Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1959-07-26
Virginion Boats Three Torpon in Day,
Shork ks Add Spice to Shore Adventure
BY CHARLES COVELL
outdoor Editor

BY CHARLES COVELL
outdoor Editor
Everybody who fishes
out of Wachapreague, Va,
knows George Killmon, the
wiry, deeply-tanned little
man who runs the marina,
supplies the charter boats
with bait and ice and SUI
perviSeS the cleaning of
the catches.
Not everybody knows
that he's also quite a
fisherman. Those wrinkles
around the eyes wern't gained
from operating his fall and
winter oyster business. They
were etched by sun and wind
in hunting channel bass, black
drum or tarpon. Particularly
tarpon.
Tarpon George is Killmon's
new nickname because he's the
only man on record to get
three strikes and boat three
tarpon in one day on Virginia'S
Eastern Shore. On the scales
at Wachapreague. one weighed
II pounds, the second, 10, and
the third, 57l2.
47-POunder Also Caught
A day earlier, a 47-pounder
was caught by Claude Rogers
of Virginia Beach, who also
boated the first tarpon of the
season in those waters, an 81
FOUNDER.
1t happened this week. Jack
Snyder of KenSington, Md, a
member of the Ocean City
Light Tackle Club and vet
eran tarpon as we'll as marlin
fisherman, Jim ODonnell of
Chevy Chase, also a veteran
big game fisherman, Vernon
VIM of Washington and this
writer had evolved a plan to
outwit these tarpon.
A secret weapon was to be
used and they were to be fished
for at night as they do at
Bahia Honda on the Florida
Keys. The secret weapon was
live minnows, actually big
goldfish more silver than gold,
packed in sealed plastic bags
filled with oxygen. They still
were full of wiggle after three
days.
A charter boat had been en-
gagged to serve as a mother
ship for the two outboards
that would do most of the
fishing. Thus the anglers could
nap and eat on the big boat
while they f1shed day and
night. The boat was the As
foot Evelyn Cree. skippered by
Ray Parker of Wachapreague.
The charter boat left very
early one morning for the 20
mile run through the maze of
marshes, tidal fats and chan
nels to Gull Marsh Channel,
where the tarpon had been
caught both this year and last.
1t towed one cupboard.
Following it an hour or so
later came six other outboards,
all launched at Wachapreague.
All but the two attached to
the big boat planned to return
before night fall. In one was
Reid Onley of Temperanceville, |
smitten by the tarpon bug
after catching one this sum-
mer and in another a Rich
mond woman who had hooked !
and lost one.
Fishing Near Lump
Gull Marsh Channel is set
off at one side by three little
marshy islands, actually part |
of one lump" that divides it
from the vast bay or tidal fiat
beyond. The boats anchored in
various places in the channel
with Georges sandwiched be-
tween Onley on one side and
a runabout owned by AL Phil
lips of Wachapreague at the
other. The three were at the
north end of the lump.
But let George tell about his
tarpon. THAT first one, the
57-pounder, took my bait about
l pm, a good 2l2 hours be-
fore low tide, and sure burned
my thumb. We didn't have a
gaff and after the tarpon
jumped six times Claude (his
fishing partner) was able to
grasp the leader and lead the
fish to the boat where I gllled
it.
ut wasn't more than a half
hour later that I hooked that
second one. This one was diff
ferent. 1t took off down the
channel and we had to drop
the anchor buoy and follow it.
This time the skin was almost
taken off my thumb. AS We
passed him, Onley threw us a
gaff. The fish jumped eight
times and took 46 minutes to
subdue. 1t had me all tuckered
out.
when we were close Claude
threw the gaff into it but the