Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1890-06-02
TARPON COUNTRY.
The King Fish Found in Great Abundance In
Corpus Christi Bay.-Experience of San
Antonio Fishermen.

Special to the Gazette:
SAN ANTONIO, TEX, May 31.-The experience,
of a party of San Antonians who returned to-
day from Corpus Christi demonstrates the truth
of an assertion frequently made in these parts
that there is no necessity that the Northern fish
lermen shoIh Ito the Floridian coast in oEdeEt&
catch tarpon. 1t further demonstrates the
truth of the claim, also frequently heard in
these parts, that as Southwestern Texas is the
)game preserver of the continent, SO the coast of
server of the continent. The party comprises
wood national bank of this city; Mr.. D. G. De-
jwal, deputy marshal for the Western district of
Texas. and George PASCAL, district attorney of
this state district. They went especially to
Batch tarpon, but only Lockwood was
tackle. The others used such furniture
Us is usually devoted to bass. The consequence
5Tas that when they were struck by the king OF
1rhey hired boat at Corpus Christi, and con-
Fined themselves to what is known as Corpus
Shristi bay, a broad and s, shallow body
connections with the gulf, and nowhere more
Than fifteen feet in depth, by far the greater
OF nea snOa %hsh is
about a mile from the main land and
bias a, depth Of from four to six
flor bait, and trolied. They got back
to-day, and Mr.. Duval, who is an experienced
fisherman, tells the story in the following
words: Don't talk to me about Florida. This
is the Tarpon country. Our lines had not rested
in the water for five minutes before 1 had
strike. l am not used to the fish, and Of course
1 lost him. Hit at him too quickly,
suppose. The water literally alive with
them. saw them swarming about on the right
and left hand sides of the boat, in front and be-
hind. She was a slow sailer and they would
shoot past us like streak of light, their silver
sides flashing through the water in broad band
of white. We could no more get out OF
cip of 1hpnl va
'"t the water itself. They. were in schools of
m four to eight, and of these schools there
IRE numbers. It was no trouble at all to get
lem to take the bait. The trouble was to land
rAem. 1 struck my second fish after a wait of
5ome ten minutes, and the tackle stood couple
pof rushes very well. and then he sulled and re-
in, foot by foot, until he was
within yard of the boat. then leaned out and
the water a foot high in hog backed billow.
He was off, and away he went full fifty yards
i'm straight line, and You could have heard the
reel buzz for twice that distance. When he had
gone far as he wanted to he
sprang three feet from the water and shook his
head like dog. In an instant, without my
loose and free to tackle somebody else, hauled
in and found that he had cut it six feet above the
In the meantime Lockwood. who was
using fifteen BRAIDED silk reel and hook built
for the business, had hung fifty pound fish,
and the little boat was rocking with the con-
fict For over an hour they had it, some
times the fish the winner, and some
times the handler OF the eight foot
rod At the end of that time the ''silver king''
gave it up. Within fifteen minutes more Mr..
Lockwood had another rise, and the victim this
time was giant of more than leo pounds in
weight. He fought for an hour and half while
we sat in the stern sheets and looked on with
longing in our hearts and with nothing to crafty
it. When the capture was effected we were
somewhat chary and forced in our congratula-
tions. and came back to town, bringing the
tarpons with us. They are now on ice in one of
the local factories. You have heard of tarpon
fishermen near New Orleans and on the Florida
coast waiting two days for 3 rise.
dare say it's true, but it is inside the
truth when 1 declare that il one hundred
men had been in 100 boats near Flower Bluff, in
Corpus bay, on Friday they would have hung
100 tarpon in five minutes The water was full
of them and they bit like savages.
On Monday four experienced anglers leave
here for tfe,bay with the most improved tarpon
outfit. TheNexpect to discuss anything in the
way of scoreeSe made iGsfhe United States.