Part 5

The season for tarpon fishing in Florida is from the month of May to October.

At Aransas Pass, Texas, they fish in the Gulf outside the jetties with live or dead silver mullet. The drawbacks are the rough water and the numerous sharks. June and October are the best months.

When I was at Tampico, Mexico, the method of fishing was trolling a dead silver mullet behind a row boat. We fished at the jetties seven miles below the town or ten miles up the Panuco River above Tampico. There is also a Laguna that contains small tarpon. Owing to the trade wind, afternoon fishing is difficult. The best months are February and March.

In the Panama Zone the fishing is done from the shore below the spillway of the Gatun Dam. The method of fishing is with the fly and the season is from May to November. If the Canal had no locks the tarpon would now be in the Pacific as well as in the Atlantic Ocean.

ADVICE

When going seafishing I always choose from the new to the full moon, for fish feed at night when there is a moon, and are therefore less hungry than after dark nights.

This does not apply to Boca Grande where the moon is necessary for night fishing.

The days of the changes of the moon, especially the first day of the new moon, are the best days during the month for tarpon fishing. The probable reason for this is that the tides are high and strong at such times, which means more food or more inclination to feed, for the new moon increases the activity of all fish.

When on a fishing trip I never dry my lines. Salt water preserves linen lines and a wet line is stronger than a dry one. The lines must be thoroughly dried indoors at the end of a fishing trip. Never dry lines in the sun or wind for they are fatal. Lines used in fresh water must be dried daily.

After a day’s fishing unreel the line and reel it on again with care. This is done to take the strain off the reel-drum and to prevent the reel from spreading.

Split bamboo rods are the only rods that are strong and durable enough for heavy fishing. For ease and comfort fish with a rod that is not over six inches longer than you are tall. Long rods are back breakers.

When I first visited Catalina Island in 1900 I broke at the butt, a defective 6 ft. 9 in. rod, which, when repaired, was 6 ft. 5 in. long. With this rod I killed 13 tuna that weighed 1,411 pounds in fourteen days and discovered the advantage of a short rod. I now fish with split-bamboo rods in one piece, tip and butt all in one, 6 ft. 5 in. long.

My success at Catalina in 1900 was the cause of the Tuna Club Rules. The Secretary of the Club informed me as I was leaving the island that they had desired that an experienced tarpon fisherman should try the tuna but that they were disappointed with my “great success!”

The Tuna Club Rules followed. They were quite right to limit the size and strength of lines but an angler should be allowed to choose his own length of rod. It takes better hands to fish with a short stiff rod than with a long pliable one and in heavy fishing comfort and ease is the desideratum.

If the insects are bad use:

3 C’s

Oils of Camphor, Cedar and Citronella in equal parts. For the bites of insects Pine Oil is the best palliative. If subject to sunburn “Face Paint” is an absolutely sure preventative. It makes one look like a Red Indian but it is pleasant to use and no sun has the slightest effect on skin covered with this mixture.

Prescription for Face Paint to Prevent Sunburn

3 oz. Yellow Ochre

2 oz. Burnt Sienna

4 oz. Mucilage of Quince or Flax Seed, or bandoline, Rosewater, to make one pint. Shake well before using.

Put in a large-mouthed bottle and apply with absorbent cotton and when nearly dry, spread evenly over the face with the fingers.

WEIGHT AND MEASUREMENT

Mr. William H. Wood, the pioneer of tarpon fishing, was the originator of the formula for estimating the weight of tarpon when first taken from the water:

(Girth^2 × length)/800 = weight

I was puzzled for a long time trying to discover the reason for the divisor being 800. A friendly fellow fisherman, Mr. B. R. Kittredge, eventually solved the question as follows:

“Consider in the first place that the shape of the fish is represented by two wedges placed base to base. The area of the base of a wedge multiplied by half its length gives its cubic volume. So the volume of the two wedges would be the area of the base multiplied by the length of one wedge. The volume of a fish in cubic inches would be the area of his middle section multiplied by half his length.

If you square the circumference of any given square you obtain a square that is 16 times the area of the given square. For example 10 × 10 has an area of 100. It has a circumference of 40 which squared gives 1,600. So that the square of the girth of a fish divided by 16 would give the area of that section of the fish. Multiply the area of this section by half his length and you will have the cubic volume of the fish.