The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1939-02-15

so Capt. jake Key OF the
Legion" was notified, and the
following day fixed for the,
to me, great adventure. My hosts
will never know how my heart
sank with trepidation as I saw
the size of the Legion and stepped
into it off the Casa Marina pier
l wondered il l should disgrace
them by being horribly sea sick
however, armed with plenty of
magazines - and almost some
! needlework-I gritted my teeth
! and prepared for the worst. When
we got out into the Gulf Stream,
! was so interested in watching
Mr.. and Mrs. CRIES. fishing for
got everything else, and every
fish brought in gave me a thrill.
Then my willy host said he want
ed little rest and suggested |
take his pole, and so, for the first
time in my life l handled a fish
ing rod. How will I know when
I get a bite?" l innocently asked.
you'll soon know that all right,
said Mrs. :Griess,f and l certainly
did, for very. soon felt as if I'd
a whale on the end of my lineI
and in due course landed my
first fish, a 22-pound barracuda,
and was l proud? That fish
meant more to me than any tar
pom, salmon or sail caught by the
most expert angler, and it achiev-
ed what nothing else in the world
had been able to do, for it turned
me into a most enthusiastic fish
erWoman.
My pride the next day suffered
a severe set back when The Key
West Citizen announced / had
caught my first fish, two-pound
barracuda, and so pleased was |
with Key West fishing that was
writing an article on it for the
London papers! l always thought
that anglers added weight to
their catches, so to havesmy first
born-as it were-robbed. of 20
pounds by printers error was a
cruel blow. I got my leg pulled
by every one in the hotd, my
host sending me a candy fish
about the size of a sardine,
labelled, "The fish l caught at
Key West.
!. I Since that memorable day on
Jan. 18th, 1 have been out fishing
many times, and though am. still
very much of novice, and the
elusive sail has still escaped me
yield to- no one in enthusiasm.
= l have known the joy of catching
tarpon-my first nights tarpon
fishing is a memory I shall al
ways carry with me. l don't
know which was the more beau
tiful, the setting sun or the rising
of the moon, and never will
forget stealing along the creeks
between the many Keys with the
tropical moon at it's full. I'd all
the novice's luck to get tarpon
on my first expedition, but must
tell the truth and admit I failed
to get him in by myself through
lack of knowledge, and had to
seek the expert aid of Mrs. CRIES.
before he was safely landed. My
luck held good and very soon aft
erwards I'd another strike, and
this time, thanks to the tuition of
my hostess and the redoubtable
jake Key, l landed the tarpon
myself, and the glories of the
barracuda faded. / can only liken
the thrill of ones first tarpon to,
that of getting the brush wh \
one goes out for hunting. IA
Another day when fishing for
the willy sail we had wonder
full experience, and for the first
time l saw a huge turtle swim
ming in the ocean. Up to then
we'd had quite good luck with
amberjack, bonito and barracuda
to say nothing of three funny
fish and it was about 2:30 p. m.
when we sighted the ungainly
crustacean. Then all was excite
ment on board. Eventually he
was harpooned and roped to the
bow of the boat as he was too
heavy to lift on board. We hoped
to get our catch ashore alive, but
he had to be given the happy
despatch en- route, as he was so
vicious he was doing his best to
injure the Legion with his pow
erful jaws, On getting back to
land we found our prize weighed
$50 pounds. and Were we proud
of 'our" turtle, for as Mrs. Griess
and I had helped with ropes, etc.
and she'd manned the boat whilst
Jake and his brother did the
expert work, we felt we were en-
titled to share in the honor of
the catch. Never have ] met a
grander character than Capt.
jake Key, he and his brother,
Freddie, are just the salt of the
earth, and the world is the better
for men of their cahbre.
/ shall soon be setting out for
England again and shall carry