoes, both from their 
 r\umbers and their minute size. 
 
 I see no mention made in the entry of 27th April of Mr. 
 
 Ashby Jones's heavy fish. This was the same gentleman who 
 
 Mr A hb ^ fortnight before hooked a large tarpon which 
 
 Jones's big towed his boat about a mile and a half, jumped 
 
 several times, and escaped, not very far from our 
 
 own boat ; and he had also lost three on the previous day. 
 
 During dinner on the 27th April we heard that Mr. Jones had 
 
CONTINUATION OF DIARY 
 
 killed a tarpon of 201 lbs., and it was stated during discussion 
 that this was 4 lbs. less than the record fish caught by Mrs. 
 Stagg. After dinner, therefore, I went with Mr. Van Cortlandt 
 and other visitors to see the monster. It measured 6 ft. 11 in., 
 and girthed 4 1 in. Without question it was the finest fish I 
 had seen, and by the light of the lanterns it looked really 
 bigger than it was. Talking over the measurements, and not 
 being quite able to make them tally, the fish was reweighed by 
 all the scales which could be borrowed in Myers. These weigh- 
 ing machines, being those of sellers and not buyers, varied a 
 good deal, but we ultimately agreed to book this fish at 1 7 8 lbs. 
 The following clipping, from an American paper, is the 
 story of the smallest tarpon already incidentally mentioned : — 
 
 Mr. A. T. G. Parkinson now holds a tarpon record. He hasn't 
 beaten Mrs. Stagg's record- of 205 lbs. for the largest fish, but he has ^ 
 
 gone to the other extreme and caught the smallest 
 
 rr., , , , . , A Baby 
 
 tarpon on record. The baby tarpon was taken with a 
 
 . Tarpon. 
 
 fly at Alva by hmi on 21st Januar)' last, and wpighed 
 
 1 1 lbs., length 18 in. Last week he was fishing for bass at the same 
 
 place, using his rod and reel with a phantom minnow, when he caught 
 
 another baby tarpon- weighing 2 lbs. and measuring 19 inches. The 
 
 scales upon which the records are placed are not larger than a cent 
 
 piece, and make quite a contrast alongside the large three-inch scales 
 
 of the 100 lb. tarpon. 
 
 G 
 
82 TME ENGLISH ANGLER IN FLORIDA vn 
 
 Amongst tlie scraps which I cut out of the papers during 
 our sojourn in Florida was one which I here quote, not as 
 A Lake of ^" incident of sport, but as a curiosity of river 
 Fire. scenery at Fort Myers : — 
 
 Many northern tourists go to Nassau to see the lake of fire or 
 phosphorescent lake, for which they pay the privilege fee of forty cents. 
 Now the phenomenon is so common at Fort Myers that it is seldom 
 ever thought of, and it is treated so passingly common that the atten- 
 tion of strangers is rarely ever called to it, when in fact it would be 
 one of the greatest attractions to them. The waters of the Caloosa- 
 hatchie, during the darkness of the night, are not infrequently seen 
 glowing with a phosphorescent light ; with every movement its waters 
 burst into brightness, and the refulgent waves appear like billows of 
 fire. The phenomenon is one of great beauty and magnificence. While 
 rowing a boat on a calm, dark night there will be a faint, delicate light 
 dripping from the oars, while, apparently, a streak of fire will follow 
 the boat. Fish can be plainly seen in the water, which makes them 
 easy victims of the " grains," and furnishes great amusement for the 
 lovers of piscatorial sport. Steamers plying the waters often drive 
 before their bows two billows of liquid phosphorus, and in their wake 
 they will be followed by a milky train, which makes a seething and 
 hissing noise. If in the dark it presents a splendid exhibition of 
 aquatic fireworks, looking as though a thousand living rockets were 
 seen shooting from the steamer in all directions, and whirling about in 
 flame-like paths, till the whole river will seem medallioned with fire. 
 
VIII 
 
 SOME MONSTERS 
 
 In the verandah, notably Murderer's Row, at Punta Rassa, the 
 evenings are whiled away over the cigars with marvellous stories 
 
 of monsters. There was much talk of a certain 
 
 Fish Yams. 
 Devil's Ray that is 20 feet across and weighs any- 
 thing up to a ton. These creatures are to be taken by the har- 
 poon, and there were samples of that form of tackle on board Mrs. 
 Stagg's yacht. From the few clear statements I could gather I 
 conclude that this undoubtedly must be Ceratoptera vainpynis. 
 
 As to tarpon, my biggest of 128 lbs., and Mrs. Stagg's 
 of 205 lbs., were mere dwarfs compared with the fish which 
 was said to have leaped on board a steamer between Fort 
 Myers and Punta Gorda, and smashed in the galley door as 
 if it had been made of cardboard. Another yarn was that 
 an angler hooked, played, and lost a tarpon in the river, 
 
84 THE ENGLISH ANGLER IN FLORIDA viii 
 
 near Myers, and that the identical fish was caught within 
 four-and-twenty hours in a different river seventy miles dis- 
 tant. These and similar stories never lose in the telling, and 
 they are always well told and most diverting. 
 
 Personally I can vouch for a very large saw-fish. It was 
 the very biggest specimen which I have seen caught with 
 
 A Hujre ^°^ ^^^ ^^"^» ^^^ ^ ^^^ ^^*^ privilege of assist- 
 Saw-Fish. Jng in its capture. The photograph was happily 
 very successful. 
 
 We were out one day gorge-fishing for tarpon, and Mr. 
 Vom Hofe was anchored not far from my own boat. I 
 happened to look up just as he had hooked a fish ; that it was 
 no small fry was soon evident. It was running deep down, 
 and there was no leaping in the air or breaking the surface. 
 It towed the boat about for nearly an hour and a half, and I 
 set off to render any assistance that I might. The boatmen 
 had decided, from the working of the game, that it was a saw- 
 fish, and I was able to photograph some of the closing scenes. 
 I put a man on board Mr. Vom Hofe's boat, and all in good 
 time the monster was brought alongside and secured by the 
 adroit slipping of a noose over the ugly saw, which was most 
 conveniently fashioned by nature for such an operation. A 
 
MR. VOM HOFE S SAW-FISH. 
 
86 THE ENGLISH ANGLER LN FLORIDA viii 
 
 mighty blow between the eyes with an axe then settled him, 
 and the next business was to get him home. The illustrations 
 indicate the manner in which the cargo was moved and 
 secured. Ultimately we laid the fish across the bows of my 
 sailing boat, and I had to beat back to Fort Myers, a matter 
 of miles against a head wind and rough water. The voyage 
 was made all the more difficult by the weight of the saw-fish, 
 which often caused the nose of the boat to dip inconveniently 
 into the waves. At Fort Myers we transferred the fish to a 
 smaller boat (see illustration), and then came the hauling of it 
 up to the verandah, where it was photographed, with the proud 
 captor by its side. It will be noticed that his rod and tackle 
 were those ordinarily used for tarpon, and wonderfully light 
 for such heavy work. The saw was cut off for preservation, 
 and the carcase left upon the wharf Thither came all and 
 sundry armed with knives wherewith to cut off strips of skin 
 to keep in ineinoriam. The length and weight of this monster 
 are stated in the Diary. 
 
 It was not my privilege to see a still larger fish, but I 
 
 A Huffe heard of it, and was presented by an American 
 
 Jew-Fish, gentleman with a photograph in which it appears 
 
 with much distinction. The recorded weight of this gigantic 
 
iiiiiHlfl! 
 
