OAST LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. Slielf..V UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. THE FISHES OF The East Atlantic Coast, THAT ARE CAUGHT WITH HOOK AND LINE, / By LOUIS 0. YAK DOREN. INCLUDING The Fishes of the East Coast FLORIDA^. By SAMUEL C. CLARKE. /^ ILLUSTRATED. ( ^'OCT 8 18P8 ' .) i NEW YORK: Thk American Angler. / 1884. Entered, according to act of Congress, in the year 1884, by WILLIAM C. HARRIS, In the Office of the Librarian of Congregs at Washington. PUBLISHEE'S ANNOUNCEMENT. The witbin pages contain the illustrated papers of Mr. Louis O. Van Doren, Mr. Samuel C. Clarke, and Dr. C. J. Kenworthy, "Al Fresco," that have appeared from time to time in the columns of Thb American Angler. They treat of all the fishes of the Atlantic Coast that are of interest to the rod and line fisherman, and in con- nection with the profuse illustrations form the most practical and comprehensive treatise on our salt water fishes, that has been published. OONTEISTTS. CHAPTEE I. The Striped Basb— Rockfish 9 CHAPTER II. The Bluefish 16 CHAPTER III. The Weakfish— Squeteauoe 22 CHAPTER IV. The Sheepshead 29 CHAPTER V. The Kinofish 32 CHAPTER VI. The Bonito. . 36 CHAPTER VII. The Black Drum 40 CHAPTER VIII. The Spanish Mackerel 45 CHAPTER IX. Thh Blackfish 49 CHAPTER X. The Flounder 54 CHAPTER XI. The Sea Bass 59 CHAPTER XII. The Beroall 63 CHAPTER XIII. The Tomcod 67 CHAPTER XIV. The Codfish 71 CHAPTER XV. The Haddock 75 The Menhaden The Lafayette or Spot . . The Snapping Mackerel. The Shad CHAPTER XVI. CHAPTER XVII. CHAPTER XVIII. CHAPTER XIX. CHAPTER XX. The Crab and The Lobster THE FISHES OF THE EAST FLORIDA COAST. CHAPTER I. The Species of Fishes found on the East Florida Coast CHAPTER II. The Channel Bass CHAPTER III. The Salt Watkr Trout— Southern Weakfish 113 CHAPTER IV. The Red Grouper CHAPTER V. The Rock Grouper The Pompano CHAPTER VI. The Cavalli or Crevalle The Mangrove Snapper •. ■ • • The Crab Eater or Sergeant Fish CHAPTER VII. The Ladyfish or Bone Fish The Jewfish The Tarpum or Tarpon CHAPTER VIII. The Drum The Hoofish— Pigfish The Sailor's Choici CHAPTER IX. The Salt Water Catfish The Conger Eel The Mullet The Yellow Tail— Silver Pkbch 107 .117 .122 .125 .127 .128 .132 .133 .134 .137 .141 .142 .142 .145 .145 .146 .149 VUl CHAPTElt X. The Shaeks 153 The Sawfish 156 CHAPTER XI. The Rays 157 CHAPTER XII. The Takpum. By Al Fbesgo 160 CHAPTER XIII. THE FISHING GROUNDS OF FLORIDA. Tackle and Lures. By Dr. C. J. Kenworthy — Al Fresco 171 ILLUSTRATIONS. The Bluefish 17 The Weakfish 23 The Sheepshead 26 The Kingfish 33 The Bonito 37 The Black Drum 41 The Spanish Mackerel 47 The Blackfish 50 The Flounder 55 The Sea Bass 60 The Beroall 64 The Tomcod 69 The Codfish 73 The Haddock 76 The Menhaden 81 The Lafayette or Spot 84 The Shad 88 TheTarpum 101 The Channel Bass 108 The Salt Water Trout 115 The Red Grouper 119 The Pompano 123 The Mangrove Snapper 129 The Ladyfish 135 The Hogfish 143 The Salt Water Catfish 147 The White or Silver Mullet 151 THE FISHES OF THE EAST ATLANTIC COAST. CHAPTER I. The Striped Bass. — Kookfish. — Eoccus lineahi.^. — Gill. No similiar stretch of coast in the world is as plentifully supplied with fish life as the eastern seaboard of the United States. From the tepid waters of Florida, all along up to the icy waves washing the Banks, myriads of fish exist, eithej- to give pleasure to the angler or profit to the fisherman. At the head of the list stands the striped bass. Every wielder of the rod would put him there will- ingly enough, even if the authority of Genio C. Scott and Frank Forester did not sanction it. The former is more enthusiastic over its many virtues as a game fish than he is over any other creature that wears scales, either of the fresh or salt waters. The latter ranks the striped bass second only to the salmon, dividing the honors per- haps with the black bass of the St. Lawrence. The striped bass — Roccics lineatus — Gill, is known south of New York as the rock-fish, from its habit, probably, of swimming among the boulders of a rapid tide-way, nosing about for some dainty morsel with which to satisfy his appetite. To the ordinary gazer of the stalls, the striped bass would appear as a silvery fish marked with lateral black lines and possessed of a capacious mouth well supplied with teeth; but such a description will not answer the requirements- of the scientific as well as practical angler of to-day. The body of the striped bass is long and symmetrical, slightly humped over the shoulder, and marked