Evening star., 1902-08-09
COL BILL B! STERRETT
Writes a. Fish Story From
Aransas Pass.
FIGHT WITH A TARPON
MOMENTS OF AGONY, NOT OF SU-
PREME SATISFACTION.
The Truth, the Whole Truth and Moth
ing but the Truth About Tar
pom Fishing.
Special Correspondence of The Evening Star.


initiated world stands with mouth agape in
interest
Only a few days ago 1 read a most enter
tanning and truthful article i'll one of the
magazines on rarpon fishing at Aransas
Pass. The writer, Mr.. Mason, frankly
stated at the outset that it was addressed
to the true sportsmen of rod and reel.
Hence it might be correctly termed a tech
nical dissertation or essay the subject
treated, and therefore one which the first
class sportsman would consider as invaIu-
able. After reading the article mentioned
and the magazine articles about mammoth
trout, pipes and tobacco and the inevitable
plrch couch-in fact, about all the belong
fngs of the fireside fisherman-I have con-
cluded that something Is due to what the
publications call "the great Masses" and
what l mean by due here Is a truthful,
unvarnshed story, void of the technicaf-
ties of the fishing game, and one that
man can hand over to his innocent offspring
and say to it: go, my son, and become
informed. Go learn how to avoid eXaggera
tion in fish stories. Go and learn in part
from what you read how much Of truth is
In what is termed the true enjoyment of
certain kinds of angling"
received note from an eminent surgeon
at Fort Worth on one occasion, and it read
thus:
The Invitation.
Dear Bill: saw a man this morning
from Los Angeles, and he said fish were
biting. Come over tomorrow and let US
hurry out there before they quit"
Now, this surgeon friend is a true fisher
man. His note to me shows it. He had no
legs to saw off that day. That fact, and
the further one that the fish were biting
several thousand miles away, so completely
filled him that be forgot that [ was work
ing for A and that If wOnld
hardly be possible for me to walk the dis
tance before the school of fish which he had
heard OF had passed on, or even If | were
able to walk the trip L would be forced to
eat something on the route 1t requires at
least a day or two for the newspaper man
to raise thousand dollars for a fishing
trip. But as | have said, my friend is a
true angler, and true anglers never think
of such small things money to pay trav-
cling expenses, of the obligations of an
employe to the employer, or, in fact. about
anything else except to get where the fish
are biting, and do it in the most expeditions
way. I mention this incident, first, to throw
light on the character of the fisherman,
and, secondly, because as a tarpon fisher
man he did more than all other persons or
things to make me essay the task of taking
one of these fish, and consequently of low
ering me In my own estimation.
The Port Lavaca Tarpon.
I resolved to catch a tarpon. 1 was not
unacquainted with the fish In younger
days 1 knew him at Port Lavaca But l
did not want to catch him then. One grand
nanny told me that a white man came to
Port Lavaca before the war and mad a line
on a spool, and the spool was tied to a fish
ing pole. She said he wound up the spool
with a little crank. He threw his line away
out In the water and one of those monsters
tackled it. AS soon as it did the fisher
man started down the wharf toward shore,
unrolling his spool, as she called it. as he
ran. He jumped off the wharf on the beach
and commenced TO roll up his spool. Ac-
cording to the aged Afro-Port Lavacan, it
must have been a great fight. She said
that this stranger was sometimes up to his
armpits IN the water and then he was out
on land and the fish right up on the beach.
But, according to her story, de stranger
as she called him, finally had his game
Hopping the dry sand. Den what you
s'pose it done to him." she asked. / would
not venture suggestion as to the probable
conduct of such a fish. well, SUM-" she
said hit Topped dere morn mint, just
as if it was fightin mad Den it got up on
it's tail and jumped in de air. Ebery time
1t rose it jist spanked him wild it's tail.
Deed it looked like it was klckin' him. You
see whar dat pilin is down dar about two
hundred yards? Well, right dar 1t gin him
de last kick and knocked him a somerset.
Den 1t jumped about fifty yards out in de
bay" She had told that a hundred times,
and believed it. Being revered among her
kind, that kind either through fear of loss
of tackle or through fear of being spanked
along the beach by this monster. always
pulled up its lines when it was in the neigh
borhood.
Seeking the Mighty Tarpon.
After my ambition had been aroused by
my surgeon friend. L began to select tackle.
1 was advised to get a Hall q. a Hall so, a
Hall this that and tother. Hooks of all
tea
size and make indorsed | wanted to win
and | was careful to select weapons and
unfortuna tely for me, l finally got the best.
| borrowed rod with strength enough to
pry up a house. L read in Job, "Canst thou
draw out the leyiathan with a hook, or his
tongue with cord which thou IetteSt
DOWN." and [ went out to get a hook and
line so that when my work was done |
could write in MY Bible at the end of the
Interrogation, Yea, l not only can do it,
but have done it, and it was easy" Thus
panoplied, and this is the proper word be-
cause it Is sort of war term, and later on
I found l had been in war, l repaired to
the scene of what | supposed would be my
triumph, that is, Aransas Pass. Fortunate
ly / secured the services of Ife-saver as
my boatmaG. He belonged to the Hfe-say-
ing station at galveston, is named Johnny
Holmes, and L take pleasure in recommend
ing him to alls persons who are either
wrecked at sea, hooked up with tarpon or
is in other kinds of distress consequent of
fOOilShly nay lDS3 anything TO do W tn salt
water. Johnny went through the Galveston
storm in the bottom of lifehoat after the
life-saving station was washed away. AS
the members Of the ife-saving service are
laid off in the summer months he had re-
paired to Aragsas Pass for that much
needed rest" and employed the time in
rowing people around seeking tarpon and
rescuing them after the tarpon was found
Ready for the Fray
He placed me in the chair in the boat
much aftertthe manner imagine, the Off
GERS in New York and Ohio place a felon
in the electric chair. 1t was an uncanny
kind of act orzceremony, and I began to
feel just bit nervous. He told me to brace
my feet we'll, to hold my rod firmly to keep
nv thumb oncthe leather brake on the reel
and then to watch out. This last admeni-
tion was unnecessary, as i was doing 1T for
I had become deeply Interested in my per-
sonal welfare. He hooked a n.Iillet on the
hook cast it over, directed me to let out
line, told me when to stop letting it out,
bent to his oars and we were out in the
Fairgrounds of the denizens of the gulf.
There were other boats containing other
foolish people all about u.s. They were
lucky Tarpon after tarpon nrose in the
air., lines were quickly drawn up and the
unfortunate who had hooked one was given
chance by the neighboring beats scurry-
ing out of reach. Tarpon after tarpon was
l -