CHAPTER XVIII. Miscellaneous Fishes

MISCELLANEOUS FISHES

THE LADY-FISH

(Albula vulpes)

Albula vulpes. The Lady-fish. Body rather elongate, little compressed, covered with rather small, brilliantly-silvery scales; head naked; snout conic, subquadrangular, shaped like the snout of a pig, and overlapping the small, inferior, horizontal mouth; head 3-3/4; depth 4; scales 9-71-7; D. 15; A. 8; maxillary rather strong, short, with a distinct supplemental bone, slipping under the membraneous edge of the very broad preorbital; premaxillaries short, not protractile; lateral margin of upper jaw formed by the maxillaries; both jaws, vomer and palatines, with bands of villiform teeth; broad patches of coarse, blunt, paved teeth on the tongue behind and on the sphenoid and pterygoid bones; opercle moderate, firm; preopercle with a broad, flat, membraneous edge, which extends backward over the base of the opercle; gill membranes separate; no gular plate; a fold of skin across gill membranes, its free edge crenate; belly flattish, covered with ordinary scales, not carinate; eye large, with a bony ridge above it, and almost covered with an annular adipose eyelid.

The lady-fish, or bone-fish, is the only representative of the family Albulidæ. It has long been known to science through the early voyagers to the southern coasts of America. It was first described by Marcgrave in his "History of Brazil," in 1648, and afterward by Catesby, in his "History of the Carolinas," in 1737, and named vulpes, or "fox," by Linnæus, in 1758, from a specimen taken at the Bahamas.

It inhabits the sandy shores of all warm seas and is, perhaps, the most cosmopolitan of all game-fishes, being known from Asia, Arabia. North and South America, the Pacific Islands, etc. It is common on the coasts of the Atlantic and Pacific in the United States, and is especially abundant in Florida waters, occasionally straying in summer as far north as Long Island.

The lady-fish is allied to the herring tribe. It has a long, gracefully-shaped body, nearly round, or but little compressed; its depth is a fourth of its length; it has a long head with a projecting, piglike snout, overlapping the small mouth, which is well armed with teeth; both jaws and the roof of the mouth in front have bands of brushlike teeth, with patches of coarse, blunt, paved teeth on the back of the mouth and tongue. Its color is bluish green above, with metallic reflections; the sides are very bright and silvery, with faint streaks along the rows of scales; the belly is white, and it feeds on small fishes and crustaceans.

Its spawning habits are not well understood, though the young pass through a metamorphosis, being band-shaped, with very small head and loose, transparent tissues. I have found them abundant on the Gulf coast of Florida. The lady-fish grows to a length of from one to three feet, and to a weight of from one to twelve pounds, though it is usually taken from two to five pounds. It is a good food-fish, highly esteemed at Key West and in the Bermudas by those who know it best.

For its size it is one of the gamest fishes of the seacoast. When hooked it fights as much in the air as in the water, continually leaping above the surface like an animated silver shuttle, to which I likened it more than twenty years ago. It is now becoming better known to anglers who visit Florida in the winter season, who recognize in it much more enjoyable sport on light tackle than they can obtain with the heavy tools required for the tarpon and jewfish.

A black-bass rod, or the Little Giant rod of eight ounces, is light enough, as a heavier fish than the lady-fish is apt to be hooked. A good multiplying reel and fifty yards of braided linen line, size F, and Sproat hooks, No. 1 or 2, on gut snells, will be found eminently suitable. No sinker is needed, as the fishing is done on the surface, though a small brass box-swivel may be used to connect the snell and line, as in black-bass fishing. A leader is not necessary, but it may be used if thought best.

The bait may be a beach-flea, or a very small, silvery fish, as a sardine, pilchard, or mullet, though a small shell squid, or a trolling-spoon of the size of a nickel, with a single hook, may be employed in lieu of live bait, and is quite successful if kept in constant motion. The minnow is to be hooked through the lips and cast as in black-bass fishing, reeling it in slowly on or near the surface.

The fishing may be done from any convenient place near a pass or inlet on the flood tide. A sand-spit at the entrance, or a boat anchored just within the inlet, are desirable places, though good fishing is sometimes available from the end of a pier in a tideway. Fine fishing may also be had at other stages of the tide about offshore reefs and shoals. I have taken the lady-fish, with both fly and bait, in Biscayne Bay, in Cards and Barnes sounds, along the keys to Key West, and at nearly every inlet on the Gulf coast, as far north as Pass-a-Grille, above Tampa Bay, and usually found it associated with the ten-pounder.

The lady-fish, when hooked, will probably astonish the angler who is attached to one for the first time, by its aërial gyrations and quick movements. But the rod must be held at an angle of forty-five degrees, so as to maintain a taut line, notwithstanding its constant leaping; for if any slack line is given, it is almost sure to shake out the hook. And as the leaps are made in such quick succession, the only safe plan is to keep the rod bent, either in giving or taking line, or when holding the fish on the strain of the rod.

The lady-fish will often take a gaudy black-bass fly, in which event a black-bass fly-rod or a heavy trout fly-rod will come handy, with corresponding tackle. A heavy braided linen line, size D, is better suited for salt water than the enamelled silk line, and will cast a fly nearly as well. The flies advised for the Spanish mackerel will answer as well for the lady-fish, though I have found the silver-doctor and coachman both very taking toward dusk, which is the most favorable time for fly-fishing, though the first half of the flood tide and the last half of the ebb are usually both favorable times about the inlets.

Twenty years or more ago I called the attention of northern anglers to the lady-fish, or bone-fish, and the ten-pounder, or bony-fish, as game-fishes of high degree, and accorded equal praise to both species as to gameness. I have never been able to convince myself as to which is entitled to the palm; but they are both good enough, and comparisons are indeed odious as between them. I am glad to note that they are coming to the front and their merits at last recognized. Of late years northern anglers are having great sport with the lady-fish on Biscayne Bay; but judging from their communications in the sportsman's journals, they are confusing the lady-fish with the ten-pounder. This is easily accounted for, inasmuch as they are usually of about the same size, and have very much the same general appearance in form and bright silvery coloration; and moreover there is a confusion attending their vernacular names, as the lady-fish is sometimes known as bony-fish. It should be remembered that the lady-fish has an overhanging, piglike snout and larger scales, while the ten-pounder has a terminal mouth with the jaws about equal, and smaller scales. Moreover, the bony-fish, or ten-pounder, has a bony plate under the lower jaw, like the tarpon, which is absent in the lady-fish. Both are cosmopolitan, inhabiting the warm seas of both continents. They have been known to science for a century and a half, and have been described by many naturalists from different parts of the world. The current specific names were both bestowed by Linnæus. Catesby, in 1837, called the lady-fish (Albula vulpes) of the Bahamas "bone-fish," while Captain William Dampier, one of the early explorers, called the bony-fish (Elops saurus) of the Bahamas "ten-pounder." The fishermen of Key West usually know the lady-fish as bone-fish, and the ten-pounder as bony-fish. The best plan for anglers is to adopt the names lady-fish and ten-pounder for them, and relegate or ignore the names bone-fish, bony-fish, and skip-jack.

THE TEN-POUNDER

(Elops saurus)

Elops saurus. The Ten-pounder. Body elongate, covered with small, silvery scales; head 4-1/4; depth 6; eye 4, large; scales 12-120-13; D. 20; A. 13; dorsal fin slightly behind ventrals, its last rays short, depressible into a sheath of scales; anal fin smaller, similarly depressible; pectoral and ventral fins moderate, each with a long, accessory scale; opercular bones thin, with expanded membraneous borders; a scaly occipital collar; gular plate 3 to 4 times as long as broad; pseudobranchiæ large; lateral line straight, its tubes simple.

The ten-pounder, or bony-fish, belongs to the same family, Elopidæ, as the tarpon, and both are allied to the herring tribe. The ten-pounder was first described by Linnæus, in 1776, from specimens sent to him from South Carolina by Dr. Garden. He named it saurus, or "lizard," but there is nothing lizard-like about the ten-pounder. I imagine that Dr. Garden sent the fish under the name of "lizard," from hearing it called by its Spanish name of "lisa," which is pronounced much like lizard. The ten-pounder was mentioned by some of the old voyagers to the West Indies and Carolinas. Like the lady-fish, the ten-pounder is a cosmopolitan, existing in the warm seas of both hemispheres. In the United States it is common to the southern portions of the Atlantic and Pacific coasts and the Gulf of Mexico.

In the general aspect and contour of its silvery body the ten-pounder has much the appearance of the lady-fish, and has been often confounded with it by anglers. Its body, however, is more slender than that of the lady-fish, with smaller scales and a very different head and mouth; the lady-fish has a piglike, overhanging snout, while the lower jaw of the ten-pounder projects slightly. The depth of the body of the ten-pounder is only about a sixth of its length, and the body is not much compressed, being nearly round. The head is long and pointed, with a very wide mouth, with upper and lower lips nearly equal, or terminal. The eye is large, hence one of its names, big-eyed herring. There are many series of small and sharp cardlike teeth on the jaws, tongue, and roof of the mouth. There is a bony plate beneath the lower jaw.