horizontally by seven or m 10 FISHES OF THE EAST ATLANTIC COAST. eight narrow black lines, growing smaller as they reach the belly. The width of the body is two-sevenths of its length, which is about four times the length of the head. The mouth is extraordinarily large, and besides the usual teeth of the inside rim there are two patches on the tongue. The eye is large and well rounded, giving an index of the bold nature of the fish. The color of the striped bass IS white underneath, merging to a silvery aspect, then to an olive hue, and over the dorsal giving place to a metallic blue. There are two dorsal fins, the first has nine spines, sharp and strong; the second has one spine and twelve soft rays. The anal fin, which is moderately large, has three spines and eleven soft rays. The striped bass varies in size from eight-inch little fellows up to monsters of one hundred pounds. The greed of all sizes is, however, the same. Those of three and four pounds run in company, and hence are popularly known as "school bass;" these it is that give such prime sport to fishermen in New York waters, but let no one imagine on this account that big bass are unknown to their rods. One of a hundred jDounds is on record that "yielded recreant" to the rod of an old troller accustomed to practice his art in the turbulent waters of Hell-Gate. The "run," as it is called, of bass commences in the spring months, and about the tenth of June the large ones begin to reach our mar- kets. The capture of "school bass" continues throughout the sum- mer, and about the end of August the celebrated surf-fishing comes in vogue. The striped bass runs uj) the estuaries and rivers to de- posit its spawn, and sometimes ascends even to fresh water. This annual movement of the bass commences in the spring, and fishing is good until November. As beseems such a noble fish, the striped bass reaches perfection of size and courage in the midst of strong, sweeping tides, in the clear, deep M'aters of the Sound, and along the rugged rocky beaches ■of the ocean side of Long Island and Martha's Vineyard. Such liunting grounds could only produce such a fish as the bass, which indeed shows the effect of their surroundings in his shape and move- ments. His hard, muscular, well-rounded body, his large, bright eye and raj^acious-looking mouth, warrant us in ajjplying to him Frank FISHES OF THE EAST ATLANTIC COAST. 11 Forester's expressive sentence: "The striped bass is the boldest, bravest, strongest and most active fish that visits the waters of the midland States," , Every extensive work on angling in American waters contains a Inference to the striped bass fishing to be enjoyed in the water? about Manhattan Island. The great depth of water : nd the narrow rock-strewn channels combine to form a very paradise for the bass, who seems to find the greatest enjoyment of his existence in darting through the Hell-Gate mill-race and among the rapid tide-ways of the lower Sound. Twenty years ago the striped bass fishing inNew York Harbor was simply superb ; every flood tide would see the capture of hundreds of bass in their season. There was one place in particular, the mention of which will perhaps recall to many an old- time angler some of his fishing tnumphs — " The Willows," as it was termed. This famous spot in the Harlem Kills was often so encircled by rotv boats that any late arrival on the ground was forced to push his boat stern foremost into the crowded ring. As New York waters were and still are the center of striped bass fishing, I will first describe the methods of fishing here and the tackle and baits used. As the monster fish of former days are not now looked for, the New York fisherman fixes his rod and line for bass under ten pounds. The kind of fishing most popular in our waters is " trolling." By some the rod is used, but oftener we see a solitary boatman leisurely rowing and holding a long and heavy line in his teeth (a sure sign, I take it, that they are his own). How anyone's jaws can stand such a strain I do not know; no doubt, though, enthusiasm gives them three-fold strength. I have seen such a lone fisherman rowing along with the stillness and imperturbable gravity of a Sphnix, suddenly drop his oars, take the wet line from between his teeth and after a struggle bring to his basket a three or four-pound striped bass. Imagine what a tooth-pulling strike such a fish must have made. Trolling for bass in the channels of New York Harbor is more work than sport, and requires too little skill to suit the accustomed