[Sam Cree]

Hemingway practicing with his antishark weapon in Bimini Harbor. Looks like fun.

[nicollo]

The story of Hemingway shooting a marlin that I remember involved his artist friend Henry Strater. They were days or more into a tournament with little success, most of which time Hemingway spent drinking. Strater finally snagged a serious bite and fought it in. After wearing down the giant fish and bringing it near, Hemingway appeared from below deck with his gun, screaming "sharks! sharks!" and pegged the fish, which, bleeding, attracted sharks.

Strater never forgave him:

Nice fish -- and would have weighed in the winner...

Dunno the veracity, but that's the story as I know it. Here, btw, is Strater's portrait of Poppa:

Sam, the Strater marlin pic is from the same site you drew those other pics from: AntiqueFishingReels.com