The color on the back is greenish or bluish, the sides silvery and bright, and belly white; the top of the head is greenish, with bronze reflections; the cheeks have a golden lustre; the lower fins are tinged with yellow, the others dusky.

Its habits are not unlike those of the lady-fish, and they often associate. It feeds principally on crustaceans and also on small fishes. It frequents sandy shoals and banks in shallow water at high tide, also grassy situations where its food abounds. Its breeding habits are not well understood, though, like the lady-fish, its young pass through a larval form, and are ribbon-shaped. It grows to a length of two feet or more, and weighs several pounds, sometimes ten or more. It is quite bony, and is not considered a good food-fish, but excels as a game-fish, being equal to the lady-fish in this respect.

The same tackle as that recommended for its congener, the lady-fish, answers just as well for the ten-pounder, and it can be fished for in the same locations. It frequents shallow water on the grassy banks and sandy shoals rather more than the lady-fish, and can be sought there accordingly, as well as at the inlets when the tide is making.

Both the ten-pounder and the lady-fish are warm-water fishes. They are to be found in Biscayne Bay and along the neighboring keys during winter, and as the water becomes warmer they extend their range northward on both coasts. After the disastrous frosts that occurred during the winters of 1886 and 1895 in Florida, I saw windrows of dead ten-pounders, lady-fishes, and tarpon on the beaches about Charlotte Harbor. They had become chilled from the sudden lowering of the temperature. I have caught both the ten-pounder and lady-fish as far north as Tampa Bay on the west coast of Florida, and Indian River Inlet on the east coast. My fishing was mostly done from the points of inlets and passes, on the flood tide, and usually with the artificial fly, in shallow water, the time and places mentioned being the most favorable for fly-fishing. At other times I have fished on the shallow bars and grassy banks, using such crustaceans as fiddlers, beach-fleas, and shrimps for bait, alternated with small minnows. When beach-fleas are used a fly-rod is preferable and the hook should be smaller than where other bait is employed; No. 4 is about right, if of the Sproat or O'Shaughnessy pattern, they being of larger and stronger wire than other patterns. If beach-fleas are used with a bait-rod, a small sinker must be added to give weight to the cast.

The ten-pounder snaps at the bait or fly in the manner of most fishes, and is off immediately in a wild whirl, skimming through the water, if shallow, in a way to astonish the angler who hooks one for the first time. Then follows a series of brilliant leaps and aërial contortions that commands the admiration of the coldest-blooded fisher. The lady-fish, however, owing to the position of its mouth, being underneath its projecting snout, does not at first take the bait with the vim and snap of the ten-pounder, but apparently nibbles or mouths it for a while, but when hooked displays the same energy and desperate efforts to escape as its congener. The consistent angler may truly exclaim with Pope:--

"How happy could I be with either. Were t'other dear charmer away."

THE SNOOK, OR ROVALLIA

(Centropomus undecimalis)

Centropomus undecimalis. The Snook. Body elongate, with elevated back and straight abdomen; head 3; depth 4; eye 7; scales 9-75-16; D. VIII-I, 10; A. III, 6; head depressed, pikelike, the lower jaw projecting; villiform teeth in bands on jaws, vomer, and palatines; tongue smooth; dorsal fins well separated; preorbital faintly serrated; subopercular flap extending nearly to dorsal fin; maxillary to middle of eye; gill-rakers 4 + 9.

The snook belongs to the family Centropomidæ, which embraces a dozen or more species, most of which inhabit the West Indies and the southern Pacific coast, and are all good game-fishes. The snook was first described by Bloch from Jamaica, in 1792; he named it undecimalis, or "eleven," as the soft dorsal fin has eleven rays. The name snook was mentioned as the name of this fish by the early explorers, among whom was Captain William Dampier, who also mentioned several others, as "ten-pounders," "cavallies," "tarpoms," etc. Snook is derived from "snoek," the Dutch name for the pike, which it resembles slightly in the shape of the head, though it is more like the pike-perch in its structure and appearance. On the east coast of Florida this fish is known as the snook, and on the Gulf coast as rovallia, the latter name being a corruption of its Spanish name robalo, by which it is known in Havana. It is sometimes called sergeant-fish, from the black stripe along its sides. It is common along the shores of the Gulf of Mexico, from Texas to the West Indies, and is especially abundant in the bays and lagoons of both coasts of Florida, often ascending the rivers to fresh water.

It has a long, robust, and nearly round body, its depth being a fourth of its length; the back is slightly elevated and arched. The head is long and depressed, or flat, and is more than a third of the total length of the body; the mouth is large, with a projecting lower jaw; the gill-cover is very long; there are brushlike teeth on the jaws and the roof of the mouth, but no sharp or conical teeth as in the pike or pike-perch.

The color of the back is olive-green, the sides silvery, and the belly white; there is a distinct and very black stripe along the side, following the lateral line from the head to the caudal fin; the dorsal fins are dusky; the lower fins are yellowish.

The snook is a very voracious fish, feeding on fishes, crabs, and other crustaceans, and resorts to sandy shoals and grassy flats where its food is found. It grows to a length of two or three feet, and a weight of twenty or thirty pounds. It is a fair food-fish, though not held in much favor in Florida where so many better food-fishes are common. It is better flavored if skinned instead of scaled.

It is a strong, active game-fish, that, when hooked, starts off with a rush that is dangerous to light tackle, and its subsequent manoeuvres require very careful handling when it is of a large size. It has smashed many light rods in the hands of anglers who were not aware of its pugnacity. It will take any kind of natural bait, and rises well to the artificial fly.

A rather heavy black-bass rod or a light striped-bass rod is required for the large fish of the bays and estuaries, though ordinary black-bass tackle will answer for those of less weight at the mouths of streams, or in fresh water, to which it often resorts. A good multiplying reel and fifty yards of braided linen line are sufficient, though one hundred yards will not be amiss, as large fishes of other species are very apt to be hooked in Florida waters. Sproat or O'Shaughnessy hooks, Nos. 1-0 to 3-0, on heavy gut snells are required, with a brass box-swivel to connect the snell with the reel line; a sinker may be used or not, depending on the strength of the tide, though the fishing is usually practised in quiet water, and not in the tideways.

A small fish, mullet or sardine, or fiddler-crab bait, will prove very enticing to the snook, though the minnow is better adapted for casting. The fishing is much like black-bass fishing in fresh waters, and the snook takes the bait in its mouth in much the same way as a bass, starting off at once with a great commotion if near the surface. Its desperate and vigorous spurts and rushes are apt to put one's tackle in jeopardy if the fish is large, and it must be handled with caution and skill.

For fly-fishing, a rod of nine or ten ounces is not too heavy where the fish run large. A heavy braided linen line, size D or E, is best for casting the fly in salt water. Black-bass flies of showy patterns, on hooks No. 1 or 2, as coachman, silver-doctor, polka, oriole, red ibis, professor, etc., will answer. The most favorable time is on the flood tide near the inlets, or toward evening if in quiet coves or lagoons. The fly should be repeatedly cast and then allowed to sink a foot or two. If fishing from a boat, it must be kept in the deeper water, and the casts made under the mangroves, or to the edges of sand-spits, shoals, or mud-flats, which abound in all bays on the west coast of Florida.

The snook is easily captured by trolling with hand-line and the spoon or minnow, though it is a questionable style of sport at best. Along the edges of shoals and mud-flats and over grassy banks the snook will be found at home. A landing-net should always be used for any kind of fishing with the fly.

THE TRIPLE-TAIL

(Lobotes surinamensis)

Lobotes surinamensis. The Triple-tail. Body oblong, deep, compressed and elevated; head 3; depth 2; scales 47; head small; snout short; mouth moderate, oblique, with thick lips; profile of head concave; upper jaw very protractile; the lower, the longest; maxillary without supplemental bone; jaws with narrow bands of villiform teeth, in front of which is a row of larger conical teeth, directed backward; no teeth on vomer or palatines; preopercle strongly serrate; maxillary reaching middle of orbit; scales around eyes small, those on opercles large; eye small; small scales running up on the base of soft dorsal, anal, and caudal fins; caudal rounded; D. XII, 15; A. III, 11; soft rays of dorsal and anal fins elevated, of nearly equal size, and opposite each other; anal spines graduated; branchial rays 6.

The triple-tail belongs to the family Lobotidæ. It is allied to the snapper family, but differs in having no teeth on the roof of the mouth. It was first described by Bloch, in 1790, from Surinam. South America. He named it surinamensis, from the name of the locality whence his specimens were procured. There is another species on the Pacific coast, Lobotes pacificus, that is quite abundant at Panama, where it is known as berrugate.

The triple-tail is known in all warm seas. Its range on the Atlantic coast extends from South America north to Cape Cod, though it is not abundant. I have taken it on both the east and west coasts of Florida. At Tampa it is called black snapper, and in South Carolina it is known as black perch. I have never heard it called flasher, which is said to be its name in the markets of New York.

