The English Angler
/iihr€ay!^c{ ^cz^^
rsl.
THE LIBRARY
OF
THE UNIVERSITY
OF CALIFORNIA
PRESENTED BY
PROF. CHARLES A. KOFOID AND
MRS. PRUDENCE W. KOFOID
,,j\
f'^*" , -
,ME. EOWLAND WAED'B BEQUESTS
Mr. J. 'Eowland Ward, tlie -ft-oll-known
Tiatxiralitst and taxidermist, of Piccadilly, who,
AS recently &tatod in " The Glol^e," left property
•valued at £14139, and bequeathed shares in the
ibasiTiess to his employees and £5,000 to be ex-
pended on the purchase of specimens for tJie
iNatuTal History Museum, left the residue of his
estate to such eight of the afternamed fourteen
anstitutions as Mrs. Ward should select, and in
default of selection for twelve months after his
ideath then to the whole of thean equally.
The institutions are : — University College Hos^
fvital. Canoer Hospital, Fulham-road, Home for
iWorkimr Girls, Victoria-street, Gordon Boys'
Home. British OTphan Asylum, Slougli, Charity
Organisation Society, Dogs' Home, Dr. Bar-
mardo's Homes, Cripples' Home, Marylebone-
ffoad, London Ophthalmic Hospital, Sussex
Co^lnty Hospital, Natural History Museum, and
IBoyal Boscombe and South Hants Hospital.
„^
THE LARGEST TARPON CAUGHT WITH THE ROD
The tarpon weighed 213 lb. full. It was 7 feet 2 inches
long, the girth w^as 46 inches. It w^as caught by N. M.
George, of Danbury, Conn., at Bahia Hunda, Florida.
ILLUSTRATED LONDON NEWS, June 23, 1906 -
THE AUTHOR.
THE
ENGLISH ANGLER
IN
FLORIDA
WITH SOME DESCRIPTIVE NOTES OF THE GAME
ANIMALS AND BIRDS
ROWLAND WARD, f.z.s.
At'THOK OK ' KECORDS OF BIG GAME,' ' SPORTSMAN'S HANDBOOK,' ETC.
WITH NUMEROUS ILLUSTRATIONS
LONDON
ROWLAND WARD, l.mited
166 PICCADILLY
1898
W37
PREFACE
Tarpon fishing sport was for many years a kind of mystery
to both American and English fishermen, but within the last
decade it has become well known, and has even developed
into something like a " boom." At least fifteen years since
a gentleman who had caught several tarpon on rod and line,
calling upon me in Piccadilly, showed me one of the scales
he had brought home from Florida ; and a striking object
it was, from its immense size, its horny substance, and,
most of all, from that partial covering of fine whitish
silver which, at a casual glance, looks as if it could be dusted
off with the light flick of a handkerchief From that time
forward I kept the tarpon in view as an honest object of
desire, and all that I read about it, and the specimens which
came under my notice as a taxidermist, confirmed my
determination to kill one for myself some day.
Last spring Mrs. Ward and myself accordingly sailed in the
ir^nA nA/%*^
THE ENGLISH ANGLER IN FLORIDA
s.s. Majestic on the 24th March. We were home again by the
end of May.
Meanwhile, some account of the sport I enjoyed had been
published in the Field and other papers, and thereafter I was
often asked to put together my notes and publish them in
handbook form, for the guidance and assistance of brother
anglers who might meditate a visit to Florida. As the
camera is always an inseparable companion for me on such
expeditions, I brought back a large collection of views. Owing
to unfriendly weather these were often much more imperfect
than I should have wished, but they are at least genuine.
They would have been better in some cases if I had taken a
stand and could have used it for time exposures. What I
have are certainly better than nothing — infinitely better than
the vamped -up illustrations that are often given to the public.
The requests made to me, and the possession of these original
photographs, have at length induced me to make the attempt
(from which I confess I at first shrank) of recording my
experiences in Florida ; and I do it, as an enthusiastic sports-
man of long standing with rod as well as gun, and also as
something of a traveller, in the hope that what I have to
say will be useful to many.
