Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1958-08-22

line but finally was brought to
bay in the shadows.
I had one on, a tarpon
much. much larger, for 2 whole
minutes while tried futilely
to steer it away from a nearby
boat. Eventually it flashed
clear of the water and stood
on its tail, cascading bright
drops. With a final flirt 1t
was under the boat and was
left with a broken leader.
Florida, you ask? Oh. no
This was only a little more
than 200 miles from Washing
ton, on the ocean side Of Vir-
ginia's Eastern Shore.
Tarpon on Tidal Flats
The tarpon are in a maze Of
marshes and tidal fats, con-
nected by narrow channels. that
extend for several miles to the
islands that form a barrier of
shore. They arrive in late June
and depart early in Septem-
Der.
The rise and fall of tide is
nearly 5 feet and when the tide
is high, the mud fats, oyster
beds and most Of the marshes
are covered with water.
The tarpon fan out over these
great fats, to seek food or play
in the shadows. When the tide
falls and the fats emerge, the
tarpon concentrate in the
sloughs and channels. There
the fishing begins.
Third in Shore History
The fish caught on our ex-
petition was only the third
known to have been taken on
hook and line in Eastern Shore
history. It was captured by
George Killmon, a member Of
the family that owns the Wach-
apreague Hotel at Wacha-
Ipreague, Va.
Presence of the tarpon has
been known for some years.
Commercial fishermen have
found their nets torn up by
these "silver herring" as they
called them. There were spo-
radio attempts by sports fisher
men to catch them, but so far
as can be determined, Claude
Rogers of Virginia Beach was
the first.
Rogers is one of Virginia's
most able fishermen. He is
secretary of the Virginia Salt
Water Sport Fishing Associ-
alton. director of the States
salt water tournament and fish,
ing consultant to the State De-
Ipartment of Conservation and
Economic Development.
Captain of the Tidewater
Anglers Club surf casting team,
current East Coast champion,
he has a fair for pioneering
new fishing.
Oyster Closest Point
Claude started research, con-
! sulting marine biologists and
wardens as to the most likely
spots for concentrations of tar
pom.
The little town of oyster was
the closest point to the tarpon
grounds, so Claude set out from
there with his fishing buddy,
Fred Edwards, in 1854. They
. hooked but lost fish and il
wasn't until the following sum-
mer that Rogers took the first
"a 90-pounder that fought for
an hour and IS minutes.
Two summers passed before
; another was caught, this time
. by an unidentified angler. who
; hooked it by chance.
This summer there had been
, several futile attempts to
catch tarpon. Only a couple
Of weeks ago, Dan Birchett OF
J Hopewell. Va, hooked and lost
, four in one day.
Ours was to be a concerted
effort. Headquarters was the
Hotel Wachapreague, an an.
) cient but dignifled establish.
ment that still serves its meals
} family style with the grace Of
, the gaslight days.
Fleet Organized
! There we oIganized a fleet
/ Of cupboard runabouts for the
biggest expedition yet. Thii
: was reinforced by still another
: boat owned by Norman H
S Meiners of Sports Afield mag.
E azine who popped in to inquire
about fishing.
D The morning was bright
J. hot and humid when we drove
/ into oyster, anxious to get oul
E boats overheard while the tide
Y was full so that we would have
1 a better chance Of catching
D bait fish before going on Il
!. the tarpon grounds.
r. avan Hat xx7o,-a n,knl