Evening star., 1937-01-30

affairs unworthy Of the name. After
the first leap or two the sail usually
gets only half his body and the spear
out Of the water. But when a tarp
comes out he isn't fooling. He comes
all the way out, and frequently SO
close to the boat you'll think he's 60
ing to land in your lap. Many q time
I've put up an elbow to toss of Q tar
pom that seemed to be sure to land on
my breakfast. But they seldom do.
Once in q while one will lose his bear
ings In the air and land in the boat,
but that's Q rarity. They have the
ability to twist In the air and get back
to the water somehow. But II they
do land in the boat. get out from the
spot quickly. A tarpon is q rough boy
with q wide and powerful tail which
he uses. Besides, he's plenty messy.
He packs a coating of slime which
smells to high heaven under the hot
sun
The tackle? Well, tarpon are being
caught by experts on six-thread line.
Now. if you don't know what that
means, it means this: Six-thread line
has q breaking strength Of about 3
pounds to the thread, which means
that it has a total breaking strength
Of l8 pounds. The fish will weigh any
where from so to 120 pounds, 80 you
can figure out that it's purely q mat
ter. with such light stun, Of leading
him and not forcing him. The usual
West Coast tarpon man uses 18-
thread line, but If you are q novice
don't feel badly when the guide Sug-
gests 24-thread stuff. He knows the
sheer power and strength OF his an
tagonist. Two hundred and nifty yards
Is enough. The tarpon doesn't make
long runs like the marlin or even
such runs as the sailfish. But every
once in . while you'll run across q
mean old character who does his aerial
stun and then goes to the bottom to
sulk. You'll need more than pack
thread to move him, and 18-thread Is
about right.
The rod should pack plenty Of
backbone, but 1t needn't be q great,
heavy affair. An or 10 ounce tip Is
about right, both for trolling and still
fishing. Some folks think stiff tip Is
better for trolling and Q more timber
one for still fishing, but one Of 10
ounces or 80, Of split bamboo, will do
the Job all right. The reel can be any
good make, but it must be able to
take 1t, which means good workman
ship and not cheapness. And 1t must
be anchored to the rod. don't know
anything more downright embarras.
sing than to have . reel come loose
from its seat in the middle Of q
strenuous tarpon scrap. It usually
means losing the fish, . lot Of cussing,
some mental recriminations and .
new reel.
THE fishing methods? Well, they
are many. The tarp Is . smart
fsh. but Of there aren't too many
boats around. he's a sucker for split
mullet. He'll take . whole live null
let, . whole live pinfish. . crab or
anything else edible which looks Is II
it might have life. He'll also eat dead
mullets, but the trolling method Is
the most fun. You won't have to
have any one knock you over the head
and tell you you've had q strike when
. tarpon hits your split trolled mullet.
The tarp will tell you quickly enough.
Before you've realized that you've
come up hard against something big,
the water will split open 30 yards be-
hind your boat and six feet Of his
imperial majesty will bound into the
air, cutting didoes across the tropical
scenery and bouncing your rod butt
against your belly until you will wish
you hadn't eaten those chocolate &C.
lairs last Christmas. And then he'll
start out on . run that'u have your
reel smoking unless It's well oiled.
During this process you'll probably
clamp your thumb down hard on the
line spool and wish you hadn't. II
xca - that xeu'a bst3r ssnd xcur