It is a short, thick, robust fish, nearly half as deep as long, with an elevated back, and with the ventral outline corresponding with its dorsal curve. The head is a third of the length of the body, its profile concave, the snout prominent, and the lower jaw projecting; the mouth is of moderate size, with thick lips.

The color of the back is dark, or greenish black, the sides silvery gray, sometimes blotched and tinged with yellow; the fins are dusky gray or yellowish. In life these colors are very bright, but after death they become almost black.

It feeds on small fishes, mussels, and crustaceans and grows to a length of two or three feet, weighing from ten to fifteen pounds, though its usual size is not more than one-half of this length and weight. Its breeding habits are unknown. It is found in northern waters only during the summer months, but from South Carolina to Florida it is common all the year.

It is a strong and vigorous fish, but rather slow and sluggish in its movements, and not remarkable for game qualities, though it pulls steadily and strongly when hooked. It will take shrimp, clam, fiddler, or small fishes as bait.

A light striped-bass chum rod is very suitable for the triple-tail when of good size. A multiplying reel and fifty yards of braided linen line, hooks No. 1-0 or 2-0, on heavy gut snells, and a brass box-swivel, make up the rest of the tackle. A sinker will probably not be needed as it is usually found in quiet coves about sandy shoals or grassy flats. I have taken it on both coasts of Florida, though it is more common on the east coast. I have also caught it in Chesapeake Bay and near Charleston, South Carolina, but never over five pounds in weight, though I have seen it taken in nets up to about ten pounds. Its short and rounded caudal fin, with the soft portions of the dorsal and anal fins, together, give the appearance of three tails, hence the name triple-tail, by which it is generally known.

THE COBIA

(Rachycentron canadus)

Rachycentron canadus. The Cobia. Body elongate, fusiform, subcylindrical, covered with very small, smooth, adherent scales; head 4-1/4; depth 5-2/3; D. VIII-I, 26; A. II, 25; head broad, low, pikelike, the bones above appearing through the thin skin; mouth wide, nearly horizontal, the maxillary reaching front of eye; both jaws, vomer, palatines, and tongue with bands of short, sharp teeth; lower jaw longest; premaxillaries not protractile; preopercle unarmed; two dorsal fins, the spines of the first depressible in a groove; soft dorsal long and low, somewhat falcate, similar to, and nearly opposite, the anal; caudal fin strongly forked; no caudal keel; no finlets; gill-rakers short and stout; pectorals broad and falcate.

The cobia, or sergeant-fish, is the only fish of its family, Rachycentridæ. It was first described by Linnæus, in 1766, from a specimen sent to him by Dr. Garden from South Carolina; it is allied to the mackerel tribe, and is found in all warm seas in the old and new worlds. On the Atlantic coast it is common from the Chesapeake Bay to Florida, but occasionally strays north to Cape Cod in the summer. It is rather rare on the west coast of Florida, but common on the east coast.

It is a long and round-bodied fish, quite gracefully formed, with a depth of about one-fifth of its length. The head is broad and flat, something like that of the pike, with a wide mouth, and with jaws, roof of mouth, and tongue armed with bands of short, sharp teeth; the lower jaw projects. The back is olive-brown, or dusky, the sides lighter and silvery, and the belly white; a distinct broad and very dark stripe extends from the upper jaw and through the eye to the caudal fin, with an indistinct one above and below, and parallel with it. Owing to this dark stripe the cobia is sometimes called sergeant-fish, thus confounding it with the snook.

The habits of the cobia are not unlike those of the pike, or mascalonge, of fresh waters, in that it is solitary and lies in wait for its prey, and is almost as rapacious. It lies under the mangroves and cocoa-plum bushes along Indian River and other streams of the east coast of Florida, watching for stray fishes and crabs on which it feeds. It is commonly seen of a length of two or three feet, but grows considerably longer, with a weight of fifteen to twenty pounds. The largest I have seen was at Key West; it was fully five feet long. It is not uncommon in the Chesapeake Bay, and like most of the mackerel tribe it is a fairly good food-fish. It spawns in summer, but its breeding habits are not fully understood.

As might be imagined from its shape and habits, it is a good game-fish, and quite strong and vigorous on the rod. It requires all of the angler's skill to land it safely, especially when it is taken about the mangroves, among whose arching and numerous roots it is sure to take refuge if it can do so. It will take a small fish bait or a crab, going for it with a pikelike rush. I once took one on Indian River with a large red ibis fly, but never succeeded in catching another with the same lure.

A strong, rather heavy rod is necessary for the cobia, which the Key West fishermen call cobi-ó. A striped-bass chum rod of natural bamboo is a good and serviceable tool for the work, with multiplying reel and braided linen line, to which is affixed a Sproat hook, No. 3-0, on gimp snell, by a brass box-swivel. A sinker should not be used about the mangroves.

A fiddler-crab, a mullet, or other small fish is hooked through the lips, and is cast from a boat to the edge of the mangroves or other bushes, in the same way as in casting for mascalonge in northern waters. I have never tried casting with a spoon, which might be successful, but a minnow is better by far. The cobia takes the bait with a fierce lunge, and turning quickly endeavors to return to his lair, a proceeding that must be thwarted by the angler at all hazards to his rod or tackle, for once under the arching roots of the mangroves he is as good as gone. The boat must be rowed to open water at once, while a strong strain is maintained by the rod on the fish. With open water the angler can play his fish with leisure, though he will be severely taxed by the struggles of as game a fish as he is likely to meet during a winter's sojourn in Florida.

THE SPOTTED WEAKFISH

(Cynoscion nebulosus)

Cynoscion nebulosus. The Spotted Weakfish. Body rather elongate, compressed; head 3-1/2; depth 4-1/2; scales 10-70-11; D. X-I, 26; A. II, 10; eye 7; snout long and acute; mouth large, maxillary reaching to posterior edge of eye; lower pharyngeals narrow, each with 7 or 8 series of short teeth, the inner enlarged; maxillary, preorbital, and lower jaw naked; canines in upper jaw strong; lower jaw without canines, other teeth in narrow bands, sharp, but closely set; membrane of preopercle serrate, the bone entire; pseudobranchiæ well developed; caudal lunate; soft rays of dorsal and anal scaleless; gill-rakers short and thick, 4 + 7.

This fish is closely allied to the northern weakfish, and belongs to the same family, Sciænidæ. It is known very generally in Florida as trout, salt-water trout, or sea-trout, owing to its spots. It is, of course, not a trout at all, and these names should be set aside; moreover, the name sea-trout is preoccupied by the sea-run brook-trout of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Its present specific name, nebulosus, or "clouded," was bestowed by Cuvier and Valenciennes, in 1830, displacing the earlier and better name maculatus, or "spotted," conferred by Dr. S.L. Mitchill, in 1815, for reasons that it is unnecessary to refer to here. It is abundant from Virginia to Florida, and along the Gulf coast to Texas. It occasionally strays as far north as New Jersey.

It is almost the counterpart of the common weakfish in the form of its body, the depth of which is about a fourth of its length, and with a similar head, eye, and mouth, but with somewhat smaller scales, and a few less rays in the second dorsal fin. Its mouth is large, with narrow bands of sharp teeth on the jaws, and two long canine teeth in the upper jaw.

Its color is bluish gray on the back, with steely reflections, the sides are silvery and the belly white. The upper half of the body has numerous black spots, as large as the pupil of the eye, with smaller ones on the soft dorsal and anal fins; the other fins are plainer, and the anal fin is dusky.

The spotted weakfish is a better food-fish, and also a better game-fish, than its northern cousin. It is abundant in the bays of Florida during the entire year, often ascending the streams to fresh water. Its usual weight is from two to four pounds, often of six to eight, and sometimes of even ten pounds or more. It appears in schools in March and April, often in company with the Spanish mackerel, and runs into brackish water for the purpose of spawning. It spawns in the spring; the eggs are buoyant, quite small, about thirty to the inch, and hatch in two days. It feeds on small fishes and crustaceans.

All things considered, it is one of the best game-fishes of Florida. It is a surface feeder and takes the artificial fly eagerly, as well as natural bait, or the artificial squid and trolling-spoon. With light tackle it affords good sport, being a strong and determined fighter. It is a great favorite with all anglers who are acquainted with its merits.

When of the usual weight of from two to four pounds, black-bass tackle is very suitable and serviceable in rod, reel, line, hooks, or flies, though a rather heavy braided linen line is better adapted for salt water than a silk one. To be more explicit, an eight-ounce rod, multiplying reel, line size F, Sproat hooks Nos. 2-0 to 3-0 on gut or gimp snells, will be found to be just about right for bait-fishing.

For fly-fishing, a rod of eight ounces, click reel, braided linen line, size E, leader of three or four feet, single gut, and black-bass flies such as silver-doctor, red ibis, Abbey, soldier, oriole, coachman, etc., on hooks Nos. 1 to 2, will be found to answer in skilful hands. A heavier rod may be used when the fish run larger, and also flies on hooks a size or two larger. Very small phantom minnows, spoons, or squids may be often used with success when the fish are running in schools in the spring.