 THE SAW-nSlI AND ITS CAPTOR. 
 Length, 14 feet ; breadth, 4J feet. I Estimated weight, 600 lbs. Florida, and May 1897. 
 
SAW-FISH TAKEN ON TARPON TACKLE. 
 
 THE SAME SAW-FISH GETTING ON TO SMALL BOAT. 
 
90 THE ENGLISH ANGLER IN FLORIDA 
 
 marine perch was 796 lbs. The kodak (see page 61) has per- 
 formed its duty admirably with the group, which, besides the Jew- 
 fish, consists of eight tarpon, the largest of which was 1 1 2 lbs., 
 and the lady and gentleman who caught them the summer before 
 last at Captiva Pass. Such monsters have to be hauled by 
 dead weight hand over hand from the bottom, which is gener- 
 ally of rocks, and no better testimony could be afforded of the 
 sterling qualities of the American-made linen lines. This fish 
 is probably the black grouper. There are two kinds, and both 
 are called "Jew -fish," and also "Warsaw," Goode suggests 
 that these, which have been catalogued as Epinephehis nigritus 
 and Promicrops gtiasa respectively, are the young and adult of 
 the same species. 
 
 Of the former. Professor Baird wrote : " The black grouper 
 is resident all the year, though not abundant. The greatest 
 size attained is about 1 5 pounds. They pass the winter in 
 the salt-water rivers, living in holes in the rocks, and under 
 roots and snags, and about piles. They are solitary in their 
 habits. They feed on small fish, particularly mullet, and on 
 crustaceans, and breed in the salt rivers in May and June. 
 Their spawn is very small, and pale yellow. They are taken 
 with hook and line by the use of mullet and crab bait, and arc 
 
SOME MONSTERS 91 
 
 seldom seen except when thus captured. They are much 
 esteemed as food." 
 
 Of the latter, Brown Goode wrote ^ : " It is a fair question 
 whether this great fish be not the adult of the common black 
 grouper or some closely allied species, the appearance of which 
 has become somewhat changed with age. A large specimen, 
 weighing about 300 pounds, was taken near the St. John's 
 bar in March or April 1874 by James Arnold. It was 
 shipped by Mr. Hudson, a ship dealer in Savannah, to Mr. 
 Blackford, who presented it to the Smithsonian Institution. 
 A fine cast of this specimen graces the Fisheries Hall of the 
 National Museum. Professor Poey, by whom the species was 
 named, states that in Cuba it attains to the weight of 600 
 pounds. An old Connecticut fisherman, who was for many 
 years engaged in the Savannah Market fishery, states that 
 the Havana smacks often catch Jew-fish. They are so voraci- 
 ous that when put into the well with the groupers they would 
 do much damage. The fishermen have found it necessary, 
 therefore, to sew their jaws together before placing them with 
 other fish." 
 
 * American Fishes, p. 50. 
 
IX 
 
 SMALL FISHING 
 
 There have been several allusions in the foregoing pages to 
 what is termed " small fishing." It really means the miscel- 
 laneous sport to be enjoyed by the angler with fishes otherwise 
 than tarpon. Sharks come under the head of nuisances ; and 
 such fish as the saw-fish and the monster marine perch may 
 also be omitted from this category as exceptions to be treated 
 independently. The following are amongst the species which 
 the angler in Floridan waters may at any time find at the end 
 of his line. Some of them are very queer fish indeed. 
 
 Mr. Von Blake, who was one of the enthusiastic anglers 
 
 whose acquaintance we made, and who enjoyed that grand take 
 
 The Moon- ^^ Spanish mackerel with his fly-rod described on 
 
 Fish. page 69, one day in April showed me half a 
 
 dozen moon-fish {Chcetodipterus faber) which had been caught 
 
V i> 
 3 V 
 
tx SMALL FISHING 
 
 in the fishermen's nets whilst procuring him mullet for bait. 
 They are most curious-looking things, and I had great pleasure 
 in preserving one of them. 
 
 This also on some portions of the coast is known as the horse- 
 fish, and, as usual, is elsewhere given other names, such as 
 sun -fish, and blunt-nosed shiner. The moon -fish are of no 
 importance to the sportsman, but are an excellent article of 
 food, and numbers of them ten or twelve inches in length are 
 sent to the New York markets. 
 
 While at St. James's I saw for the first time a fish which 
 bore some resemblance to our familiar English perch, 
 having transverse bars and a spinous dorsal fin. f j^g Sheeps- 
 There were a variety of fish cruising around the head. 
 pier, and a young fellow was trying his best to harpoon some 
 of them. We could only obtain a passing glimpse of these 
 perch-like fish, and were not sure of their identity. My guide 
 and captain, however, who were with me, pronounced that it 
 must be the sheepshead {Sargus ovis or Archosargus probato- 
 cephalus), one of the most valued food-fishes, and very likely it 
 was, since a number of the sea-bream family are found along 
 the shores of Florida throughout the entire year. 
 
 The ichthyological authorities say that in some of the 
 
96 THE ENGLISH ANGLER IN FLORIDA ix 
 
 rivers of Florida the sheepshead becomes almost a fresh-water 
 species, being constantly taken in seines in company with 
 bass, perch, and suckers, far above the limits of perceptibly 
 brackish water. It seems to derive its name from the some- 
 what sheepy expression imparted to its countenance by the 
 peculiar mouth and teeth, and partly also from its innocent 
 habits of browsing amongst subaqueous vegetation. Though 
 not, strictly speaking, a sporting fish, it is to be reckoned 
 amongst the genuine spoils of the small fisher. It is fished for 
 mostly by the natives with some of the small Crustacea — 
 shrimps or crabs for choice if they are in season ; but oysters 
 fresh from the shell, or even boiled, are found excellent bait. 
 
 This fish gave us plenty of pretty sport at the Captiva Pass 
 and other fishing grounds. You might imagine' from the 
 The Spotted frequency with which the sacred name of trout is 
 Squeteague. uttered in these fishing resorts of Florida that you 
 are in Hampshire or Derbyshire. The reference, however, 
 is invariably to the spotted squeteague, or weak fish, one 
 variety of which is called the sea or deep-water trout in 
 other parts of America. Our fish was the spotted squete- 
 ague {Otolithus carolinensis or Cynoscion inaculatus\ and very 
 prettily spotted it was. 
 
SMALL FISHING 97 
 
 There are numerous varieties that are spoken and written 
 of as trout or sea trout, but commercially the best known in 
 America, where it regularly appears in the market, goes by the 
 name of weak fish. 
 
 Another fish is the Crevalli or " cavally " {Caranx hippos), 
 which is distributed throughout the West Indies, and is found 
 on many coasts of the Pacific and Indian Oceans. jjj^ 
 In Goode's work its sporting' characteristics are Crevalli. 
 very happily hit off in the following lines by Isaac McLellan, 
 printed at the head of the chapter : 
 
 Swift speed crevalle over that watery plain, 
 Swift over Indian river's broad expanse. 
 Swift where the ripples boil with finny hosts, 
 
 Bright glittering they glance ; 
 And when the angler's spoon is over them cast, 
 How fierce, how vigorous the fight for life. 
 Now in the deeps they plunge, now leap in air, 
 
 Till ends the unequal strife. 
 
 The cavally belongs to the horse-mackerels. Another 
 fish of the same family is the silver moon -fish {Argyriosus 
 vomer). 
 
 I have never been in strange waters where I have not 
 
 found a fish species called Jew-fish, and, roughly speaking, I 
 
 H 
 
THE ENGLISH ANGLER IN FLORIDA 
 
 should say that in some parts of the world it is indifferently 
 
 applied to every variety as to which nothing definite is known. 
 