wielder of the fly-rod. It is the way though by which most of the large fish are taken, and therefore is worthy of notice. The best 12 FISHES OF THE EAST ATLANTIC COAST. stage of the tide for this mode of fishing is during the last two hours of the flood. As to tackle, some use short rods, some long rods and some, as I have said, no rods at all. The rod, however, should be strong and supple ; all sellers of fishing tackle have assortments of striped bass rods from which the angler can easily get one meeting his ideal of what a rod should be. The line, usually of linen, should be at least two hundred feet long. The sinker gauged according to the force of the water, must keep the line about four feet from the bottom. A leader is always used, made of double gut and arranged to carry one or two hooks. This leader is generally about four feet long ; if one hook is used it may be shortened ; if two hooks, then two pieces of gut are tied below the sinker, one being the first length mentioned, the other two feet in length. What is very es- sential is that the tyings should be as neatly made as possible, as the striped bass is a wary and shy fellow. Now, as to bait, shedder crab is tempting but not serviceable, the swift current gradually washing it from the hooks. A better bait is the long red sand worm looped on the hook so as to writhe with facility, thus as any one can see, making a most killing lure. These worms are found often nine inches long and as thick as the little finger. The tail of the squid is frequently used in trolling for large bass with heavy tackle. The seasons for trolling are June, July and August, and the places most frequented by bass are along the sedge-covered banks, about sunken meadows and in swift race-ways of the tides. The next general Kind of bass fishing is that styled still fishing. Let skill and fancy select the reel accurately balanced, the rod strong and yielding, bright polished guides, large enough to let the line run smoothly, and an evenly twisted line. The angler will need these qualities in his tackle, for long casts are essential to successful still fishing. The leader is the same as is used in trolling, joined to the line by a swivel sinker and holding two "flatted Kirbys," size 0-9, this being in my estimation about the proper hook for still fishing for school-bass. The best bait is the shedder crab, next the shedder lobster, and last but almost equal in efficiency to the other two, the sand worm. The striped bass, like its brother the fresh water str'ped bass, will FISHES OF THE EAST ATLANTIC COAST, 13 take the fly eagerly, and in doing so m ill giA'^e more excitement, per- haps, than genuine pleasure to the enthusi.-istic fly-caster who isun- willing to place any fish under the heading Game, before he has a. - sured himself that the member of the finny tribe in question will seize a surface lui'e in the sh&.pe of an artificial fly. In all salt water fishing, with hardly an exception, the hours when the tide is rising afford the best scoring time, and this is invariably true in striped bass fishing. • In fly fishing for the bass the top of the flood is the right time, a little before the tide will turn. The angler may stand in the stern of the boat while the boatman rows him about over the flooded flats and still waters near the shores. A large fly must be used, a red ibis or a red and white one, in'^fact any of those bright ones used in salmon fishing. It will sometimes be well to let the fly sink beneath the surface six or eight inches. All of the above methods of fishing are tame and commonplace compared with that acme of all angling on the Atlantic coast — surf fishing for the striped bass. It is also called " chumming," but the " chumming" part of the sport is not performed by the angler. This surf fishing is limited to a stretch of our Eastern coast, whose northern limit is •Cape Cod and whose southern is a little below Montauk Point. The description of this widely celebrated branch of salt water fish- ing, though it is known perhaps to every angler, could not well be omitted in anything written about the striped bass, it is such mag- nificent use of skill and tackle, such splendid practice for the muscles. Running out from the shore, right in the midst of the rolling surf and over the great boulders, a light frame work or "bridge "of wood is built. It terminates in a small platform affording just room enough for the fisherman and his attendant. I mentioned above the necessity for the best of tackle. Now the need is doubled. The rod