The star. (Reynoldsville, Pa.) 1892-1946, 1901-09-18
WHERE TARPoN sWARM.
So Thick I'm Galveston waters That They
Have become n Nuisance.

go THICK IN Gniveston waters That They
Have Bccome n Nuisance.
Tarpon are becoming so thick in
Galveston waters that the fish Is II
nuisance for those who desire to en-
| gage In the sport of capturing fsll.
| Not that the tarpon Is not an edible
fish, for 1t Isl but It is not considered
when there are mackerel and trout
and reddish and sheephead and few
others.
The trouble Is that the tarpon In Its
eagerness to get square meal. gets
after these edible fish, steals bait and
often runs away with the hooks and
lines OF the fishermen. But for real,
| genuine, hardwork sport the tarpon
will furnish enough for an able
bodied fisherman for n couple of
hours. He is game fish, if ever
there was one. He takes hold of the
hook with swoop, lunges. jumps,
spars for wind, ducks for time and
makes the water churn to n foam
in his endeavors 20 get away. A good,
stout hook and line, with real. are
the implements necessary to effect
his capture. but even with these i'm the
hands of an amateur he is apt to
break the line and get away. Tarpon
has TO be worn out before he can be
landed unless by deft bit of assist
ance he may he landed on rock
during one of his famous leaps and
plungcs.
In fishing for tnrpon most people
prefer boat, so that they can follow
the fish In his runs aud lunges with
out endangerlng the line. lie Is not
such n monster fish. but he Is n lively
one. Few tnrpon will touch the beam
MT 100 pounds. and the biggest known
here was six feet ten inches In length.
| In appearance as they come from the
water they are like grcnt ingots of
| silver the tips of their scales being
OF that hue. But they put UP lively
| fight. and In no place are there so
many ns Mt Galveston. Galveston
| fishermen sny that they will get forty
| five strikes here where they get one I'm
| Florida waters. The waters mt times
seem alive with them. Their chief
| diet Is mullet.
These little fish come along in
! schools covering acres. When the
water Is quiet out along the jettles
the mullets will come up, play in the
surface and keep the water agitated
with little rlpples. They move along
with the jetty slowly. when suddenly
they will STOP act bewildered. dart
| this way for few rods and then turn
and run In the opposite direction.
Soon on all sides the tarpon will begin
TO plunge above the surface of the
water in diving for mullets. 1t APP
pears that the tarpon Is quite gen
eral and surrounds his prey before
attacking. Tarpon Ia also fond OF
menhaden. but these do not appear
| in such numbers ms the mullets.
But the tarpon is an enemy to any
thing that swlms which is small
enough to be contained In his stomach,
and for that reason he Is n nuisance.
| After the jetties were completed and
the workmen with their noise and dis
| trlrbance were dlsbanded fish found
the rocks good place for breeding.
As a consequence the jettles have be-
come the finest place for fishing to
| be found in American waters any
where. They furnish the finest place
because of the many different game
fish that abound. as we'll as the great
variety and the enormous quantity.
The fact that small fish find the jet
ties such comfortable places for the
establishment Of homes has attracted
the tarpon and the shark and the pro-
poise. the Junefish and the rayflsn.
These all feed on the smaller fish
and each preys upon the other. 1t Is
pure case OF the survival of the
fitttest, and were II not for the fact
that millions of small fish exist to
where there is one big fish the race
of small fishes would soon become ex-
tlnct and the big fish would go hungry
or have to 20 on health food for a
time.-GalvestOn News.