 The Jew -fish of which I saw and photographed 
 Jew-Fish. 
 
 such a magnificent specimen is, as I have 
 
 intimated, one of the groupers which occur on the reefs in 
 
 Florida and West Indian waters. The specimens of a few 
 
 pounds which we obtained in small fishing, seemed to me to 
 
 be the black grouper before mentioned as Epinephelus nigritus. 
 
 The black bass {Micropterus salmoides) is too well known to 
 
 need any description here, and I only mention it in passing to 
 
 explain that it occurs in the inland waters and up 
 Black Bass. 
 
 the rivers of Florida, and will afford the usual 
 
 sport to those who lay themselves out to angle for them. I 
 caught quantities on several occasions with an artificial minnow 
 whose triangles were loose. Somehow I repeatedly missed the 
 fish which struck, but found that I caught every one after 
 trying the experiment of tying the triangles close to the body 
 of the bait. 
 
 The larger species of sea fish frequently caught in small 
 Channel fishing is the channel bass or red drum {Scicenn 
 
 Bass. ocellatd), which is a much appreciated member of 
 the Scianidae, and claims much respect as being a strong, 
 
IX SMALL FISHING 99 
 
 handsome fish, and own cousin to the maigre which we find 
 
 in the Mediterranean and sometimes on the British coast. 
 
 The Jew -fish of the Australian colonies is another relative. 
 
 It is stated that " channel bass " is a characteristic name 
 
 applied properly only to large individuals taken in channels, 
 
 and that the smaller fish of the species are roughly called bass 
 
 or school bass. In Florida no distinction is made ; the fish is 
 
 always called bass, just as the squeteague is always called 
 
 trout. They run in weight up to 50 lbs. 
 
 .The Ravallia is the snook of the Gulf coast. It also bears 
 
 the Spanish name of robalo, with a number of other designations. 
 
 In many features it reminds one of the pike perch 
 
 Ravallia. 
 of Germany. In science it is known as the 
 
 Centropomus undeciinalis ; its length is about 3 feet, and it is 
 
 predatory to the backbone. The ravallia ought to be a capital 
 
 game fish, though Jordan says that it is seldom taken by the 
 
 angler. Snook seems rather an ignoble name to apply to a 
 
 respectable raider amongst other fishes, but the word is a 
 
 corruption of snoek, which is to this day the Dutch name for 
 
 pike. 
 
 The snapper is, I think, correctly placed by Dr. Gunther 
 
 amongst the perches, though Jordan, the American scientist. 
 
THE ENGLISH ANGLER IN FLORIDA 
 
 ranks them amongst the sea breams. They are very abundant 
 around the American coast. The red snapper, or grunt 
 {Mesoprion aya), as it is sometimes dubbed, is in everlasting 
 Red evidence in the Gulf of Mexico and Eastern 
 bnapper. piorida, and has been for many years now highly 
 esteemed as an article of food in the northern markets to which 
 it is transported. This fish is found with the sea bass, and its 
 range is as far north as Cape Cod ; but it is in the Gulf of 
 Mexico that the red snappers are most at home. They haunt 
 the reefs and rocks, and are very plentiful off Charlotte 
 Harbour. They give excellent sport, but are mostly taken 
 with the net for market. I have heard of some excellent 
 takes of red snapper, which are carnivorous fish, with spinning 
 bait, and they sometimes run to 40 lbs. weight. The specimens 
 which I saw, and occasionally caught, were, however, nothing 
 like so large ; the average is perhaps 8 lbs. and 9 lbs., and 
 a bit of dead fish is good bait. 
 
 A more gracefully shaped variety which often comes in 
 the way of the small -fish angler is the mangrove snapper 
 {Mesoprion aurorubens). It is active and beautifully coloured 
 with russet and gold lines, and is seldom more than 1 8 inches 
 long. 
 
bLACK BASS. 
 
 X 
 
 THE SEASON OF 1 897 
 
 The Diary which has been freely laid under contribution 
 
 was continued to the end, but on the tolerably familiar 
 
 ground of the train journey to Washington. 
 
 Homewards. 
 
 Even on our return we did not escape the 
 
 casualties of American travel, for at one station we were 
 compelled to wait four hours for another part of the train, 
 which had been delayed owing to some breakdown, with 
 the consequence that we arrived at Washington at eleven 
 instead of 7.30. 
 
 After our experience on board Tlie Tarpon at Fort 
 Myers we were very glad to get back again to absolute 
 civilisation, to look over the Natural History Museum and 
 Smithsonian Museum, and to enjoy the avenue of trees, 
 which in this early May began to look very charming. We 
 
102 THE ENGLISH ANGLER IN FLORIDA x 
 
 saw plenty of typical American fish in the market next 
 day, and on Sunday after church " did " the Zoo and Park. 
 Next day we went over the Capitol, and heard some of the 
 debates in the House of Representatives. 
 
 Next we took our camera and ourselves to Niagara, 
 and, spite of rainy, cold weather, enjoyed the visit and took 
 a quantity of admirable views, I noticed some people fishing 
 at Lewistown where they catch pike, perch, and bass, especially 
 at that time of the year, and again in the autumn. 
 
 On my return to England I received the Fort Myers Press, 
 and learned from it that, after we left, a party of American 
 
 Sport gentlemen arrived to continue the fishing. They 
 
 in May. commenced on i oth May, and caught tarpon at 
 
 once. This bears out a previous remark of mine that, whether 
 
 the fish are then in season or not, there is sport to be found, 
 
 at. the price of course of increasing heat. 
 
 Upon the question of .spawning and other kindred subjects, 
 I may quote an extract from Mr. C. Stewart Davison's con- 
 tribution to The Spirit of the Times of 19th June 1897. ^" 
 reviewing the season he says : — 
 
 The time necessary to kill a fish of course varies with their size, 
 strength, and condition. A female fish shortly before spawning may 
 
X THE SEASON OF 1897 103 
 
 contain as much as from 20 to 40 pounds of roe, be very sluggish 
 and non-resistant, and be brought to gaflf in but a few minutes. On 
 the other hand, early in the season with a strong active fish, an hour, 
 and even two and three hours have been necessarily employed, even 
 by those fairly expert. It seems a pity to take tarpon, as any other 
 fish, at or about the spawning time, but as they only visit the coast 
 apparently for that purpose, it is difficult to see how it can be wholly 
 avoided. All fish are, potentially, spawners as all animals are breeders, 
 and increase of game is necessarily diminished by each success of the 
 sportsman. Nevertheless, it would probably be desirable for future 
 sport if a limit of time were fixed. Substantially the increasing heat 
 of the weather in Southern Florida does fix a limit, as fishing practically 
 ceases by the 15 th of May, but probably ist May would be better. 
 The tarpon hardly falls within the class of edible fishes. They can, 
 of course, be eaten, and the little ones, 40 pounds and under, are not 
 as bad as the larger ones. But none are very good. This year at 
 Fort Myers, out of 165 fish taken in all, to and including the 12th of 
 May, 19 fish were under 70 pounds, the others running up to the 
 largest of the season, 187 pounds taken on the 28th of April by 
 Mr. W. Ashby Jones, of Richmond, Virginia. This fish measured 
 6 feet 1 1 inches in length, and it is very near the largest which has 
 been taken on rod and reel Mr. Jones's record, by the way, is the 
 best for the season. Fishing (from 21st March to nth May) on 
 45 days, he took 38 tarpon aggregating 4236 pounds, say 112 pounds 
 per fish. Of these one was taken " trolling," i.e. on an exaggerated 
 " Devon," trailed on the usual rod and reel behind a rowboat, the fish 
 being hooked in the mouth and landed in seven minutes. Necessarily, 
 this involves never allowing a fish to gain any slack, as hooking tarpon 
 in the mouth is a very unsecure method, there being nothing in which 
 the barb of the hook can set. This is better illustrated by the " Pass " 
 