Fishing, either with fly or bait, can be practised with good results at flood tide from the end of long piers that extend to deep water, or at the points of inlets during the running season. The piers at Port Tampa and St. Petersburg, on Tampa Bay, also at Mullet Key and Egmont Key, or Pass-a-Grille, in the same vicinity, are famed fishing resorts in March and April. I prefer to fish from a boat moored to the pier, rather than from the pier itself, as the fish are not so likely to see one, and they are more conveniently landed.

During the winter the best fishing will be found in the bays and bayous, or in the streams, in the vicinity of sand-shoals or mud-flats, at almost any stage of the tide, which usually rises but a foot or two in the bays of the west coast. At the inlets and passes, at the first of the flood and last of the ebb tide, the fishing is also good during the winter months.

The spotted weakfish takes its prey at the surface with a snap of its jaws that is quite audible, especially at night when one's yacht is at anchor. It takes the angler's fly or bait in the same way. It will remind him forcibly of the bite of a large brook-trout, and its manner of resistance when hooked is very much the same as with that fish--one reason for the name sea-trout.

The fishing is especially good in Tampa and Sarasota bays, and the upper portion of Charlotte Harbor, on the west coast; and on the east coast at the mouths of streams entering Halifax River. Mosquito Lagoon, or Indian River.

THE DEEP-SEA WEAKFISH

(Cynoscion thalassinus)

This species was first described by Dr. Holbrook, in 1859, from the coast of South Carolina. He named it thalassinus, or "pertaining to the sea," from its supposed habit of living in deep water. It is either a rare fish or it has been confounded with the common weakfish. It has been recorded from several places on the South Atlantic and Gulf coasts, in Virginia, South Carolina, Florida, and Mississippi. It is supposed to inhabit the deep water of the sea and Gulf, though this is by no means certain.

Its form is very similar to the spotted weakfish, with a more pointed snout and somewhat larger eye; otherwise it is much the same. Its color is brownish above, lighter below; the middle of the sides is marked with many dark dots; there is a dark blotch on the upper part of the cheek; the first dorsal fin is black, the second dorsal and anal fins are dusky, and the other fins pale. The same remarks as to fishing for the spotted weakfish will apply as well to this species, if the opportunity should occur to the angler. It is a doubtful species at best, and may eventually prove to be an aberrant form of the spotted weakfish.

THE BERMUDA CHUB

(Kyphosus sectatrix)

Kyphosus sectatrix. The Bermuda Chub. Body ovate, somewhat compressed; head 3-3/4; depth 2-1/8; scales 10-55-16; D. XI, 12; A. III, 11; head short, with blunt snout; mouth small, maxillary reaching front of eye; each jaw with a series of narrow incisors, implanted with compressed conspicuous roots posteriorly; behind these a narrow band of villiform teeth; fine teeth on vomer, palatines, and tongue; teeth 35 to 40 on each side; preopercle weakly serrate; top and sides of head finely scaled; interorbital region gibbous, below which point snout is truncate; soft dorsal and anal very low; second anal spine highest; caudal well forked, the lower lobe longest; gill-rakers long; dorsal spines depressible in a groove of scales; small ctenoid scales entirely covering the soft portions of the vertical fins, and extending up on the paired fins.

The chub belongs to the family of rudder-fishes, Kyphosidæ. It was noticed as sectatrix by Catesby in his "History of the Carolinas," in 1738, and was so named by Linnæus in 1758. Sectatrix is the feminine of sectator, meaning "one who follows," in allusion to its habit of following vessels. Its range is along the South Atlantic coast to the West Indies, sometimes straying as far north as Cape Cod in the summer. It is common on the west coast of Florida.

It has an oblong, elliptical body, its depth being more than a third of its length. The head is short, with a blunt snout and small mouth, and a curved profile. There are well-developed incisor teeth in each jaw, with peculiar horizontal bases. Its color is bluish-gray, with steely lustre; the sides have numerous narrow, indistinct, yellowish or brassy stripes, alternating with bluish ones; there is a pale stripe below the eye, and a yellowish one above and below it; the fins are dull grayish.

The chub feeds on barnacles and other small mollusks, and is found wherever they abound, sometimes in rather deep water. Its usual size is six to ten inches, weighing from one to three or four pounds, but it occasionally grows to fifteen or eighteen inches in length in favorable locations. Its spawning habits have not been studied. It is an excellent pan-fish. Light tackle is needed for the chub and pin-fish, both being usually found together. The hook should be small but strong, with gimp snell; Sproat hooks, No. 1 or 2, are very suitable. The best bait is fiddler-crab or hermit-crab. It is quite a game little fish.

I was once staying for a few days' fishing at the Quarantine Station on Mullet Key, in Tampa Bay. The station is built on piles in water twenty feet deep. There was a trap-door in the floor of one of the rooms, through which many kinds of fish could be seen swimming about in the very clear water. These fishes could be readily taken with the hook or the spear, as they were unable to see any one in the dark room above. I was much interested watching the chub and sheepshead pinching off the barnacles from the piles with their chisel-like teeth. A dozen could be easily taken in as many minutes with fiddler bait, and the table was kept well supplied with chub, which was the favorite food-fish during my sojourn.

THE ANGEL-FISH

(Chætodipterus faber)

Chætodipterus faber. The Angel-fish. Body much elevated and compressed, its outline nearly orbicular, the anterior profile nearly vertical; head 3; depth 1 to 1-1/2; scales 60; D. VIII-I, 20; A. III, 18; jaws about equal; no teeth on vomer or palatines; teeth on jaws slender, somewhat movable; preopercle finely serrate; two dorsal fins, somewhat connected; vertical fins falcate in the adult; first soft ray of dorsal filamentous; ventral fin with a large accessory scale.

There are a number of angel-fishes in Florida, remarkable for their bizarre and beautiful coloration, but of no importance to the angler as they do not often take the baited hook, their very small mouths and weak teeth being only adapted for feeding on the minute organisms about the coral reefs. The common angel-fish, or spade-fish, is more sombre in hue than the others, and belongs to a different family, Ephippidæ; it has a somewhat larger mouth, and is more widely distributed. It was described by Broussonet, in 1782, from Jamaica, who named it faber, or "blacksmith," though why is difficult to imagine, except that it is dark in its general hue, with smutty cross bars. It is very abundant from the South Atlantic coast to South America, and is not uncommon, occasionally, as far north as Cape Cod. It is very common on the east and west coasts of Florida.

It has a short, very deep body, nearly round in outline, and very much compressed; it is almost as deep as long. Its head is short and deep, with its profile nearly vertical. The mouth is small, with slender, movable teeth, on jaws only; the soft dorsal and anal fins are quite large and winglike, extending far backward nearly to the tail; they are quite scaly, which adds much to their thickness and stiffness; the caudal fin is broad and nearly square.

The general color is usually gray or slate color, often bluish with iridescent tints; there are several dusky, broad vertical bars across the body, becoming obsolete or faint with age.

It feeds on small marine organisms, and grows to a length of two feet, occasionally, though its usual size is ten or twelve inches, and average weight from one to three or four pounds. It is an excellent food-fish, though its good qualities in this respect are not generally known. It spawns in the spring.

It is usually taken in seines in the bays of the Gulf coast, and salted with mullet and sheepshead by the fishermen. It can be caught by the angler with a very small hook, No. 5 or 6, and cut clam or conch bait. It is a fair game-fish on light tackle, which may be the same as advised for the Bermuda chub.

THE PIN-FISH

(Lagodon rhomboides)

Lagodon rhomboides. The Pin-fish. Body elongate, elliptical; head 3-1/5; depth 2-1/2; eye 4; scales 10-65-17; D. XII, 11; A. III, 11; mouth moderate, maxillary not reaching front of orbit; head flattened; snout pointed; profile not very steep; 4 incisors in each jaw, all deeply notched; two series of molars in each jaw; dorsal fin single, with high spines; caudal fin deeply forked.

The pin-fish, also called sailor's choice and bream in some localities, belongs to the family Sparidæ, and is closely related to the sheepshead of that family, having incisor and molar teeth. It differs from it in the conformation of the skull.

The pin-fish was first described by Linnæus, in 1766, from specimens sent to him by Dr. Garden from South Carolina. He named it rhomboides, meaning "rhomboid," from the shape of its body. It is abundant on the South Atlantic and Gulf coasts, extending south to Cuba, and occasionally north to Cape Cod. It is found in all bays on the east and west coasts of Florida.

Its body is symmetrical, being rather evenly curved on both dorsal and ventral lines, and rather deep; its head is large, with a depression in front of the eye. Its color is olivaceous, darkest on the back, with bluish silvery sides, and narrow horizontal stripes of blue and gold, alternating, and six faint, broad vertical bars; it has a dark spot on the shoulder at the top of the gill-cover; the dorsal fin is bluish with gilt edge; the anal fin is bluish with yellow band; the caudal fin is yellow, faintly barred; the ventral fins are yellowish; the pectoral fins are plain.