CONTENTS
PAGE
1. From England to Florida , . . . i
2. On the Fishing Grounds . . . . .9
3. Sport with Tarpon . . .16
4. In Fort Myers Waters . . -39
5. Our Life Ashore and Afloat . . . .46
6. Pass Fishing . . . . . -57
7. Continuation of Diary . . . . 71
8. Some Monsters . . . 83
9. Small Fishing . . . . . - . 92
10. The Season of 1897 . . . . .101
11. Other Sport in Florida . . . . • "5
The Book of the Tappon, by A. W. Dimock, with ninety-three photo, ,.^
graphs by J. A. Dimock. (Frank Palmer.) ^ "^- O j
DURING recent years several works dealing with tarpon-fishing have aippeared
in print. When first anglers read that excellent book " Tarpon Fishing in '
Mexico and Florida," by Mr. E. G. S. Churchill, they wondered how it was
possible for any photographer to get such snap-shots of fish leaping as were
then reproduced. We have now from the pen of Mr. A. W. Dimock, an American
angler, a book which graphically describes how and where to catch tarpon,
and also how to hold them so that the camera-man may get his pictures. In
this case the man behind the camera was Mr. Julian A. Dimock, and in the ninety
odd photographs reproduced he has given us the best series of tarpon-fishing
pictures yet seen. Some of the illustrations are wonderful, and every incident
in a day's tarpon-fishing, from the moment of hooking a fish until it is finally
brought to the gaff, is clearly shown by the camera. Another well-known
American author, Mr. C. F. Holder, has described fishing for the " silver king "
as being " without do'ibt the most sensational and exciting of sports, and one
of the most dangerous when persistently followed." These remarks may well
be applied to tarpon-fishing if carried out in the method employed by Mr.
Dimock and his companion, for they fished entirely from a small Peterboro'
canoe, and often using only a light trout rod. Most anglers find that
playing tarpon from a good-sized boat with a strong rod is sufficiently sensa-
tional ; but Mr. Dimock seems to relish the additional excitement of often having
his small craft capsized by the mad rushes of a big fish. The author writes
modestly of his own exploits and of the risks which he takes in landing these
game fighting fish under most difficult conditions. To give an idea of what
sport he has had we may quote the following extract from his book. During
two months' fishing on the coast of Florida in fifty-two days he captured
334 tarpon, and " the tarpon varied from ijlbs. to a hundred times that weight,
and in length from i8in. to 6^it. All were taken from a light Peterboro' canoe,
and sixty-three of them on an eight-ounce fly-rod." This, indeed, must have
been something like sport, and we thoroughly recommend anyone who is con-
templating a tarpon-fishing expedition to get a copv of this most interesting
^'^°'^- ' a/v- >^>V^
TARPON PROBLEMS. — In your issue of June 29 your corre-
epondent " F. G. A." propounds certain questions ooncerning
tuna and tarpon. I am unable to give ihim any information
concerning tuna, never having caught them, but I can" perhaps
answer some of his questions about tarpon. In addition to his
question, " What is the maximum weight of the tarpon ?" I
I would state TJSnhe largest tarpon over cauglit at Aransas
Pass, Texas, U.S.A., measured 7ft. 6in. in length, and weighed
2251b. This fish is mounted and set up in the office of the
Bayside Inn, at Rockport, Texas. As to the probability of
there being larger t«,Tpon, I oan only state that during the
last eleven years at Aransas Pass, probably 7000 tarpon have
been caught and measured, and this fish is the largest of them
all. Your correspondent's second question ooncernmg the food
of the tarpon, would seem to imply ^^^^ ^^ ^es cut bait and
fishes in 45ft. depth of water. The bait used at Aransas Pass
is the natural food of the tarpon, viz., a whole mullet about
6 to Sin. long. This bait is trolled very neair the surface of the
water, and, in fact, ia frequently oast in the path of the
tarpon, whose approach can often be plainly seen. It may be
of interest to describe the tackle prescribed by the Tarpon
Light Tackle Club of Port Aransas. The rod (composed of a
butt and a tip), wihen assembled, must not be less than 6ft. in
length. The tip must not be less than 4ft. 6in. in length, and
must weigh not more than 6oz. The butt must not be over
18in. in length. The linen lino must not be larger than a
nine-thread line. It would bo interesting to learn how th«
above-described tackle comparoe with that used when fishiM ^^^
for tarpon in 45ft. depth of water with cut bait.— H. H. C. ■<> ^^t^jL.
ILLUSTRATIONS
The Author
Frontispiece
Map : from the Indexed County and Township Pocket-Map and
Shipper's Guide, published by Rand, M'Nally, and Company, of
Chicago and New York . . .4
The Ra\'ania ....... 9
On the Fishing Grovmds . . .10
Two Tarpon . . .11
Tarpon Scale (actual size) . .14
The Friendly Socket .18
Tarpon Reel . . . . .19
The Tarpon Hook . .24
Sloop hired from Myers for Tarpon Fishing on the River . .27
"He was entering the water with a resounding splash after his aerial
flight" . . . . . .31
"The tarpon with mighty power goes off in one rush" . .32
" Ever)' one satisfied " . . . . . .34
" Taking off the Scales " . . .36
A Small Orange-grower's House above Myers . , 37
THE ENGLISH ANGLER IN FLORIDA
A View in Myers .......