I04 THE ENGLISH ANGLER IN FLORIDA x 
 
 fishing, which is wholly different from river fishing, but which, as this 
 letter is reaching an undue length, I can hardly describe in detail. It 
 may be sufficient to say that " Pass " fishing is mostly practised, on 
 the west coast, at Captiva Pass, a passage between two islands out to 
 the Gulf. The tide makes some miles an hour, and usually the 
 breakers outside are heavy. Your boat being anchored in the tide- 
 way, some 30 yards of line are allowed to trail behind in the tide 
 baited with either a gigantic spoon, enormous devon, or an entire 
 mullet hooked through the mouth. The tarpon running past strike 
 and must be themselves struck instantly. Immediately on striking a 
 fish the boatman gets up anchor and rows for the beach (as otherwise 
 boat, tarpon and all would go out through the Pass). The fish must 
 be landed on the beach, the gaffer going into the shallow water for 
 this purpose, and from beginning to end as bait and hook have not 
 been gorged, no slack line should be allowed the fish. It has been 
 suggested that " central draft "hooks would be the best for Pass fishing, 
 and I believe such have been tried. 
 
 The Fort Myers Press publishes a record of the fish which 
 
 A Season's ^1*^ landed and weighed at that place, and its 
 
 Record, substantial accuracy may, I think, be fairly taken 
 
 for granted. The Returns for the season are appended, and the 
 
 reader will not fail to remark how uniformly heavy the fish 
 
 were in the May month after my departure. 
 
THE SEASON OF 1897 
 
 105 
 
 Extract from Fort Myers Press 
 TARPON RECORD FOR 1897 
 The following is the record of tarpon caught at Fort Myers 
 with rod and reel this season : — - 
 
 Jan. ri. A. T. G. Parkinson, England 
 
 Feb. 12. J. W. Weber, Brooklyn, N.Y. 
 
 „ 13. B. Fallen, Brooklyn, N.Y. . 
 
 „ 20. Jos. Fallert, Brooklyn, N.Y. . 
 
 „ 20. Jos. L. Hickson, Minneapolis, Minn. 
 
 ,, 21. Geo. W. Straub, Brooklyn, N.Y. 
 
 Mar. II. W. W. Olln, Kalamazoo, Mich. 
 
 „ 12. A. T. G. Parkinson, England 
 
 ,, 15. Jos. L. Hickson, Minneapolis, Minn. 
 
 „ 15. R. R. Rand, Minneapolis, Minn. 
 
 „ 17. J. J. Bartlett, Strongsville, Ohio 
 
 „ 17. J. P. Wheelright, Minneapolis, Minn. 
 
 „ 17. M. B. Koon, Minneapolis, Minn. . 
 
 „ 19. M. B. Koon, Minneapolis, Minn. . 
 
 „ 19. S. H. Chisholm, Cleveland, O. 
 
 „ 19. F. B. Loebs, Rochester, N.Y. 
 
 „ 21. Chas. Stewart Davison, New York City 
 
 ., 21. Jos. L. Hickson, Minneapolis, Minn. 
 
 ,, 21. Jos. L. Hickson, Minneapolis, Minn. 
 
 ,, 21. R. T. Holloway, Lexington, Ky. 
 
 ,, 21. \V. Ashby Jones, Richmond, Va. 
 
 „ 22. R. T. Holloway, Lexington, Ky. 
 
 „ 22. R. T. Holloway, Lexington, Ky. 
 
 „ 22. W. Ashby Jones, Richmond, Va. 
 
 'ounds. 
 
 Ft. 
 
 In. 
 
 4 
 
 I 
 
 6 
 
 1 10 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 •35 
 
 6 
 
 6 
 
 100 
 
 5 
 
 9 
 
 91 
 
 5 
 
 10 
 
 87 
 
 5 
 
 6 
 
 123 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 2 
 
 I 
 
 7 
 
 96 
 
 6 
 
 4 
 
 126 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 1 12 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 59 
 
 
 
 
 41 
 
 
 6 
 
 90 
 
 
 7 
 
 108 
 
 
 9 
 
 90 
 
 
 6 
 
 138 
 
 6 
 
 4 
 
 76 
 
 5 
 
 10 
 
 138 
 
 6 
 
 5 
 
 70 
 
 
 
 150 
 
 6 
 
 4 
 
 134 
 
 
 ■• 
 
 71 
 
 
 
 132 
 
 6 
 
 I 
 
io6 
 
 THE ENGLISH ANGLER IN FLORIDA 
 
 Mar. 
 
 22. 
 
 )' 
 
 23- 
 
 11 
 
 23- 
 
 )> 
 
 24. 
 
 i> 
 
 24. 
 
 It 
 
 24. 
 
 )) 
 
 I ^ 
 
 )) 
 
 14. 
 
 )> 
 
 21. 
 
 !1 
 
 21. 
 
 11 
 
 23- 
 
 >) 
 
 24. 
 
 11 
 
 26. 
 
 11 
 
 26. 
 
 11 
 
 27. 
 
 H 
 
 27. 
 
 11 
 
 27. 
 
 11 
 
 29. 
 
 11 
 
 29. 
 
 „ 31 
 
 April 3. 
 
 11 3- 
 
 „ 3- 
 
 11 5. 
 
 „ 5. 
 
 » 5' 
 
 ,, 5 
 
 » 5 
 
 Jas. H. Prince, Boston, Mass. 
 
 W. Ashby Jones, Richmond, Va. 
 
 W. Ashby Jones, Richmond, Va. 
 
 Chas. Stewart Davison, New York City 
 
 W. Ashby Jones, Richmond, Va. 
 
 Jas. H. Prince, Boston, Mass. 
 
 C. F. W. Millatz, New York . 
 
 C. F. W. Millatz, New York . 
 
 C. F. W. Millatz, New York . 
 
 Centre Hitchcock, New York 
 
 F. Gray Griswold, New York 
 
 O. A. Mygatt, New York 
 
 W. Ashby Jones, Richmond, Va. 
 
 W. Ashby Jones, Richmond, Va. 
 
 Jos. L. Hickson, Minneapolis, Minn 
 
 W. Ashby Jones, Richmond, Va. 
 
 W. Ashby Jones, Richmond, Va. 
 
 A. M. Mitchell, New York . 
 
 A. M. Mitchell, New York . 
 
 R. T. Holloway, Lexington, Ky. 
 
 Miss Anna Holloway, Lexington, Ky. 
 
 R. T. Holloway, Lexington, Ky. 
 
 A. M. Mitchell, New York . 
 
 Mrs. W. Ashby Jones, Richmond, Va. 
 
 Mrs. A. M. M'Gregor, New York 
 
 A. ^L Mitchell, New York . 
 
 A. M. Mitchell, New York , 
 
 Jas. Loughlin, jr., Pittsburg, Pa. 
 
 R. T. Holloway, Lexington, Ky. 
 
 R. T. Holloway, Lexington, Ky. 
 
 Pounds. 
 
 Ft. 
 