is nine or ten feet long (each angler is sure to take the length he can handle best) ; the reel, a triple multiplier of largest size, must be most beautifully and perfectly balanced in its move- ments ; the line, some four hundred feet long, is of the best linen make. All these things must be well looked to, for they are indis- pensable in casting. He who makef the longest casts, takes the 14 FISHES or THE EAST ATLANTIC COAST. most and largest 1i..!i. Tv> h^ siifcv,..4iil i;i i.iiy (L'^^s-l-c llic baits must be shot seaward over one liuiidred feet. There are two general methods of casting — the " overhand " and the " underhand." These terms have reference to the way the rod is held in casting, either over or under the level of the arm. Before the angler launches his bait on their long trip through the air, the "chummer" has cut up into pieces enough menhaden to fill a bushel basket, and with a long sweep of his arm is scattering the bits of fish over the waves. Besides the menhaden being a favorite side-dish of our friend the bass, the oil of the fish covers the water for some distance out. This film whets the appetite of the striped bass, tempting him further in, till suddenly a great piece of crab or an entire lobster's tail splashes down right in front of his open jaws. It is no strain on any one's imagination even though he has never "been there," to try to picture what a gloriously exciting and bard-fought struggle there will be before his hungry lordship is brought within the reach of the gaff. The splendid fish, thoroughly game, full of the rush and exhilerating life of the salt waves, his firm muscles trained by many tussles with the boisterous tides, is able to make a fight for life exceeding in length and fierceness that of any other game fish of our continent. The angler, on his frail platform, barely giving him space for action, out over the combing breakers that now and again drench him with spray, is also spurred by the excitement of the moment and its surroundings to use his ut- most skill and art. The combined result is what the salt water fish- erman claims the right of terming the high water mark of all angling. In order to enjoy this noble sport where the fish has a better chance of escaping than the angler has of catching him, safe from intrusion, and also that they may have some prospect of success, parties of gentlemen have formed clubs and purchased parts of the coast line and among these fishermen an earnest rivalry exists for the proud possession of the title of " high-line," given to him who takes the largest fish or the greatest number. Perhaps some over-fastidious angler will object that this surf -fish- ing is a mere contest between heavy tackle and brute strength, but the objection will not hold good, for in no branch of the angler's FISHES Ob' rm EAST ATr.ANTKJ COXSr. 15 ;":•; !.> '!iiiv t^iu-ii ^ .....,i.i . I :iii(I Iiaiitl as ;.! landins^ a great strijx-cl bass whose weight is out of all proportion tO' the tackle used in his capture. The time of year when anglers can most enjoy this surf-fishing is in the months of August and September; the bait they use is the oily menhaden, the sheddcr crab, and as something new, the meat stripped from the tail of the lobster. The places they go to are Montauk Point and its vicinity, Block Island, Martha's Vineyard, the Elizabeth Islands, and the rocky shores of Connecticut and Mas- sachusetts. For smaller bass any of the bays of South Long Island, along the New Jersey coast, the pleasant inlets of the river at the Sound, and the 1 larlem River at Kingsbridge, the East River at Hell-Gate, at Harlem Kills, the North River up to fresh water, are good grounds. The tackle for this lighter fishing I have already de- scribed under " trolling." The baits are shedder crab, sand-worms and shedder lobster. I have touched here and there upon the virtues of the striped bass as a game fish. I will add another to that long list by mentioning the splendid flavor of the fish when rightly served. By all means then, ye angler who like fish cooked as well as (I will not say — bet- ter than) fish alive, let the striped ^bass of four pounds weight be gashed and broiled, served on a hot dish, sprinkled with a mere dash of red pepper and buttered well, and then eaten with the ad- dition of a few drops pressed from the half of a smooth-skinned lemon. Truly you will enjoy a taste putting the fried Saddle Rock to shame, and making the canvass-backed duck hide his diminished head. CHAPTER n. The Bluefish. — romaknnu^ mUafrix. — Gill. The