Young Virginian Deei' (photographed at Mr. McGregor's, Fort
Myers) ......
Landing Stage at Myers
Mrs. Rowland Ward . .
The Birds here illustrated are those usually seen in Florida Waters
Yacht Tarpon ......
Dode, the coloured Guide, sitting on Cockpit, holding Tarpon Line
Oflf the main River, about twenty miles above Myers
The Sheepshead . . .
Two Days' Catch by a Lady and her Husband at Captiva Pass
(Jew-Fish on the left estimated to weigh 795 lbs.)
Channel Bass . . ...
Punta Rassa Cable Station ....
Mr. McGregor's Schooner below Myers, opposite his Winter House
The Belle of Myers .....
Fishing in the Caloosahatchie River, twenty miles above Myers
Mr. Vom Hofe's Saw-Fish
The Saw-Fish and its Captor
Saw-Fish taken on Tarpon Tackle .
The same Saw-Fish getting on to small Boat
" Some of them are very queer Fish "
Black Bass ....
A Quiet Spot
PAGE
41
42
43
44
47
50
54
55
57
61
71
72
75
77
79
85
87
89
89
93
lOI
116
THE ENGLISH ANGLER IN FLORIDA
FROM ENGLAND TO FLORIDA
The voyage from Liverpool to New York is, by this time of
day, too well known to require elaborate description. The
track is a well-beaten ocean highway, and a run across " the
herring pond " is seldom of little interest to other than the
passenger. Our experience, however, suggests that I ought to
remind the reader that if he sails after the middle of March
he may expect equinoctial gales. We had them, and obstinate
head seas, until the 30th, when we congratulated one another
upon our first really fine day ; and the assurances that had
been given us of arrival on the ist of April were, as a matter
of fact, duly honoured by our bringing up in the river about
THE ENGLISH ANGLER IN FLORIDA
five o'clock in the morning to await the pleasure of the medical
examination.
Unless the traveller to Florida has brought his sporting
or other equipment from the other side, he will find it no
New York ^°^^ °^ 'Cvcwo. to remain a few hours in New York,
purchases, and more especially if he has to provide himself
with the fishing tackle necessary for tarpon and other fish.
The way, as to ship and train travelling, had been made
delightfully easy to me before starting. I went to Thomas
Cook and Son, placed myself in their hands, and after calling
at their office in New York there was no further trouble.
We and our baggage were straightaway booked to the end
of our land journey, namely, Punta Gorda, West Florida.
Roughly speaking, London is nine days from this place.
Before purchasing fishing tackle we went off to the
Museum, where I wanted to examine the casts of Florida
fishes, but as they were very indifferently done, and not
named, I did not waste much attention upon them, devoting
what brief leisure I had to the stuffed alligators, birds, and
other animals ; the birds well represented with their natural
surroundings. Here also I was deeply interested to find a
picture of Audubon, — with whom my father travelled over fifty
FROM ENGLAND TO FLORIDA
years ago, — and the gun he used. By the advice of Mr, J. A.
Jameson, who had special knowledge of the subject, I bought my
tackle at E. Vom Hofe's, a practical tarpon fisherman himself,
and a well-known frequenter of the Florida waters. What I
bought will be described presently under the heading " Tackle."
It is mentioned here as a reminder, because although tackle
may be procured in Florida, New York is the best place
for the purpose. A good map of Florida should not be at
this preliminary stage forgotten ; there will be ample oppor-
tunities of studying it en route. The best map I could procure
was the Indexed County and Township Pocket - Map and
Shipper's Guide of Florida, published by Rand, M'Nally, and
Company, of Chicago and New York. It is well indexed,
and the rivers are clearly indicated.
The railway trains are of the customary American type —
Pullman sleepers, and drawing-room cars for those journey
who prefer that isolated luxury. Passing as you South.
do by Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington, and speeding
southward through Virginia and the Carolinas, past Charleston
to Georgia, under any circumstances the run is replete with
interest to the English traveller. Although our day of start
was the 3rd April, we found it intensely hot in the train.
THE ENGLISH ANGLER IN FLORIDA
There was a buffet on board with the usual coloured attendants ;
but the sight of tinned goods might lead some persons to
FROM THE INDEXED COUNTY AND TOWNSHIP POCKET-MAP AND SHIPPER'S GUIDE.
Published by Rand, M'Nally, and Co., of Chicago and New York.
consider whether it would not have been more agreeable to
have arranged a portable commissariat, along with the other
stores, in New York.