It is a pretty fish, and is usually abundant wherever found. It feeds on small mollusks and barnacles, resorting to old wharves and about the mangroves where such food abounds. It grows to a length of six or eight inches, and though small, it is a good pan-fish. It spawns in the spring. The same light tackle used for the pig-fish and pork-fish can be utilized for the pin-fish, with small, strong hooks, as Sproat bend, No. 4 or 5, on gut snells. The ends of piers and wharves, in comparatively shallow water, are favorable localities for fishing.

THE SQUIRREL-FISH

(Holocentrus ascensionis)

Holocentrus ascensionis. The Squirrel-fish. Body oblong, moderately compressed, the back a little elevated; head 3-2/3; depth 3-2/5; eye 3; scales 5-50-7; D. XI, 15; A. IV, 10; head compressed, narrowed forward; opercle with a strong spine above, below with the edge sharply serrated; preopercle with a strong spine at its angle; mouth small, little oblique, with the lower jaw projecting somewhat; eye excessively large; upper lobe of caudal fin the longest; soft dorsal fin pointed, as high as the body; third anal spine very strong, as long as longest anal ray.

The squirrel-fish belongs to the family Holocentridæ, the species comprising that family having very rough or spinous scales, a single dorsal fin, deeply divided, with the spines very tall; the caudal fin deeply forked; the anal fin with four spines; and a very large eye.

The squirrel-fish belongs to the West Indian fauna, ranging from the Florida Keys to South America. It was first described by Osbeck, in 1771, from Ascension Island, who named it for that locality. It is not uncommon along the reefs, where I have taken it a number of times. Its body is oblong, moderately compressed, its depth about a third of its length, with the back slightly elevated, and the ventral outline nearly straight. Its mouth is small, the eye enormously large, and the caudal fin deeply forked. Its color is bright crimson, with a darker shade on the back, and a somewhat lighter tint below, with silver streaks along the sides. The fins are also red, some bordered with olive; the head is red above, with an oblique white bar running back and down from the eye. It feeds about the reefs on small fishes and marine invertebrates, and grows to two feet in length, occasionally, but is usually found smaller. It is a good food-fish and sells at sight in the market. It is a remarkably handsome and attractive fish in appearance.

In one of Stockton's stories, John Gayther, the gardener, tells of the curious and beautiful things to be seen on a coral reef in the tropics, with the aid of a long box with a glass in the end. His description applies just as well to the vicinity of the Dry Tortugas, where I have often viewed the wonders of the sea-floor through a sponge-glass, a wooden pail with a glass bottom:--

"Where the water is so clear that with a little help you can see everything just as if it were out in the open air,--bushes and vines and hedges; all sorts of waving plants, all made of seaweed and coral, growing in the white sand; and instead of birds flying about among their branches, there were little fishes of every color: canary-colored fishes, fishes like robin-redbreasts, and others which you might have thought were blue jays if they had been up in the air instead of down in the water."

THE TURBOT

(Balistes carolinensis)

Balistes carolinensis. The Turbot. The fishes comprising the family Balistidæ are characterized by an ovate body, much compressed; small and low mouth, with separate incisor teeth; eye very high; gill opening a small slit; the absence of ventral fins; the dorsal fins widely separated, the first with but 1 to 3 spines. The turbot has a very deep compressed body, covered with thick, rough plates or scales; head 3-1/4; depth 1-3/4; eye small; scales about 60; about 35 scales in an oblique series from vent upward and forward; D. III, 27; A. 25; third dorsal spine stouter than the second and remote from it; plates on head similar to those on body; caudal lobes produced; soft dorsal high; ventral flaps large, supported by several pungent spines; lateral line very slender, undulating, and very crooked, showing only when scales are dry; a groove before the eye; larger plates behind the gill opening.

The turbot, or leather-fish, belongs to the family Balistidæ, or trigger-fishes. It was first described by Gmelin, in 1788, from Carolina, from one of Dr. Garden's specimens, Gmelin being a coadjutor of Linnæus, to whom the specimen was sent. The locality from which the type specimen was sent accounts for its name.

The turbot, as it is called by the Key West fishermen, is an inhabitant of tropical waters, and is abundant on the South Atlantic coast and along the Florida Keys; it is known also from the Mediterranean Sea. Like all of the trigger-fishes it has a curious form and appearance. It is as deep as long, and slants both ways from the dorsal fin above and from the ventral flap below, presenting somewhat of a diamond shape. The head is triangular, and the fins are thick and leathery. The first dorsal spine is locked when erect by the second, or "trigger." The soft dorsal and anal fins are opposite each other, and are of similar size and shape. The color is olive-gray, or slate color, with some purplish spots on the back; two obscure cross bars are under the second dorsal fin; a ring of blue spots alternating with greenish streaks are about the eye; there are violet marks on the sides of the snout; the first dorsal is spotted and clouded with bluish; the second dorsal has pale yellowish spots, with rows of blue ones, separated by greenish reticulations; the anal fin is colored like the second dorsal; the pectoral fins are bluish with olive spots.

The leather-fish, or turbot, resorts to rocky shoals and coral reefs, feeding on the small marine organisms that are abundant in such localities. Nothing is known of its breeding habits. It grows to a foot in length and is considered a good food-fish by the people of Key West. The thick skin and rough scales are pared off together with a sharp knife by the fishermen when delivered to a customer. It is caught, with the grunts, porgies, etc., in the channels among the keys and reefs with the baited hook, and also in wire traps. Very small hooks must be used for the turbot, as it has a very small mouth. Cut crawfish, conch, or barnacles are good baits.

CONCLUSION

In closing this account it occurs to me to say that the angler who has a genuine love for the finny tribe, and who has never visited the sunny waters of Florida, has in store an experience of joy and delight in the wonderful variety of its fishes. Some idea may be formed of their number from the fact that I have collected nearly three hundred species in the fresh and salt water of that sub-tropical wonderland. And the fishing lasts the year round, and is always good, except when an unusually cold "norther" is blowing. The warm-water species, like the tarpon, lady-fish, and ten-pounder, are more plentiful, and extend their range farther northward in the summer. At that season all of the inlets and passes of both the Atlantic and Gulf coasts abound with them; but the winter visitor will find them in Biscayne Bay, Barnes Sound, Cards Sound, and south-west along the keys to the Dry Tortugas. The brackish water species will be found all winter in the bays and estuaries of either coast.

A just idea of the fishing resources of Florida twenty years ago--and it is much the same today--may, perhaps, be gathered from the following excerpts from my "Camping and Cruising in Florida":--

"At flood-tide the channels under the mangroves teem with redfish, groupers, and snappers, while near the beds of coon oysters are schools of sheepshead and drum. In fact, all of the passes and inlets of the Gulf coast are fairly alive with fishes, from the mullet to sharks and sawfish. While lying in his bunk, one can hear all night long the voices of the deep, under and around him.

"The hollow, muffled boom of the drumfish seems to be just under one's pillow; schools of sparoid fishes feeding on shell-fish at the bottom, sounds like the snapping of dry twigs on a hot fire; while a hundred tiny hammers in the hands of ocean sprites are tapping on the keel. Then is heard the powerful rush of the tarpon, the blowing of porpoises, and the snapping jaws of the sea-trout among the swarms of mullet, which, leaping from the surface by thousands, awake the watery echoes like showers of silvery fishes falling in fitful gusts and squalls.

"Sanibel Island, at the entrance of Caloosa Bay and opposite Punta Rassa, is renowned for its fine fishing. The angler can here fairly revel in piscatorial abandon and cover himself with piscine glory and fish scales. If ichthyc variety is the spice of the angler's life, Sanibel and its sister keys are the Spice Islands. Sharks, rays, and devil-fish, tarpon and jewfish, redfish, snappers and groupers, Spanish mackerel and kingfish, sea-trout, bonito and cavallies, ladyfish and sergeant-fish, sheepshead and drum, a host of smaller fry--spots, grunts, and porgies, and the ever-present and ubiquitous catfish--can here be jerked, and yanked and snaked, and pulled and hauled, until the unfortunate angler will lament that he was ever born--under the last but not least of the zodiacal signs."

* * * * *

The foregoing excerpts relate to fishing on the Gulf coast, but on the east coast, while the variety of fishes is not so great, the angler will find enough and to spare, and many that are worthy of his best efforts. Large-mouth black-bass are plentiful in Tomoka River, near Ormond on the Halifax, and in Elbow Creek, Turkey Creek. Sebastian River, Taylor's Creek, and the St. Lucie River, all tributaries of Indian River. At the mouths of these streams, brackish-water fishes will be found in more or less abundance, comprising most of the species inhabiting the Gulf coast. Some of the best localities are at Daytona. New Smyrna, Rock Ledge, Indian River Inlet, Gilbert's Bar, and Jupiter Inlet. Still farther south the fishing is much better, notably at Lake Worth, and on Hillsboro' and New rivers. Mangrove snappers, bluefish, amber-jacks, and barracudas are especially abundant south of Indian River Inlet, more so than on the Gulf coast. In all of the fresh-water lakes in the interior of the state the angler will be amply rewarded, as large-mouth black-bass, calico bass, warmouth perch, and bream are in most of them. As a matter of fact, one can hardly go amiss for some kind of fishing in Florida, wherever there is water, salt or fresh, provided one proceeds with patience and intelligence, and with a due regard for the amenities of the gentle art.