 In 
 
 78 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 134 
 
 6 
 
 4 
 
 125 
 
 6 
 
 -1 
 
 125 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 99 
 
 5 
 
 6 
 
 31 
 
 4 
 
 I 
 
 55 
 
 4 
 
 
 
 21 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 90 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 157 
 
 6 
 
 7 
 
 '51 
 
 6 
 
 9 
 
 150 
 
 6 
 
 9 
 
 81 
 
 5 
 
 8 
 
 90 
 
 5 
 
 10 
 
 126 
 
 6 
 
 I 
 
 11 
 
 5 
 
 3 
 
 1 1 1 
 
 5 
 
 1 1 
 
 '3' 
 
 6 
 
 5 
 
 121 
 
 6 
 
 5 
 
 68 
 
 5 
 
 4 
 
 90 
 
 5 
 
 6 
 
 120 
 
 6 
 
 -^ 
 
 J 
 
 140 
 
 6 
 
 7 
 
 97 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 94 
 
 6 
 
 I 
 
 66 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 43 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 150 
 
 6 
 
 4 
 
 124 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 100 
 
 5 
 
 1 1 
 
THE SEASON OF 1897 
 
 107 
 
 April 5. W. Ashby Jones, Richmond, Va. . 
 „ 7. W. Ashby Jones, Richmond, Va. 
 ,, 7. R. T. HoUoway, Lexington, Ky. 
 „ 7. R. T. HoUoway, Lexington, Ky. 
 „ 7. R. T. Holloway, Lexington, Ky. 
 „ 7. James Loughlin, Pittsburg, Pa. 
 „ 7. Mrs. Frank Q. Brown, Boston, Mass. 
 „ 8. Henry B. Plant, Plant System 
 „ 9. Jos. L. Hickson, Minneaf)olis, Minn. 
 R. T. Holloway, Lexington, Ky. 
 Rowland Ward, London, England . 
 j. W. Ashby Jones, Richmond, Va. 
 
 I J. W. Ashby Jones, Richmond, Va. . 
 
 ij. A. IVL Mitchell, New York City 
 
 [3. A. 11. Mitchell, New York City 
 
 14. R. T. Holloway, Lexington, Ky. 
 
 [4. W. Ashby Jones, Richmond, Va. . 
 
 [4. W. Ashby Jones, Richmond, Va. . 
 
 14. A. M. M'Gregor, New York . 
 5. B. B. M'Gregor, New York . 
 
 [5. B. B. M'Gregor, New York . 
 
 [ 6. W, Ashby Jones, Richmond, Va. . 
 
 i^. W. Ashby Jones, Richmond, \'a. . 
 
 16. Mrs. R. J. Shepherd, Fort Myers, Fla. 
 
 16. R. T. Holloway, Lexington, Ky. 
 
 [6. R. T. Holloway, Lexington, Ky. 
 
 16. F. S. Hodges .... 
 
 16. R. T. Holloway, Lexington, Ky. 
 7. W. Ashby Jones, Richmond, Va. . 
 
 1 7. W. Ashby Jones, Richmond, Va. . 
 
 Pounds. 
 
 Ft. 
 
 In 
 
 102 
 
 6 
 
 4 
 
 86 
 
 5 
 
 10 
 
 126 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 163 
 
 6 
 
 10 
 
 74 
 
 5 
 
 4 
 
 75 
 
 5 
 
 4 
 
 75 
 
 
 .. 
 
 150 
 
 6 
 
 6 
 
 93 
 
 5 
 
 8 
 
 114 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 123 
 
 6 
 
 3 
 
 90 
 
 5 
 
 I 
 
 58 
 
 4 
 
 8 
 
 86 
 
 5 
 
 8 
 
 105 
 
 6 
 
 I 
 
 119 
 
 6 
 
 2 
 
 107 
 
 6 
 
 2 
 
 124 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 84 
 
 5 
 
 6 
 
 105 
 
 6 
 
 2 
 
 130 
 
 6 
 
 4 
 
 95 
 
 5 
 
 1 1 
 
 75 
 
 5 
 
 •^ 
 
 116 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 136 
 
 6 
 
 3 
 
 97 
 
 6 
 
 I 
 
 M3 
 
 6 
 
 6 
 
 , 94 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 no 
 
 5 
 
 10 
 
 81 
 
 5 
 
 3 
 
io8 
 
 THE ENGLISH ANGLER IN FLORIDA 
 
 April 19. R. T. Holloway, Lexington, Ky, 
 
 „ 20. R. T. Holloway, Lexington, Ky. 
 
 ,, 20. R. T. Holloway, Lexington, Ky, 
 
 „ I 7. John T. Spaulding, Boston 
 
 „ 19. John T. Spaulding, Boston 
 
 „ 15. George Mixter, Boston . 
 
 „ 17. George Mixter, Boston . 
 
 ,, 20. Rowland Ward, London 
 
 „ 1 3. O. A. Mygatt, New York 
 
 „ 13. O. F. W. Millatz, New York 
 
 „ 14. O. F. W. Millatz, New York 
 
 „ 1 7. O. A. Mygatt, New York 
 
 „ I 7. O. A. Mygatt, New York 
 
 ,, 18. W. Ashby Jones, Richmond, Va 
 
 „ 20. O. F. W. Millatz, New York 
 
 „ 20. O. F, W. Millatz, New York 
 
 ,, 21. W. Ashby Jones, Richmond, Va 
 
 ,, 23. Rowland Ward, London, Eng, 
 
 ,, 24. Rowland Ward, London, Eng, 
 
 „ 24. W. Ashby Jones, Richmond, Va. 
 
 ,, 26. W. Ashby Jones, Richmond, Va. 
 
 „ 26. R. T. Holloway, Lexington, Ky. 
 
 „ 27. P. J. M. Van Cortlandt, New York 
 
 „ 27. R. T. Holloway, Lexington, Ky. 
 
 ,, 27. R. T. Holloway, Lexington, Ky. 
 
 ,, 27. R. T. Holloway, Lexington, Ky. 
 
 ,, 27. R. T. Holloway, Lexington, Ky. 
 
 „ 28. P. J. M. Van Cortlandt, New York 
 
 „ 28. P. J. M. Van Cortlandt, New York 
 
 „ 28. R. T. Holloway, Lexington, Ky. 
 
 ounds. 
 
 Ft. 
 
 In. 
 
 135 
 
 6 
 
 6 
 
 "5 
 
 5 
 
 II 
 
 160 
 
 6 
 
 8 
 
 102 
 
 5 
 
 loi 
 
 160 
 
 7 
 
 4 
 
 162 
 
 
 
 30 
 
 
 
 114 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 60 
 
 
 
 100 
 
 
 
 135 
 
 
 
 121 
 
 
 
 102 
 
 
 
 117 
 
 6 
 
 4 
 
 140 
 
 
 
 60 
 
 
 
 64 
 
 4 
 
 12 
 
 44 
 
 4 
 
 6 
 
 92 
 
 5 
 
 8 
 
 140 
 
 6 
 
 7 
 
 187 
 
 6 
 
 1 1 
 
 35 
 
 4 
 
 6 
 
 132 
 
 6 
 
 I 
 
 120 
 
 5 
 
 1 1 
 
 61 
 
 5 
 
 
 
 87 
 
 5 
 
 8 
 
 168 
 
 6 
 
 3 
 
 108 
 
 5 
 
 '2 
 
 103 
 
 5 
 
 8 
 
 156 
 
 6 
 
 5 
 
THE SEASON OF 1897 
 
 109 
 
 April 28. R. T. Holloway, Lexington, Ky. 
 
 28. Rowland Ward, London, £ng. 
 27. W. Ashby Jones, Richnnond, Va. 
 
 26. A. C. Craig, New Jersey 
 
 27. A. C. Craig, New Jersey 
 27. A. C. Craig, New Jersey 
 27. O. A. Mygatt, New York 
 
 29. W. Ashby Jones, Richmond, \'a. 
 May 2. \\\ Ashby Jones, Richmond, Va. 
 
 2. \V. Ashby Jones, Richmond, \'a. 
 