FROM ENGLAND TO FLORIDA
It may be here mentioned that you may either travel
through direct to Punta Gorda, sleeping two nights in the
train, or break the journey at Jacksonville for one night.
We elected to follow the latter course, and left at 9.30 A.M.;
the other train started somewhere about five o'clock P.M.
There is yet another route, namely, the sea voyage from
New York to Jacksonville. The steamers are large and
luxuriously appointed for passengers, and run frequently and
regularly during the season. This is indeed the favourite
route for the New York people, who are habitual visitors to
Florida. It is the cheapest mode of reaching Jacksonville,
and if a little longer in point of time, has the compensating
pleasures of life on board ship.
We were too early in the season for green foliage and
spring flowers in the northern half of the journey, and, besides,
there were rains, clouds, and high winds. All day on Sunday
(4th April) we were rattling through dreary Georgian pine forest
and swamp, with occasional glimpses of wild-bird life, notably
flocks of gulls, the species of which we were unable to identify.
The weatherboard houses that came into view looked very
desolate under these circumstances. One of the not un-
common incidents of long-journey travel in the States kept
THE ENGLISH ANGLER IN FLORIDA
US fretting at a long delay within half an hour of the time at
which we were due at Jacksonville. One of the swamp bridges
was on fire, and the repairs kept us six hours waiting. Some of
the car darkies, who seemed to be frightened out of their timid
lives, were afraid of " crackers " (as the blacks of solitary
habits inhabiting those wilds are called), and it was evident
that you had only to put on something white, and play the
ghost, to scare them into fits.
Jacksonville is but a few miles south of the river boundary
of Georgia, and was our gateway to Florida. It is a really
Entering important city, and till within comparatively
Honda, recent times a reference to Florida, even to the
untravelled American, meant Jacksonville and little else. Rail-
way lines now centre there from all points of the compass,
and it has its Government buildings and a choice of fine
hotels. But it was night when we reached the station, and
we were not in the humour to admire or get up any en-
thusiasm, with the heavy rain and humid atmosphere in
which we found ourselves. The comforts of the great Windsor
Hotel, where a i^ysi smart people were still staying, were,
however, cordially appreciated. We found a good dinner ;
and at 8.30 next morning, after early bath and breakfast.
FROM ENGLAND TO FLORIDA
resumed our journey. The season was now over, and the
hotel was closing in a few days.
Now in truth we were soon able to understand something of
the real Florida, and the enthusiasm with which it is regarded
as a health resort in the Northern States, whence hundreds
of citizens migrate from December to April, to find warmth
and beauty in place of merciless frosts and snows. There are
two aspects of Florida : ( i ) the dismal swamps and wildernesses
haunted by alligators, crocodiles, pumas, and rattlesnakes ; (2)
the fragrant orange groves, palm-trees, and semi-tropical shrubs
and flowers, bright home of gorgeous butterflies and birds.
Beautiful, in the lovely morning, after the gloom of the previous
day, were the orange plantations, and the graceful fan palms
towering above the forest trees. From some of the latter,
festoons of moss-like growths hung like banners. All around,
the greenery was as that of an English June. Here were the
pine and other trees tapped to furnish materials for the
turpentine industry. Flights of buzzards were in the air.
The rivers we crossed, with their banks lined with palms,
would have reminded me of the Upper Nile but that the
ground was bright in its emerald herbage. One pool we
passed was a reservoir of flowering water-lilies, and there were
THE ENGLISH ANGLER IN FLORIDA
butterflies on the wing of the deepest orange colour. This was
indeed typical Florida, and it was not difficult to comprehend
why the visitors from the New England winter hail it as their
Italy, their " own Riviera."
However, before the eighteen hours in the train were at
an end, we longed for a change. It was in truth at the
last part rather a tedious journey. The principal meal
of the day was taken during a halt at Lakeland, where we
changed to a branch line, the express continuing westerly to
Tampa, called " the Magic City of the Gulf" ; it is the fashion-
able resort of pleasure-seekers, and a rival to Jacksonville for
the metropolitan honours of the State. It was slow travelling
from Lakeland, and it was half an hour after midnight when
we reached our terminus, the town of Punta Gorda.
THE RAVALLIA.