Perhaps the queer descriptions and homely comparisons of some of the fishes as given by my negro boatman from the Bahamas, whom I have before mentioned, may not be uninteresting. I always employed him when possible, for he was a good fisherman and sailor, and had a never-ending fund of anecdotes; and being a close observer, he had a good general idea of the fishes of the locality. I always encouraged him in his quaint and original remarks about fishes, and in this way obtained considerable knowledge of their habits from this faithful Achates. Some of his observations, as I remember them, and which seem very odd in his Bahamian lingo, were as follows:--

"Vell, sir, it's curious 'ow some fish is made; but w'atever their model in length, beam, and draft, there is some good reason vy they is built so."

"Yes," I would answer, "they are all endowed by Nature with the shape best fitted for their mode of life and environment."

"Vell, 'wironment or not, as you say, and I'm not gainsayin' it, there's as much diff'rence in their model as atween a man-o'-war 'awk and an 'ummin'-bird. Now, sir, just look at the stingaree and the wipporee; they is flat as pancakes, and goes a-skimmin' along like a turkey buzzard, or a-wabblin' like a jolly-boat in the breakers, and then they flops down on a sandbank like a flounder, when feedin', 'cause their mouth is hunderneath like a shark. And they crawls along on their belly a-gobblin' hup the periwinkles and fiddlers, and crounches 'em vith a set of teeth like a pair o'mill-stones."

"Yes," I assented, "the rays are curious creatures, and have very remarkable teeth."

"Now, on the hother 'and, sir, look at the moonfish. They is all length and draft and no beam, like the 'ind weel of a vaggon; it couldn't cast a shadder if it was facin' the sun. And the angel-fish 'aven't much more beam to swear by. Now, sir, hall these slimjims 'ave small mouths and pinchers for teeth, and goes a-nosin' 'round the rocks, and a-vorkin' of theirselves thro' the narrow crannies, and a-pinchin' hoff the coral-bugs and sea-lice. Now, sir, a flounder is wicey wersy from a moonfish, it 'asn't hany draft, and don't carry any sail to speak of, and so it 'ides in the sand a-waitin' for sumpthin' to turn hup in the vay o'grub."

"That's true," I would say, "they lead a very lazy, humdrum life, and don't hustle much for a living."

"But for a real racin' yacht," he would continue, "give me the kingfish, or Spanish mackerel, or boneeto; they ketches their food on the run and jump; and speakin' o'jumpin', sir, look at the tarpon, and bone-fish, and skipjack; they is the kankeroos o' the sea."

"Many fishes," I would observe, "have their analogues; that is, they seem to bear some fancied resemblance, either in habits or appearance, to some object or animal of the land."

"Vell, sir, it's as true as gospel; a man is like a fish out o' water; 'e puffs like a porpus and drinks like a fish. And the butterflies are the yellow grunts and pork-fish and little snappers and cockeyed pilots; and the red snappers and squirrel-fish are the fillimingoes and pink curlews; and the nigger-fish and conies is the le'pards; and the blowfish and puffers is the 'edge'ogs and porkupines. And then there's the poll-parrots, red, blue, yellow, and green, from the puddin'-wife to slippery-dick; if they'd vings like the flyin'-fish, we'd put 'em in cages."

"True, enough," I would assent; "and up north we have fish that go into hiding and sleep all winter, like the bears; and some that make nests for their eggs, and guard them, and take care of their young ones like a hen broods her chicks. And in some countries there are fish that crawl out on the land, and climb trees like squirrels."

He listened to this apparently very doubtfully, and frowned fiercely, but kept silent until he filled and lighted his pipe; then, after scanning the horizon, he said meekly:--

"I think we'll be goin' 'ome, sir; it looks werry squally in the sou' east."

INDEX

Albula vulpes, ladyfish, 355, 361.

Ambloplites rupestris, rock-bass, 2, 52.

Anchovy, banded, 320, big, 320, silver, 320.

Angel-fish, 384, description, 385, tackle and fishing, 386.

Angling, fresh-water, 341. salt-water, 341.

Anisotremus virginicus, pork-fish, 323, 334.

Aplodinotus grunniens, fresh-water drum, 232.

Archoplites interruptus, Sacramento perch, 2, 57.

Archosargus probatocephalus, sheepshead, 251, 252.

Arctic grayling, 176. coloration, 177, 178. description, 177, 178.

Argyrosomus artedi sisco, cisco, 204, 207.

Artificial flies, 20, 21. rules for, 21.

Artificial key to pike species, 121, 122.

Bachelor, 80.

Balistes carolinensis, turbot, 390.

Banded pickerel, 121, description, 154. tackle and fishing, 155.

Bank lick bass, 73.

Barb, 221.

Bar-fish, 80.

Bass, bank lick, 73. big-fin, 74. black, large-mouth, 30. black, small-mouth, 3. brassy, 90. calico, 73. family, 85. fresh-water striped, 86. grass, 73. Lake Erie, 74. rock, 52, 115. sea, 115. sea, Gulf, 119. sea, southern, 118. silver, 73. strawberry, 73. striped, 96. white, 86. white lake, 86. yellow, 90.

Bastard margaret, 330.

Bastard weakfish, 221. description, 221. habits and habitat, 222.

Beach-fleas, 321.

Bermuda chub, 382. description, 382. tackle and fishing, 383, 384.

Besugo, 231.

Big-fin bass, 74.

Bitter-head, 74.

Black-bass, small-mouth, 3. description, 1-6. gameness, 10-15.

Black-bass [continued] habits and habitat, 7-9. tackle and fishing, 15-29.

Black-bass, large-mouth, 30. description, 31. gameness, 34, 35. habits and habitat, 32-43. spawning and nesting, 33-43. tackle and fishing, 36-52.

Blackfish, 115.

Black grunt, 323. description, 323. tackle and fishing, 326.

Black harry, 115.

Black sea-bass, 115.

Black sunfish, 58.

Black will, 115.

Blue bream, 62.

Bluefish, 115.

Blue gill, 62.

Blue perch, 264.

Blue sunfish, 62. description, 62. tackle and fishing, 64.

Bodianus fulvus, nigger-fish, 287, 300.

Bone-fish, 355, 361.

Bonito, 282. description, 282. tackle and fishing, 283.

Bony-fish, 361.

Boy and tobacco-box, 67.

Boyhood days, 72.

Bream, blue, 62. copper-nosed, 62. red-breast, 68.

Bridge perch, 74.

Bubbler, 232.

Burgall, 264.

Calamus arctifrons, grass porgy, 348, 353.

Calamus bajonado, jolt-head porgy, 347, 348.

Calamus calamus, saucer-eye porgy, 348, 350.

Calamus proridens, little-head porgy, 348, 352.

Calico-bass, 73. description, 74. habits and habitat, 75. tackle and fishing, 75-78.

Campbellite, 80.

Cancer, common crab genus, 320.

Cape May goody, 231.

Carangidæ, cavalli family, 306.

Carangus crysos, runner, 306, 307.

Carangus latus, horse-eye jack, 306, 310.

Carp, German, 236. leather, 237. mirror, 237. scale, 237.

Catfish, blue, 247. channel, 244. chuckle-head, 247. eel, 247. family, 244. forked-tail, 247. white, 245. willow, 247.

Cavalli family, 306.

Centrarchidæ, sunfish family, 1.

Centropomus undecimalis, snook, 366.

Centropristes ocyurus, Gulf sea-bass, 119.

Centropristes philadelphicus, southern sea-bass, 118.

Centropristes striatus, sea-bass, 96, 115.

Cero, 278. description, 278. habits and habitat, 278, 279. tackle and fishing, 279-281.

Chænobryttus gulosus, warmouth, 2, 58.

Chætodipterus faber, angel-fish, 384.

Channel catfish, 244. description, 245. tackle and fishing, 245-247.

Channel fishes, 316. tackle and bait, 317, 318.

Chincapin perch, 74.

Chogset, 264.

Chopa blanca, 231.

Chub, 231.

Cisco, 207. description, 208. tackle and fishing, 209, 210.

Clupeidæ, herring family, 319.

Cobia, 373. description, 374. tackle and fishing, 375, 376.

Cobió, 375.

Commercial fishing, Key West, 316, 317.

Common sunfish, 69. description, 70. tackle and fishing, 71-73.

Conchs, 318.

Conclusion, 393.

Coney, 286, 299. description, 299. tackle and fishing, 300.

Copper-nosed bream, 62.

Coral fishes, 328. polyps, 328. reefs, 327, 389, 390.

Coralline formation, Florida reefs, 316.

Coregonus williamsoni, Rocky Mountain whitefish, 203, 204.

Coregonus williamsoni cis-montanus, 204, 205.

Crab, common, 320. fiddler, 320. hermit, 320. lady, 320. mud, 320. spider, 320. stone, 320.

Crappie, 73, 79-80. description, 80, 81. tackle and fishing, 82, 83.

Croaker, 226, 232. description, 226, 227. tackle and fishing, 228.

Crocus, 227.