 2. W. Ashby Jones, Richmond, Va. 
 
 3. W. Ashby Jones, Richmond, \'a. 
 
 3. W. Ashby Jones, Richmond, Va. 
 2. Geo. L. Shipley, Providence, R.I 
 
 2. Edward Vom Hofe, New York (saw-fish) 
 
 4. Edward \oxa Hofe, New York 
 4. P. J. >L \'an Cortlandt, New York 
 
 3. Edward \'om Hofe, New York (saw-fish) 
 
 4. Thos. E. Peters, London, England 
 
 4. W. Ashby Jones, Richmond, \'a. 
 
 5. P. J. M. Van Cortlandt, New York 
 5. E. Vom Hofe, New York 
 5. W. Ashby Jones, Richmond, Va. 
 5. \V. Ashby Jones, Richmond, Va. 
 
 5. W. Ashby Jones, Richmond, \'a. 
 
 6. P. J. AL Van Cortlandt, New York 
 6. E. Vom Hofe, New York 
 
 6. W. Ashby Jones, Richmond, Va. 
 
 7. Judge Emmett Field, Louisville, Ky. 
 7. Mrs. M. L. Satterwhite, Louisville, Ky. 
 
 Pounds. 
 
 Ft 
 
 In. 
 
 148 
 
 6 
 
 5 
 
 122 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 172 
 
 6 
 
 9 
 
 131 
 
 6 
 
 3 
 
 III 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 81 
 
 5 
 
 ir 
 
 125 
 
 
 
 >54 
 
 6 
 
 9 
 
 149 
 
 6 
 
 9 
 
 123 
 
 6 
 
 I 
 
 134 
 
 6 
 
 5 
 
 126 
 
 6 
 
 I 
 
 103 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 123 
 
 6 
 
 2 
 
 600 
 
 M 
 
 
 
 135 
 
 6 
 
 I 
 
 156 
 
 6 
 
 6 
 
 500 
 
 13 
 
 
 
 70 
 
 5 
 
 4 
 
 100 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 i3i 
 
 5 
 
 9 
 
 100 
 
 5 
 
 10 
 
 107 
 
 5 
 
 10 
 
 130 
 
 6 
 
 4 
 
 144 
 
 6 
 
 10 
 
 57 
 
 4 
 
 6 
 
 122 
 
 6 
 
 I 
 
 74 
 
 5 
 
 2 
 
 125 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 107 
 
 5 
 
 II 
 
no 
 
 THE ENGLISH ANGLER IN FLORIDA 
 
 May 7. E. Vom Hofe, New York 
 8. E. Vom Hofe, New York 
 8. Mrs. M. L. Satterwhite, Louisville, Ky. 
 8. Mrs. Bennett H. Young, Louisville, Ky 
 8. W. Ashby Jones, Richmond, Va. . 
 8. W. Ashby Jones, jun., Richmond, Va. (boy 12 
 years old) .... 
 
 8. Judge Emmett Field, Louisville, Ky. 
 
 9. W. Ashby Jones, Richmond, Va. 
 I o. W. Ashby Jones, Richmond, Va. 
 
 10. Henry Kaufman, Louisville, Ky. 
 
 11. Col. Bennet H. Young, Louisville, Ky. 
 1 1 . W. T. Grant, Louisville, Ky. . 
 II. G. W, Lowman, Louisville, Ky. 
 II. \V. H. Nevins, Birmingham, Ala. . 
 II. W. H. Nevins, Birmingham, Ala. . 
 II. W. H. Nevins, Birmingham, Ala. . 
 
 11. A. H. Carpenter, Birmingham, Ala. 
 
 12. Major Frank Y. Anderson, Birmingham, Ala 
 12. Daniel H. Rogan, Birmingham, Ala. 
 12. Daniel H. Rogan, Birmingham, Ala. 
 12. Wm. H. Martin, Birmingham, Ala. 
 
 12. A. H. Carpenter, Birmingham, Ala. 
 
 13. Major Frank Y. Anderson, Birmingham, Ala 
 13. Daniel H. Rogan, Birmingham, Ala. 
 
 13. Wm. H. Kettig, Birmingham, Ala. . 
 
 1 4. Major Frank Y. Anderson, Birmingham, Ala. 
 1 4. Major Frank Y, Anderson, Binningham, Ala. 
 14. Major Frank Y. Anderson, Birmingham, Ala. 
 14. Major Frank Y. Anderson, Birmingham, Ala. 
 
 Pounds. 
 134 
 145 
 142 
 
 1 10 
 79 
 
 98 
 80 
 
 11 1 
 
 99 
 158 
 
 163 
 107 
 164 
 
 139 
 
 124 
 
 79 
 
 119 
 
 60 
 
 131 
 106 
 
 93 
 105 
 
 95 
 
 69 
 
 106 
 
 '35 
 
 127 
 
 69 
 
 65 
 
 Ft. In. 
 
 6 6 
 
 5 9 
 
 5 9 
 
 5 II 
 
 6 II 
 6 4 
 6 2 
 5 6 
 
THE SEASON OF 1897 
 
 in 
 
 May 14. Jack \V. Johnson, Birmingham, Ala. 
 
 .. 14. Jack W. Johnson, Birmingham, Ala. 
 
 ,, 14. Chas. W. Ferguson, Binningham, Ala. 
 
 ,, 14. Geo. R. Harris, Birmingham, Ala. . 
 
 „ I 5. E. W. Wilkinson, Birmingham, Ala. 
 
 „ 15. E. W. Wilkinson, Birmingham, Ala. 
 
 „ 7. O. A. Mygatt, New York 
 8. O. A. Mygatt, New York 
 
 „ 10. O. A. Mygatt, New York 
 
 „ 12. O. A. Mygatt, New York 
 
 „ 10. O. F. W. Millatz, New York 
 
 „ 12. O. F. W. Millatz, New York 
 
 
 Pounds. 
 
 Ft. 
 
 In 
 
 120 
 
 6 
 
 I 
 
 
 151 
 
 6 
 
 6 
 
 
 123 
 
 6 
 
 6 
 
 
 108 
 
 6 
 
 8 
 
 
 135 
 
 6 
 
 6 
 
 
 63 
 
 5 
 
 4 
 
 
 118 
 
 
 
 
 60 
 
 
 
 
 I 10 
 
 
 
 
 128 
 
 
 
 
 100 
 
 
 
 
 135 
 
 
 
 There appear to be no record.s from Punta Rassa or 
 Naples, but the following are returns of early jviarco and 
 fishing at Marco and St. James' City. St. James. 
 
 TARPON RECORD AT MARCO 
 
 Feb. 18. Hugh Macdonald, jun., Covington, Ky. 
 
 Mar. 3. L. Bury, England .... 
 
 „ 5. Hugh Macdonald, jun., Covington, Ky. 
 
 „ 7. Hugh Macdonald, jun., Covington, Ky. 
 
 „ 7. Frank M. Hoyt, Milwaukee, Wis. . 
 
 „ 8. Hugh Macdonald, jun., Covington, Ky. 
 
 ,, 8. Hugh Macdonald, jun., Covington, Ky. 
 
 „ 8. Henry W. Vaughan, New York 
 
 ,, 9. A. J. Cunningham, Rochester, N.Y. 
 
 „ II. J. A. Jameson, London, England 
 
 Pounds. 
 
 Ft. 
 
 In. 
 