blueiish, at once the most destructive ;\;id ono of thcmost ira- 1)01 taut, from an economic point of view, of nil coast fishes, is next on tlie list of gamy denizens of the sea. The bluefish has not • always been taken on the North Atlantic seaboard of the United States, but made his apjiearance there for the first time during the first decade of the century. But since that mi- gration from more Southern waters, vast schools of bluefish have swept along the coast of the Atlantic States year after year, without a single season being omitted. It*is thought by many that this rapa- ■cious foreigner came from the warm seas surrounding the West Indies, Be that as it may, he certainly has the bloodthirsty habits and murderous ways of the Spanish buccaneers, who once infested those islands. The bluefish in his annual visits, as some one has recently esti- mated, slaughters billions of the smaller fishes, killing in mere wan- tonness. He drives before him immense schools of the mossbunkers, and anon dashes into their midst, cutting right and left with his sharp teeth. They do not eat one-tenth of what they slay, but for the most part take one round, clean bite out of each victim, leaving their bodies to float on the waves, " a prey to the birds that sail in the air." It is this fact that betrays the whereabouts of the bluefish; •for the long-winged gulls hover above every school of them, picking ip the fioatmg crumbs in the shape of dead fish from the bluefishes^ •iable. The fishermen on shore watch till they see the gulls sailing > \ FISHES OF THE EAST ATLANTIC COAST. 19* and dipping, and then know exactly where the bluefish are at their murderous work. The run of these fish commences in early spring, and lasts through the whole summer and fall, but in winter the fish disappear. The appearance of the bluefish is rakish, as beseems the pirate of the ocean. His body is bounded by graceful curved lines ; the fin» are small, considering the great strength and speed of the fish, and look when spread out as if they had been trimmed. The tail is forked ; the first dorsal fin has seven rays, and is much smaller than the second, which has twenty-five rays. The ventral fin is small, and has five rays. The anal fin is larger, and about the same size as the second dorsal. The operculi, or gill covers, are covered with scales ; the mouth is very large and its edges are full of very sharp teeth, good to tear and cut (hence one of its scientific names— ^ew- nodon). The head is more than one-fourth the length of the body, The whole fish in form is beautiful and symmetrical. The color is white, or greenish white on the belly, gradually deepeuing into a steel blue as it nears the dorsal fin. Of the various ways of taking the bluefish I will first describe the most important to all classes of fishermen— trolling with hand lines. There are some who think no true angler will take aught but the salmon or the black bass ; there are others who limit the angler's skill to casting the artificial fly ; there are many more who will allow him no " gentlemanly" method of fishing save with the rod. I think they are mistaken as well as selfish. I would give as a truer defin- ition of the art : fishing of every kind requiring skill and carried on humanely and for enjoyment. If, then, the " gentleman angler" will not feel less of the gentleman while trolling, he may enjoy the de- lightful sport in the following way : Have a staunch fast-sailing catboat or sloop, one that will " turn on a shilling," as the phrase goes, and a good-natured old sea-dog to handle it. In a good breeze he will make his craft tack to and fro_ through the shoal of bluefish, jamming the helm hard down and cans ing her to spin round witnoat losing headway. The next requisite is a good stout line, generally of cotton, two or three hundred feet long, carrying a heavy sinker, and below tliis 20 FISHES OF THE EAST ATLANTIC COAST. a trolling spoon of ivory, bone or metal. A trolling sinker is made sometimes with a large hook set in the lead. Trolling spoons are of great variety, very costly ones being made of silver and pearl. The trolling sinker or spoon must be attached to the line by a yard length of wire snell, or the two will soon part connection, aided by the sharp teeth of the bluefish. To protect the hands of the angler, woollen gloves are often de- sirable. When the bluefish strikes (fiercely, he does, too,) and feels the hook, he begins a famous fight, sometimes running deep, then breaking on the surface, and sometimes surging