Croppie, 73, 80.

Cunner, 263, 264. description, 264. tackle and fishing, 265, 266.

Cynoscion nebulosus, spotted weakfish, 376.

Cynoscion nothus, bastard weakfish, 221.

Cynoscion regalis, weakfish, 214, 215.

Cynoscion thalassinus, deep-sea weakfish, 381.

Cypress trees, giant, 61, 62.

Cyprinidæ, minnow family, 236.

Cyprinus carpio, German carp, 236.

Darky and catfish, 248.

Deep-sea weakfish, 381. description, 381. tackle and fishing, 381.

Diplectrum formosum, sand-fish, 287, 303.

Dog snapper, 344. description, 344. tackle and fishing, 345.

Drum family, 213, 232. fresh-water, 232.

Eastern pickerel, 149. description, 149, 150. tackle and fishing, 151, 152.

Elops saurus, ten-pounder, 361.

Engraulididæ, anchovy family, 319, 320.

Epinephelus adscensionis, rock hind, 286, 295.

Epinephelus guttatus, red hind, 286, 297.

Esocidæ, pike family, 120.

Esox americanus, banded pickerel, 121, 154.

Esox lucius, pike, 121, 137.

Esox nobilior, mascalonge, 120, 121, 122.

Esox reticulatus, eastern pickerel, 121, 149.

Esox vermiculatus, western pickerel, 121, 153.

Eupagurus, hermit crab genus, 320.

Eupomotis gibbosus, common sunfish, 3, 69.

Fascination of the float, 71.

Fishes not sensitive to pain, 114.

Fishing through ice, 145, 146. with the cork, 72.

Flasher, 371.

Flatfish, 266.

Float, fascination of, 71.

Florida Keys, 341.

Flounder, 263, 266. description, 266, 267. tackle and fishing, 268.

Fresh-water drumfish, 232, description, 232, 233. tackle and fishing, 234, 235.

Frozen fish reviving, 78, 79, 147.

Gag, 285, 287. description, 288. tackle and fishing, 289-290.

Gammurus, shrimp genus, 321.

Gaspergou, 232.

Gelasimus, fiddler crab genus, 320.

Generals Sheridan and Stager, 77.

German carp, 236. description, 236-238. tackle and fishing, 238-243.

Giant cypress trees, 61, 62.

Goggle-eye, 53. perch, 74, 80.

Goody, 228. Cape May, 231.

Grass-bass, 73.

Grass porgy, 353. description, 353. tackle and fishing, 354.

Grayling, Arctic, 176. description, 176, 177. fishing, 178.

Grayling, English, 174. fishing, 191, 197-201.

Grayling, Michigan, 178. fishing, 179. scarcity of, 179-181.

Grayling, Montana, 181. description, 184, 185. gameness, 185, 186. propagation of, 194, 195. tackle and fishing, 188-193.

Gribble, 321.

Grouper family, 285. yellow-finned, 286, 294.

Grunt, black, 323. boar, 327. common, 321, 323. family, 321. French, 331. gray, 331. margate, 329. sow, 324. white, 329. yellow, 322, 326.

Gulf sea-bass, 119. description, 119. habits and habitat, 119.

Gymnosarda pelamis, oceanic bonito, 283.

Hæmulidæ, grunt family, 321.

Hæmulon album, margate-fish, 322, 328.

Hæmulon flavolineatum, French grunt, 331.

Hæmulon macrostomum, gray grunt, 331.

Hæmulon parra, sailor's choice, 322, 330.

Hæmulon plumieri, black grunt, 321, 323.

Hæmulon sciurus, yellow grunt, 322, 326.

Hannahills, 115.

Hard-tail, 309.

Henshall rod, 25.

Hind, brown, 296. John Paw, 296. red, 286, 297. rock, 286, 295. spotted, 296.

Hippa, sand-bug genus, 321.

Hog-fish, 331, 333.

Holocentrus ascensionis, squirrel-fish, 388.

Horse-eye Jack, 306, 310. description, 310. tackle and fishing, 310.

Hybrids, 309.

Ichthyophagous dog, 284.

Ictalurus anguilla, eel-cat, 247.

Ictalurus furcatus, chuckle-head cat, 247.

Ictalurus punctatus, channel-cat, 244.

Jack, horse-eye, 310.

Jack salmon, 157.

Jolt-head porgy, 348. description, 348, 349. tackle and fishing, 350.

Jurel, 309.

Key to pike species, 121, 122.

Kingfish, 221. description, 222-224. tackle and fishing, 224, 225.

Kingfish-mackerel, 279, 280.

Knot, for leader, 19. jam, for eyed hook, 19.

Kyphosus sectatrix, Bermuda chub, 382.

Lady anglers, 148, 149.

Lady-fish, 355.

Lafayette, 228. description, 229. tackle and fishing, 230, 231.

Lagodon rhomboides, pin-fish, 330, 386.

Lake Erie bass, 74.

Lake-herring, 207.

Lake-sheepshead, 232.

Lamplighter, 74.

Lane snapper, 339. description, 340. habits and habitat, 341.

Large-mouth black-bass, 30.

Leather-fish, 390.

Leiostomus xanthurus, Lafayette, 214, 228.

Lepomis auritus, red-breast sunfish, 67.

Lepomis megalotis, long-eared sunfish, 65.

Lepomis pallidus, blue sunfish, 62.

Lewis and Clark, 181-183.

Libinia, spider crab genus, 320.

Limnoria, gribble genus, 321.

Little Giant rod, 101, 102.

Little-head porgy, 352. description, 352. tackle and fishing, 353.

Lobotes pacificus, berrugate, 371.

Lobotes surinamensis, triple-tail, 370.

Long-eared sunfish, 65. description, 65. tackle and fishing, 66.

Lucky stones, 233.

Lutianidæ, snapper family, 336.

Lutianus analis, mutton-fish, 347.

Lutianus apodus, schoolmaster, 338, 345.

Lutianus aya, red snapper, 337, 342.

Lutianus griseus, mangrove snapper, 347.

Lutianus jocu, dog snapper, 337, 344.

Lutianus synagris, lane snapper, 337, 339.

Mackerel family, 272. kingfish, 279. Spanish, 273.

Margate fish, 328. description, 328, 329. tackle and fishing, 330.

Mascalonge, 122. coloration, 127-129. description, 126, 127. distribution, 126. nomenclature, 122-126. tackle and fishing, 132-135.

Maskinonge, 124.

Menippe, stone crab genus, 320.

Menticirrhus americanus, whiting, 225.

Menticirrhus littoralis, silver whiting, 225.

Menticirrhus saxatilis, kingfish, 221.

Michigan grayling, 178.

Micropogon undulatus, croaker, 214, 226.

Micropterus dolomieu, small-mouth black-bass, 1, 3.

Micropterus salmoides, large-mouth black-bass, 2, 30.

Minnow family, 236.

Minnow gangs, 143.

Montana grayling, 181.

Morone americana, white-perch, 95, 110.

Morone interrupta, yellow-bass, 90.

Mud-dab, 266.

Mugil cephalus, common mullet, 319.

Mugil curema, white mullet, 319.

Mugil trichodon, fan-tail mullet, 319.

Mugilidæ, mullet family, 319.

Mullet, common, 319. fan-tail, 319. whirligig, 319. white, 319.

Multiplying reel, invention of, 13.

Muskellunge, 125.

Mycteroperca falcata phenax, scamp, 286, 291.

Mycteroperca microlepis, gag, 285, 287.

Mycteroperca venenosa, yellow-fin grouper, 286, 294.

Newlight, 80.

Nigger-fish, 287, 300. description, 300, 301. tackle and fishing, 302.

Not all of fishing to fish, 92-94.

Oceanic bonito, 283.

Ocyurus chrysurus, yellow-tail, 336, 338.

Orchestia, beach-flea genus, 321.

Orthopristis chrysopterus, pig-fish, 322, 330, 331.

Osmerus mordax, smelt, 263, 269.

Osprey on the fly, 64.

Palinurus, sea-crawfish genus, 318.

Palæmonetes, prawn genus, 321.

Panopeus, mud crab genus, 320.

Perca flavescens, yellow-perch, 165.

Perch, black, 371. blue, 264. bridge, 74. chincapin, 74. family, 156. goggle-eye, 74, 80. pike, 157. raccoon, 166. red-bellied, 68. ringed, 166. Sacramento, 57. warmouth, 58. white, 110, 234. yellow, 165.

Percidæ, perch family, 156.

Permit, 312.

Petrometopon cruentatus, coney, 286, 299.

Pickerel, banded, 154. brook, 154. eastern, 149. great northern, 137. Long Island, 154. reticulated, 149. western, 153.

Pig-fish, 322, 330, 331. description, 331, 332. tackle and fishing, 333.

Pike, 137. description, 137-140. fishing through ice, 144-146. tackle and fishing, 141-147.

Pike family, 120. glass-eyed, 157. gray, 164. rattlesnake, 164. sand, 164. wall-eyed, 157. yellow, 157.

Pike-perch, 157. description, 157-160. night fishing, 162. tackle and fishing, 161-163.