 97 
 
 5 
 
 8 
 
 123 
 
 6 
 
 3 
 
 1 10 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 116 
 
 6 
 
 
 
 97 
 
 5 
 
 10 
 
 116 
 
 5 
 
 9 
 
 90 
 
 5 
 
 n 
 
 118 
 
 6 
 
 4 
 
 130 
 
 6 
 
 4 
 
 135 
 
 6 
 
 5 
 
114 'I'HE ENGLISH ANGLER IN FLORIDA x 
 
 packing case, preferring it to the heavy, hard, expensive wooden affairs 
 like a coffin, stuffed with very heavy material, for which you have to 
 pay high rates to the railway company. My box cost nothing as extra 
 baggage, but came as personal luggage. The great point in skinning a 
 tarpon for future mounting is to have the grease removed from the 
 inside, otherwise a beautiful silver fish becomes quite black in time. 
 
XI 
 
 OTHER SPORT IN FLORIDA 
 
 Amongst the works which will assist the sportsman who 
 meditates a visit to Florida is Hunting and Fishing in Florida, 
 including a Key to the Water Birds known to occur in the State, by 
 Chas. B. Cory (Estes and Lauriat, Boston, Massachusetts, 1896). 
 Mr. Cory is a well-known ornithologist, and has been hunting, 
 fishing, and shooting in Florida since 1877, while each of the 
 ten winters he spent in the State was devoted to exploring out- 
 of-the-way nooks and corners, which ten years ago were known 
 to very few people. Although Florida is now visited annually 
 by thousands instead of hundreds of people, as was the case a 
 few years ago, there is still a vast extent of country which is 
 practically a wilderness, and where game is yet to be found in 
 great abundance. 
 
 The following summary, for some of which I am much 
 
Ii6 
 
 THE ENGLISH ANGLER IN FLORIDA 
 
 indebted to Dr. Bean, of the Museum at Washington, 
 Mr. A. N. Cheney, the Fish Commissioner for New Yori< 
 
 ■ %. \ \ 
 
 wL 
 
 
 
 /^ 
 
 ■4 
 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 i h 
 
 \ 
 
 
 
 
 9 
 
 
 
 ''Jis^.:. '»> 
 
 'iS'-^ 
 
 
 1^^ 
 
 
 
 "• 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 "> 
 
 Si/^f/Ay^£: 
 
 .« 
 
 P« 
 
 ^ 
 
 ^ 
 
 A yuiKT bi'eiT. 
 
 State, as well as to the work to which reference has 
 just been made, may be useful to readers who desire an 
 
XI OTHER SPORT IN FLORIDA 117 
 
 outline of knowledge as to the beasts, birds, and reptiles 
 of Florida : — 
 
 The Seminole Indians, whose manners and customs have 
 been closely studied and described by other authors, are fond 
 of hunting the Manatee {Manatis americanus), one The 
 of the sea-cow family represented by the dugong Manatee. 
 in Australia. These creatures enter the rivers to browse on 
 a special kind of marine grass, and some writers say also on 
 the leaves of the mangroves. The manatee is abundant in 
 the bays and rivers all along the east and west coast of 
 southern Florida. I heard of them, but never had the oppor- 
 tunity of seeing one during our wanderings. They are said 
 to live equally in salt or fresh water, and the Indians kill 
 numbers every year, hunting them in canoes generally near the 
 mouth of some river, and harpooning them as they rise to the 
 surface. 
 
 The Florida puma {Felis concolor), still not uncommon in 
 
 the unsettled parts, is somewhat smaller and more rufous in 
 
 colour than its northern and southern brethren, lyy^ 
 
 and though very shy and wandering in its habits. Puma. 
 
 preys upon small animals, and even deer and dogs. In one 
 
 week, within thirty miles of Lake Worth, a hunting party 
 
 I 2 
 
Ji8 THE ENGLISH ANGLER IN FLORIDA xi 
 
 found the fresh trails of seven animals. So lately as the 
 winter of 1895, pumas were quite numerous near the Cypress 
 Swamps, about Long Hammock, Custard Apple Hammock, 
 and the parts south-west of Lake Worth. A puma 9 feet 
 long may be considered a big- one in Florida. Estimated 
 weight about 1 30 lbs. 
 
 The Black Bear {Ursus americanus) 4s still found in 
 some parts of Florida, especially near the coast. Old hunters 
 
 The speak of specimens up to 600 lbs. Good sport 
 Black Bear, j^^y be had hunting bears i.n Florida, but to 
 do it successfully an efficient pack of hounds is required, and 
 one or two of them must be thoroughly trained bear dogs. 
 The bears hibernate in Florida from the end of December until 
 March, and then they are found hunting for crabs along the 
 shore, eating the young palmetto cabbage, and the seeds (or 
 " buds ") of the mangroves. In June they haunt the beaches for 
 turtles' eggs, and in the fall they feed upon the palmetto 
 berries, which grow in abundance on the sandy lands bordering 
 the ocean. One specimen, shot through the lungs with a 
 bullet from a 45-70 Winchester by Mr. Cory in December 
 1893, was an old male and very fat, weighing about 500 lbs, 
 (estimated) ; it measured 6 ft. 2 in. from nose to tail in a 
 
XI . OTHER SPORT IN FLORIDA 119 
 
 straight line, 8 ft. 6 in. from hind claw to nose, and 54 inches 
 
 around the chest ; and one of the front claws was 3^ inches, 
 
 measured on the curve. This is described as a fair example of 
 
 the Florida bear. 
 
 The haunts of the Florida deer {Cervus virginianus) are 
 
 becoming fewer every year. They are still plentiful in remote 
 
 parts, but it is rare now to see eight or ten 
 
 Deer. 
 feeding on a prairie at one time. They are 
 
 hunted principally on horseback with hounds ; by slow 
 
 trailing ; and a third method is still hunting, after the manner ot 
 
 the Indians. The Flocida variety is smaller and of a slightly 
 
 different colour from the true Virginian deer ; and a full-grown 
 
 buck will not often weigh over i 10 lbs., and stands about 24 
 
 inches at shoulder. The young are born in April and May. 
 
 The Florida wild cat, a variety of the northern form {Felis 
 riifd) is fairly numerous, and some specimens Lynx or 
 stand 18 or 20 inches at the shoulder. Wild Cat. 
 
 The wolf {Canis lupus) is still found in restricted localities, 
 
 especially in the vicinity of the Big Cypress 
 
 ^Volves« 
 
 Swamp, and in extreme Southern Florida. They 
 
 are, I am told, getting exceedingly scarce, and specimens of 
 the black variety are very handsome skins. 
 
I20 THE ENGLISH ANGLER IN FLORIDA xi 
 
 Amongst other animals are the gray fox [Cards virginianus), 
 the weasels (JVIustelidce), the mink {M. visor), the otter [Lutra 
 Other small canadensis)^ the common skunk {Mephilitis mephi- 
 Mammals. tied), the little striped skunk {Spilogaleputorius), 
 the only climbing example of this group — the raccoon {Procyon 
 lotor\ bats of various kinds, shrews, moles, the marsh rabbit, 
 the gray rabbit, gopher or salamander, a variety of rats, 
 mice, flying and other squirrels, and opossum [Didelphys 
 inarsupialis). 
 
 Alligators have been previously mentioned as objects seen 
 by us during our stay in Florida. Skin hunters kill their 
 alligators at night, using a light, which enables 
 * the boat to approach within a few feet of the 
 animal, which is then shot without difficulty. When the 
 alligators have not been disturbed, and have become tame 
 and lazy, they may be approached by quietly paddling up 
 the creeks and rivers, and by sending a shot into the eye 
 or any portion of the head, so as to penetrate the brain ; 
 occasionally they may be found far inland. Anything over 
 1 2 feet is a good one. 
 