II
ON THE FISHING GROUNDS
It was something to be thankful for that we were at last at
Punta Gorda, and actually on the fishing grounds of Florida,
on the coast where tarpon abounded, and where Punta
the waters teemed with other game fishes, not per- Gorda.
haps so distinguished for heavy weights, but beloved by the
angler. Had not one of the pamphlets lying about the saloons
in the train informed us ? " Here indeed is the ideal resort of
sportsmen and anglers. Located just below the 27th parallel
of latitude, the temperature never goes below 40 degrees in
winter, and frost is unknown." There was also an alluring
paragraph about a modern first-class hotel beautifully located
in the bay ; and at half-past twelve at night that was quite as
important as, "the scenery is all that appeals to the sentiments
of a lover of Nature." But we had literally reckoned without
lo THE ENGLISH ANGLER IN FLORIDA ii
our host. The season here was over, and that modern first-
class hotel was shut up.
The dilemma, however, was not very serious, as we in-
tended to go on to Fort Myers by the first steamer, and by
ON THE FISHING GROUNDS.
good fortune we found that there would be one starting in
the morning, and that we might go on board and take our
berths. This we did there and then, obtaining, with the
welcome accommodation, our first acquaintance with the
mosquitoes of Florida, which did us the honour more or less
ON THE FISHING GROUNDS
to keep us company during the whole of our stay in those
parts.
Although some days were to pass before I caught my
first tarpon, continual references would be made to that fish
TWO TARPON.
by the sportsmen seen or heard of on our sailings and excur-
sions in this interesting fishing country. As a rule, people
there think and talk of nothing else, and I was much amused
one day when a gentleman estimated the proportions of a
12 THE ENGLISH ANGLER IN FLORIDA n
lady about whom we were conversing by the remark : " Well,
she is a very fine woman ; weighs quite as much, I should say,
as a 1 60 lb. tarpon."
Being now, therefore, at Punta Gorda, on the scene of
action, so to speak, I will take the opportunity of unburdening
myself of what I know about the tarpon and how to catch it.
Also, this is the convenient time for informing the reader that
Mrs. Ward undertook the task of making such rough notes
of our daily doings as we thought worth preserving ; and
when the tarpon, in its general character, has been disposed
of in the following pages, the entries from her Diary will
be added for such particulars of sport and travel as she
recorded.
The tarpon bears a variety of names, some of which are
already falling into desuetude, though occasionally it is still
The Fish ^P^^^ tarpum. He is " The Silver King " and
itself. « The Big- Eyed Herring " of his admirers. The
late Professor Brown Goode deals with it in the chapter in
his work entitled " The Herring and its Allies." He mentions
it in connection with the shads, and says the most important
member of the family is the Tarpum, or Megcdopus thrissoides,
or M. atlanticus. At the time the work was written not a
II ON THE FISHING GROUNDS 13
great deal was known of the fish as providing grand sport with
the rod and line. Indeed, some notes contributed by Mr.
Stearns may be interesting to quote upon the point, as, in
some respects, showing the somewhat imperfect knowledge
which existed upon the subject within comparatively recent
times : —
The Silver Fish, or Grande Ecaille, is common everywhere on the
Gulf coast. It is an immense and active fish, preying eagerly upon
schools of young fry, or any small fish that it is able to receive into its
mouth, and in pursuit of which it ascends fresh-water rivers quite a long
distance. During September 1879 I saw large numbers of Silver fish
eight or ten miles up the Apalachicola River, and am told that that was
not an unusual occurrence. They go up the Homosassa River in
Florida, and several of the Texas rivers, so I have subsequently learned.
The Tarpum will take a baited hook, but it is difficult to handle, and
seldom landed. The Pensacola seine fishermen dread it while dragging
their seines, for they have known of persons having been killed or
severely injured by its leaping against them from the seine in which it
was enclosed. Even when it does not jump over the cork line of a
seine, it is quite likely to break through the netting before landed. I
have secured several specimens, the smallest of which weighed 30 lbs.,
and the largest about 75 lbs. The Tarpum is said to be palatable and
well flavoured.
Professor Goode adds that the sailors' name for the fish at
Key West, Bermuda, Georgia, and elsewhere, was tarpum or
tarpon, while in Florida it was commonly called Jew fish.
14 THE ENGLISH ANGLER IN FLORIDA w
The exact range of this fish is really unknown, but I have
heard of some being caught at one portion of the coast of
TARPON SCALE — ACTUAL SIZE.
Jamaica, and it has occurred in other portions of the West
Indies, and even the Bermudas. This gigantic herring is by
this time not altogether a stranger to the British public, as
II ON THE FISHING GROUNDS 15
large specimens, very well set up, have been exhibited from
time to time, and they will soon be in every museum.
The large scales, which are from 2 to nearly 4 inches in
diameter, with about a third of the upper curve covered with
beautiful silvering, are also not unknown, for many successful
fishers for tarpon, although they do not bring home the fish
itself, preserve the scales, which go very easily through the
post in a cardboard box, and are always acceptable as a