Pikes, key to, 121, 122.

Pin-fish, 386. description, 386, 387. tackle and fishing, 387.

Piscatorial polemic, 44.

Platyonichus, lady crab genus, 320.

Pomoxis annularis, crappie, 3, 79.

Pomoxis sparoides, calico-bass, 3, 73.

Pompano, 311. description, 311-314. best of food-fishes, 312, 314. tackle and fishing, 313, 314.

Pompano, common, 307, 311. gaff top-sail, 312. permit, 312. round, 312.

Porgy, 259. big-head, 347, 348. family, 347. grass, 348, 353. jolt-head, 348. little-head, 348, 352. saucer-eye, 348, 350.

Pork-fish, 323, 334. description, 334, 335. tackle and fishing, 335.

Prawn, 321.

Pseudopleuronectes americanus, flounder, 263, 266.

Pumpkin-seed, 69.

Pyrula, mollusk genus, 318, 339.

Querimana gyrans, whirligig mullet, 319.

Razor back, 74.

Record fly-casting, 16.

Red-bellied perch, 68.

Red-breast bream, 68.

Red-breast sunfish, 67.

Red-eye, 53.

Red hind, 286, 297. description, 297. tackle and fishing, 298.

Red snapper, 342. description, 342. tackle and fishing, 343, 344.

Red sunfish, 67.

Reel, click, 17.

Reel, multiplying, 13.

Roach, 231.

Roccus chrysops, white-bass, 86.

Roccus lineatus, striped-bass, 95, 96.

Rock, 96.

Rock-bass, 52. description, 53. tackle and fishing, 54-57.

Rockfish, 96.

Rock hind, 286, 295. description, 295, 296. tackle and fishing, 297.

Rocky Mountain whitefish, 204. description, 204. tackle and fishing, 205, 206.

Rod, Henshall, 25. Little Giant, 101, 102.

Rovallia, 366.

Rules for artificial flies, 21.

Runner, 306, 307. description, 307. tackle and fishing, 308.

Sac-a-lait, 80.

Sacramento perch, 57. description, 57. tackle and fishing, 58.

Sailor's choice, 330, 331, 386. description, 330. tackle and fishing, 331.

Salmon family, 203.

Salmonidæ, 203.

Sand-bug, 321.

Sand-fish, 287, 303. description, 303. tackle and fishing, 304.

Sarda sarda, bonito, 273, 282.

Sardine, silver, 319. striped, 319.

Sardinella humeralis, silver sardine, 319.

Sardinella sardinia, striped sardine, 319.

Saucer-eye porgy, 350. description, 351. tackle and fishing, 352.

Sauger, 164. description, 165. tackle and fishing, 165.

Scamp, 286, 291. description, 292. tackle and fishing, 293.

Schoolmaster, 345. description, 345, 346. tackle and fishing, 347.

Sciænidæ, drum family, 213, 232.

Scomberomorus cavalla, kingfish, 279, 280.

Scomberomorus maculatus, Spanish mackerel, 272, 273.

Scomberomorus regalis, cero, 272, 278.

Scombridæ, mackerel family, 272.

Scup, 259. description, 260. tackle and fishing, 261.

Scuppaug, 259.

Sea-bass, 115. description, 115, 116. tackle and fishing, 117, 118.

Sea-bass, family, 95, 285. black, 115. Gulf, 119. southern, 118.

Sea-crawfish, 318.

Sergeant-fish, 366, 374.

Serranidæ, bass family, 85, 95, 285.

Shad, 80.

Sheepshead, 252. description, 252-254. tackle and fishing, 255-259.

Sheepshead family, 251. lake, 232.

Sheridan and Stager, 77.

Shrimp, 321.

Siluridæ, catfish family, 244.

Silver-bass, 74.

Small-mouth black-bass, 3.

Smelt, 263, 269. description, 269. tackle and fishing, 270, 271.

Snapper, black, 371. dog, 337, 344. family, 336. lane, 337, 339. red, 337, 342. schoolmaster, 338, 345.

Snook, 366. description, 366, 367. tackle and fishing, 368-370.

Southern sea-bass, 118. description, 118. habits and habitat, 119.

Spade-fish, 385.

Spanish mackerel, 273. description, 273-275. tackle and fishing, 276-278.

Sparidæ, porgy family, 251, 347.

Speckled perch, 74, 80.

Spot, 228.

Spotted weakfish, 376. description, 377, 378. tackle and fishing, 379, 380.

Squeteague, 215.

Squirrel-fish, 388. description, 388. tackle and fishing, 389.

Stenotomus chrysops, scup, 251, 259.

Stenotomus aculeatus, fair maid, 259.

Stizostedion canadense, sauger, 156, 164.

Stizostedion vitreum, pike-perch, 156, 157.

Stolephorus brownii, big anchovy, 320.

Stolephorus mitchilli, silver anchovy, 320.

Stolephorus perfasciatus, banded anchovy, 320.

Strawberry-bass, 73.

Striped-bass, 96. description, 96-100. fly-fishing, 109. still-fishing, 101. surf-fishing, 104-108. tools and tackle, 101-105.

Strombus, mollusk genus, 318, 339.

Sunfish, black, 58. blue, 62. common, 69. family, 1. long-eared, 65. red-breast, 67.

Susquehanna salmon, 157.

Tally-wag, 119.

Tautogolabrus adspersus, cunner, 263, 264.

Ten-pounder, 361. description, 361, 362. tackle and fishing, 363-365.

Thunder-pumper, 233.

Thymallidæ, grayling family, 173.

Thymallus montanus, Montana grayling, 173, 181.

Thymallus signifer, Arctic grayling, 173, 176.

Thymallus tricolor, Michigan grayling, 173, 178.

Tip-ups, 146.

Tobacco-box, 65.

Toboggan episode, 92-94.

Trachinotus carolinus, common pompano, 307, 311.

Trachinotus falcatus, round pompano, 312.

Trachinotus glaucus, gaff top-sail pompano, 312.

Trachinotus goodei, permit pompano, 312.

Triple-tail, 370. description, 370, 371. tackle and fishing, 372.

Trolling-spoon, 141-143.

Turbot, 390. description, 390, 391. habits and habitat, 392.

Wall-eyed pike, 157.

Warmouth perch, 58. description, 58, 59. tackle and fishing, 60-62.

Weakfish, 215. description, 215-217. tackle and fishing, 218-220.

Weakfish, bastard, 221. deep-sea, 381. northern, 214. spotted, 376.

Western pickerel, 153. description, 153. tackle and fishing, 154.

White-bass, 86. description, 86. tackle and fishing, 87-89.

Whitefish, Rocky Mountain, 204.

White lake-bass, 86.

White-perch, 110, 234. description, 110, 111. tackle and fishing, 112, 113.

Whiting, 221.

Wonders of the sea, 327, 389, 390.

Yellow-bass, 90. description, 90, 91. tackle and fishing, 92.

Yellow-finned grouper, 294. description, 294. habits and habitat, 295.

Yellow grunt, 326. description, 326. tackle and fishing, 327.

Yellow-perch, 165. description, 165-167. tackle and fishing, 168-172.

Yellow-tail, 338. description, 338. tackle and fishing, 339.

Youthful angling, 72.

AMERICAN SPORTSMAN'S LIBRARY

Edited by CASPAR WHITNEY

To be completed in ten volumes, with numerous illustrations

Each of these volumes will be prepared by a writer, or group of writers, thoroughly in sympathy with the work, and fitted for his special subject. The series will be under the editorial supervision of Mr. Caspar Whitney, the editor of Outing, and for many years sporting editor of Harper's Weekly.

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Further volumes will include articles on the Bear Family. Water Fowl, Wild Fowl, Taxidermy, etc., Cougar, Wild Cat. Wolf, Fox, etc., Tuna, Tarpon, etc., Bass, Perch, Pickerel, etc.

THE MACMILLAN COMPANY

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=The Water-fowl Family=

By LEONARD C. SANFORD, L.B. BISHOP, and T.S. VAN DYKE. Illustrated by L.A. FUERTES, A.B. FROST, and C.L. BULL.

Bass, Pike, Perch, and Pickerel

By JAMES A. HENSHALL, M.D. Illustrated by MARTIN JUSTICE and others.

IN PREPARATION FOR EARLY ISSUE

Big Game Fishes of the United States

By CHARLES F. HOLDER. Illustrated by CHARLES F.W. MILLATZ and others.

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Transcriber's Notes

Italic text is denoted by underscore and bold text by = sign

Obvious spelling and punctuation errors repaired.

To preserve the flow of this text, all illustrations are hyperlinked.

Index added to Table of Contents.

The oe and ae ligatures in the text has been left as it appears in the original book. UTF-8 coding.

Both "black-bass" and "blackbass" used in this text. Both "lady-fish" and "ladyfish" used in this text. Both "skipjack" and "skip-jack" used in this text. Both "subtropical" and "sub-tropical" used in this text.

In ambiguous cases, the text has been left as it appears in the original book. In particular, the following have not been changed: Double punctuation End quote missing punctuation No punctuation at para end