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. ; ; 1 TARPON FISHING REQUIREMENTS Finest of Tackle Must Be Used for the Modern Light Method. Whoever has once seen a tarpon, either in the water or mounted upon a slab upon the wall of a diiiing room, is. ut -mice struck with its imposing, appearance. "Its immense scales.- eirch as large afe a silver dollar, its back of royal blue and glistening sides whitish-gray", at once stamps this game fish with the seal .of royalty. In size the silver king is never disappointing. Its usual weight runs from 100 to 200 pounds in the sea, but small tarpon of about forty pounds, weight taken on light sea tackle furnish good sport inshore. The .maximum record is a fish of 383 pounds weight, and spepimens of six feet long are not unusual. The record for rod aud reel is a fish of 213 pounds. From" my; own experience I would average- the fish taken as- weighing about 125 pounds and measuring, from five to five aud one-half feet in length. Without referring to any particular make, the outfit will include an eight-foot rod with a six-foot tip, the tip ranging in weight from ten to twenty ounces. A good reel is. essential for tarpon fishing. About" the eheaiiest dependable reel is a quadruple reel. of 350 yards size.- costing alniut 18, while one of the finest reels with automatic drag handle and tension screws, will cost In the neighborhood of 1919.sh0. .A first quality linen line of twenty-one or twinty-four-thread size, which will test some forty pounds when wetL is thf usual choice, and "00 yards is required. THE FINEST OF HOOKS ARE NEEDED. For hooks only the .highest quality hand-forged witli the powerful OShaughnessy form of bend and shank should le chosen. Four sizes of hooks are used, the ,snallest being 9-0 and the largest 12-0. Leader of piano wire, rawhide and cotton are all used. A thirty-inch leader is tied in between the hook and line with henry. .barrel swivels to avoid Kinking. , Trolling and .stillfishing are the two popular angling methods, but trolling is of course the best sport. Trolling with spoon is to my mind the finest sport. This may be done by using a spoon, or by using, crab bait attached to a float, which is tlie farorite method in Florida. In stillfishing a silrer mullet is used for bait, and the hook Is allowed to settle to the bottom. AVhile trolling furnishes the most sport, the largest fish are invariably .taken while stillfishing. Wheri trolling -with spoon, the tarpon strikes savagely, tugs at the line witli a powerful snap when the motor is stopped and the fight is on. In stillfishing the fish first mouths the bait and the angler has plenty of time to coil up plenty of slack line on the seat and prepare for the coming struggle.
