The sun., 1910-01-09
HlS RECORD YARPON CATCH
DR. LAWTON'S I6S FOUNDER
~ CAME AL UNEXPECTED.


Others may 20 to the Pacific coast to
catch salmon. while still others may HE
away TO the st. Lawrence after the famed
fleh with the French name In those waters.
but as for DR.. II. A. Lawton. champion
tarpon> fisherman OF the East Florida
coast. be win stick TO the fishing In the
peighborhood Of the Miami River. He
has tried both OF those distant fish pas
tores lately and he says they are over
rated.
Or. Lawton. who practises medicine
81 Warren. Ohio. when he 10 not fishing
near his place in Miami. came TO New
York the other day and is at the Wolcott.
FOR three years he has held the record
fof a tarpon catch down on the Florida
coast, his biggest fish OF that kind having
been q les FOUNDER. As for the fishermen
ant on the Pacific coast who think salmon
estching IN sport. well. when the Indians
can slant board In the water and have
the fish climb up the board, that is no
sport. And so,' said DR.. 'Lawton, Il
never wet line out there, but took the
arst train back home.
II love 20 use all the tackle in fishing
Tint any sportsman would use. There
4
lna. but there are many fax ers in this line.
One Of our crack fishermen has been
recently exposed as q faker. They found
kaet while the line he used was a twenty
four ply. when II ran out = little IL ran 70
thirty ply. The man had had the tapercd
z; We'll, after my visit TO the Pacific
tcaxme back and went 20 Quebec and
worked up 10 Lake st. John after GUAM
eniche. which ] had heard furnished
f2ne sport, i was not used to small fishing,
and when ] had hooked a three and a
half pounder the guides yelled out that
4 Was big fish. and they danced about
In the boat from excitement. and gave
mo AL sorts OF suggestions as to what
N yanked the creature into the boat
within hfteen seconds. They exclaimed
at ite great sire. happened to have
m my pocket q pictur OF myself together
with that leS pound tarpon. 80 in dis
Fstsk pulled il on them.
\ Hal said those Freuch Canucks. him
know OF no feeling that In like that
~ ths deep sea fisherman when he gets
that strike OF the tarpon. that terrific
yank that convinces you that there is
<omething doing below. You first feel
st the end Of the line,1 and you begin
70 ehake all over.
Then the line slackens, and you know
fhRt he 10 taking your bait into his mouth
and spitting II out. playing with it, in
aforesaid yank. and then you are on
tenttrhooks a. to whether you are going
10 land him or not.
About the best sport ever had was
with q ia pounder. l struck him at
twsnty-aFe minutes before o'clock
one night. and at II O'Clock. when he
eAzDs TO gef. was out ave miles in the
ocean opposite Alligator Light. He had
dragged my boat all that distance. I
AMPLY could not pull him In to get near
enough 20 put hook into him.
was In another boat. had an easier time
We both struck at the same time. but
WcTfhington's FISH took HIM two miles
into the bay. turned completely In a
pretty circle. came back and came to
wae anchored. II was pretty moom-
Portable out there In. the ocean. with
three OF Us in q little rowboat with the
waves reliing us about.
The way ! got that loS FOUNDER was
tlnny was commodore Of a fishing
~ a joke--apd we engaged an old
aea captain. who was a straitlaced Pres-
hyterian. 10 take us about. We cruised
about for ten solid days without a sight
Finally on the second Sunday the
captain came to me and asked IL he had
mentioned anything about fishing on
sunday from the boat. said no, but that
he had told me the boat would cost $50
on Sunday the same as any other day.
He suggested that he had never caugh
fish ON Sunday In his life. replied that
could not waste money. and IL ! felt
HIKE fishing on Sunday l would.
Wei, IL was necessary TO 60 Oh in the |
launch to Indian Key for provisions, |
The captain came out on deck dressed !
in his Sunday best, and the men in the |
party followed suit got into the launch |
with them, but before did so picked up |
4 % ounce rod with 20 ply line and a |
t&rpon spoon on it.
dock allowed the line to run out. prob |
ably for fifty feet. Well. sir. the next |
minute the biggest tarpon I ever saw in |
water made a leap six feet into the air. |
and knew he was hooked. II was comi- |
@ 70 he iss @Ssa June SP in ss Msn
It's r-r-record, doctor; it's a r-r-rec- |
Qrdl he shouted. For Gods sake hauld |
him. hauld himi' In the meantime he was |
taking on his shoes. Then heard him |
give q groan.
I-'My God, doctor he gasped. there's
no gaf in the boati Play him. play him.
well, / did plav that fish 90 the best |
Of my ability. He also played me. 1 |
knew II he ever got beyond the abutments |
% shss Flaglsr was = putting up for his sea-
played him for thirty minutes. Finally |
rot him close enough to the boat 10 that |
the captain could touch him. The skip |
PER Immediately grabbed the big fish |
ne gills and out his mouth, and hauled |
him into the boat. The tarpon gave only |
one nop and then lay still.
After Il was all over the captain was
seized with remorse. 1t was the first |
linie, be said. he had ever done such