The Caldwell tribune. [volume] (Caldwell, Idaho Territory [Idaho]) 1883-1928, 1908-05-30
TARP0N TACTICS.
Wonderful Feats, Flights and Leaps Of
the Silver King.

Wouoerrut reaSSy ruSUIS anu 6oAF@ w
the Silver King.
In the big pass tarpon can best be
caught from near the bottom of the
channel and should be fished for with
fifty feet of line and heavy sinker,
In shallow water the tarpon leaps
high in air the instant he feels the
hook, but In the D SIS he often fights
for minute or two before coming te
the surface. More tSan once when ]
had come to fear tLS, my tarpon was
q shark he has suddenly shot above
the surface like bullet from CUR
and In the first wild shake Of his head
thrown hook and bait fifty feet In the
air, and one even sent four ounce
leaden sinker flying over my head from
nearly twice that distance. Other tar
pom when struck came straight W
from the bottom, one grazing our gun.
vale as he rose and another leaping
over the stern of the canoe. AS soon
as a tarpon was tired enough to let us
pull the canoe beside him we removed
the hook from his mouth and let him
swim home to his family. 1t happened
once that tarpon was less tired thar
we had assumed. On that occasion we
swan home, and he had a good man
story to tell his friends.
1t had been counted poor year fol
tarpon, yet in fifteen consecutive days
of fishing we were fast to forty-foul
tarpon, each Of which had jumped fo
us from one to twelve times. Thi:
high water mark of twelve jumps wa'
made by a tarpon which was stimu
lated to his later efforts by the pres
ence Of a pursuing shark, and tn
twelfth jump was double number
There was commotion In the crimsone'
water, new vigor at the other end o
my line, and 1t was an hour later whel
I finally landed on sand bar a shar
with an aldermanic stomach A knit
drawn across this distended organ dis
closed the tarpon In sections, with tn
hook still fast In his jaw, and enable
the camera man to photograph t.
gether the subjects he had recent
photographed separately. Althoug
this shark was only one-ffth the siz
of our big hammerhead. yet he mad
but two bites Of his victim.
Our work at Boca Grande ended wit
the red letter day Of the season Of a
seasons. I was fishing In the pass wit
nfty feet Of line and the bait was d
rectly under the canoe when a tarpo
struck dercely. quickly carried away
hundred more feet Of line and the
swan so swiftly toward us that fea
ed from the loosened hne that he ha
! escaped. Then. ffty feet from the C
noe, there shot into the air q giant ia
pom, measuring. as we learned afte
ward. an even seven feet. UP. up. u
3 he rose until the camera seemed to
pointed at the zenith, and before Il
ratified camera man could get his al
the silver king had turned graceful
l In the air and was plunging downwar
The captain swears that he saw, swim
ing clear OF the water. the ribbon viii
marked twenty-five feet on the line
It hung plumb down from the tarpon
Al Once I gave my own estimate of t
y height Of the jump to group
q friends and after glance at thu
. grieved expressions appealed to the
Of most experience on the coast a
with the tarpon. After q single q
ment of hesitation he remarked firm
10 I'VE fishermen must stand togeth
G believe the story."-A. w. Dimock
10 AnsylefonAa