 Crocodiles occur in the rivers and bays of extreme 
 Southern Florida, but are rarely found very far from salt 
 
OTHER SPORT IN FLORIDA 
 
 water. They grow to a larger size than the alh'gator. 
 
 The largest crocodile Mr. Cory mentions was 
 
 Crocodiles. 
 1 3^^ feet in length. 
 
 There are four snakes classed as venomous : they are locally 
 
 known as the diamond rattlesnake {Crotalus adainanteus\ 
 
 average length about 6 feet ; the ground rattle- 
 Snakes. 
 snake {Sistrurus iniliarius), average length about 
 
 3 feet; the stump -tailed moccasin {Agkistrodon piscivorus\ 
 
 venomous but uncommon ; and the harlequin snake {Elaps 
 
 fiilvius), a small species distinctly poisonous. The non- 
 
 poisonous snakes number between twenty-five and thirty, and 
 
 include the water moccasin, the thunder snake, the king snake, 
 
 the black snake, the coach whip, the chicken snake, gopher 
 
 snake, hognose snake, and garter snake. 
 
 My sport in Florida was principally confined to the rod, 
 
 the season for the gun being during the winter months. 
 
 Making all allowance for the decidedly tall stories Qame and 
 
 one hears and reads of bags of so-called turkeys, other Birds. 
 
 quail, wild ducks, and snipe during the season between fall 
 
 and spring, I have no doubt the fowler would find an 
 
 abundance of good shooting. The Darters, or so-called water 
 
 turkeys iP lotus anhinga\ are very numerous in some parts, 
 
THE ENGLISH ANGLER IN FLORIDA 
 
 but have been gradually exterminated in certain localities by 
 
 native hunters who trap them. 
 
 Quail {Ortyx virginianus) and snipe {Scolopax) may be 
 
 found within easy driving distance of many of the pleasure 
 
 resorts, and are abundant throughout the state, 
 Quail. 
 
 especially in the southern portion. Dogs are, of 
 
 course, necessary. 
 
 Migratory wild fowl of all kinds once visited Florida 
 
 in incredible numbers, and over decoys or stools a bag of 
 
 one hundred birds in a day's shooting was not uncommon. 
 
 The birds are. now scarcer, but the regular visitors still include 
 
 wigeon {Mareca americand), pintail {Dafila acuta), shoveller 
 
 {Spatula clypeatd), blue and green wing teal {Nettion carolinensis 
 
 and N. discors\ ringneck {Aythya collaris), ruddy duck {Eris- 
 
 matura rnbida\ black Scoter {OEdemia americand), and blue 
 
 bill or greater scaup. 
 
 Other birds one frequently sees are several varieties of 
 
 bitterns principally {Botaurus lentiginosus), egrets {Ardea candi- 
 
 Miscel- ^issii>ici)^ the white, blue. Ward's and Wiirdemann's 
 
 laneous herons, ibis, cranes, rails, sandpipers, curlews. 
 
 Birds. , , , , , , 
 
 avocets, golden and other plovers, oyster catchers, 
 
 surf-birds, turnstones, and great northern divers. 
 
Reprint from The Field 
 T^othjuly 1898 
 
 BOCA GRANDE'S GREAT TARPON FISHING 
 
 Sir — You noticed in your issue of i6th July Mr. and Mrs. 
 Holloway's tarpon record of this season, fishing from 15th March 
 till 15th May, 10 1 fish, largest 177 lb. ; but what do you think of two 
 rods leaving New York 15th May, returning again in June to New York 
 with a record of 1 20 tarpon — one rod apiece ? Mr. O. A. Mygatt, who 
 is well known out there, and whom I have often seen with my glasses 
 working hard above Fort Myers from morn till night, either hunting or 
 fishing for tarpon, was one of them. On i8th May he and his friend 
 commenced fishing at Captiva Pass, but were not satisfied and went to 
 Boca Grande on the north side, trolling with the white part of a 
 mullet's belly. They saw hundreds of tarpon chasing fish, and playing, 
 but the sharks were very numerous and robbed them of many fish after 
 playing them for some time. Boca Grande is eight miles from Captiva 
 Pass. The water is very deep here, sixty feet, with hot tides, but there 
 is good anchorage inside for big vessels. Fishing one day, a mile 
 outside, and later in the day inside, Mr. Mygatt caught nineteen tarpon 
 and his friend ten, losing three others by sharks. He says it never 
 entered into his mind that he would have a better day than this. The 
 next day they were so tired out they rested. Four days later, in ten 
 hours, they killed thirteen tarpon, two measuring respectively 6 ft. 10 in. 
 by 42 in. girth and 6 ft. \\\ in. by 44 in. girth ; the next day Mr. O. A. 
 Mygatt got twenty-one tarpon to his own rod. 
 
124 BOCA GRANDE'S GREAT TARPON FISHING 
 
 Every fish, he says, was played squarely to the finish, without any 
 aid whatever. Only three tarpon out of the twenty-one were gaffed. 
 He says he found a new way to land them, catching hold of the wire 
 snell and bringing their heads up on the sand, when it is possible to 
 take the hook out and let the fish go back into the water. It was this 
 part of the sport that, when in Florida, I liked the least, viz. having to 
 kill every fish and throw it into the gulf; but how Mr. Mygatt did it is 
 easier to say than do. He also speaks of another way, from the boat : 
 as soon as the tarpon is tired and lying near the boat on its side, you 
 play him hard for two or three minutes, and hold his head at every 
 chance flush till he is played out. The guide can then take the hook 
 out, and let the fish go. This must mean a terrific lot of force, I am 
 sure. The guide, in this case, wears a big thick glove on his left hand. 
 
 One day the anglers killed thirty-seven for the two rods ; the physical 
 endurance must be very great, as the heat is overpowering. Previous to 
 this Mr. Mygatt's best day's fishing, in ten hours, was eight fish. The 
 jump to nineteen and twenty-two proves that the Boca Grande is the 
 best place to go, and my reason for writing you is that it has only just 
 been found out. It may interest English owners of yachts who will go 
 there, to know that vessels drawing up to 20 ft. of water can get into 
 the Pass and find good anchorage inside, where there are several square 
 miles of water. Mr. Mygatt, I can say from my own experience, spends 
 a lot of time in hunting for tarpon long before he attempts to fish, and 
 that is the way to go about tarpon fishing. They show themselves if 
 you will search for them. Mr. Mygatt says that strong and stiff rods, of 
 6 ft. 8 in. to 7 ft, are best for killing your fish there. 
 
 Any one reading this must not forget when these bags were made, 
 viz. 15th May to i8th June, including travelling from New York. Later 
 it is hotter, and earlier in the season the fish are not so numerous. 
 
BOCA GRANDE'S GREAT TARPON FISHING 125 
 
 Many people go in January, but that is a mistake. As I have fully 
 explained in my recent book, The English Angler in Florida, there is a 
 lot of other fishing to be found in this place, of the kind which the 
 Americans call " small fishing." Rowland Ward. 
 
 166 Piccadilly, W., 
 2^thjtdy. 
 
 [Mr. Rowland Ward's book, being an account of his own fishing in 
 Florida last year, is literally " up-to-date," and the above letter is there- 
 fore a supplementary record, bringing us to what is practically the end 
 of this year's tarpon season. — Ed.] 
 
Printed by K. & R. Clark, Limited, Edinburgh 
 

 
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