from side to side. A well-known trick of his is to start off at lightning speed and over- run the hooks. Fish caught by trolling run from four to fifteen pounds in weight, and this method of fishing gives great enjoyment. Overhead the blue sky and soaring gulls ; the sparkling waters all about ; the swift motion of the boat and the excitement or the capture, make the hours pass most delightfully. Another good way of taking the bluefish is by chumming. Moss bunkers are chopped fine, as in striped bass fishing, and throAvn upon the waier. The rod must have large free guides, the reel be free run ning aad of fine workmanship, and the swivel sinker light. The bait, a piece of menhaden or crab, is cast out in the midst of the chum-bait and then reeled up ; and be it remembered, that always in bluefishing the hooks must be fastened to the line by a piece of fine wire or gimp snell. The best stage of the tide for bluefishing is the rising tide and the slack water at the ebb and flood. The bluefish will take the fly and often keep it. If you have any to bestow, he prefers the large ones, of bright and assorted colors. Where to enjoy bluefishing is easily told. In the Ocean ofi^ Cane May, at Long Branch, and all along the coast of New Jersey. Ex- cellent fishing is enjoyed every season atBarnegat and Atlantic City, at Fire Island and on the whole stretch of the Ocean side of Long Island. The natural food of the bluefish is the mossbunker, and.un- less something in the shape of legislative action is done to restrict the taking of these fish within a certain period, the mossbunker wiK FISHES OF THE EAST ATLANTIC COAST. 21 be almost annihilated, and the attraction which draws thebluefish to our shores will be a thing of the past. This is a matter not only of much concern to the angler, but vastly more important to the poor of our great seaboard cities. CHAPTER III. The Weakfish. — Gynoscion regalia. — Gill. The fish we now treat of* is by far the most beautiful specimen of the inhabitants of the sea which the salt water angler has the happy fortune of capturing. Though he cannot hy claim to the game qualities of the striped bass, upon his scales shine each of the seven cardinal hues. The general color of the weakfish, or as the Indians called him, the squeteague, is blue, lightening on the under parts. On the back and sides are spots arranged in a transverse order. The color of the top of the head is greenish blue; the inside of the mouth yellow; the gill covers lustrous silver; on the lower jaw there is a salmon tint. The fins also are of different coloration; the dorsals are brown; the pectorals a yellowish brown; the ventral and anal are orange. On both sides of the head, upon the operculi, are two rudimentary flattened points. The first dorsal fin is composed of eight rays, which might with propriety be called spines. The second dorsal is composed of rays much divided. The pectoral fins consist of seventeen branched rays. The ventral fin of one ray and five imperfect rays, and the caudal fin has seventeen rays. The weakfish gives amusement to more anglers of the metropolis than any other fish on our lists. They run in great numbers during the summer months and early fall. July, August and September will be found to be the most successful months for weakfishing. Into every shallow cstugry and creek and tide-channel the weakfish fISHES OF THE EAST ATLANTIC COAST. 25 ewarra and it is their habit to run in from deej) water on the incom- ing tide, the large ones swimming four or five feet below the sur- face. Before the rapacious bluefish came from the South in such num- bers and regularity, the weaktish were much more plentiful on our coasts, and though it is a sort oi j^ost hoc prop hoc argument, yet many claim that the gradual decrease in the supply of weakfish is due to tho bluefish's advent. As above stated, the weakfish can be taken almost anywhere on the Atlantic coast from the Chesapeake Bay up to the Connecticut river, and a few of the best places to take them are the fol- lowing: Princess Bay, reached by way of the South Ferry; Fort Lafay- ette in the Narrows; Newark Bay; up the Long Island Sound at Westchester Creek; at Atlantic City, and at the mouth of the Del- aware river. The nearness of many of these places to the great cities, New York, Brooklyn and Philadelphia, gives an opportunity to the an- gler with little leisure to take his day or two of Ushingin the tossing ocean and take what he catches home with him. It would be best, too, to do this last as soon as he can, for tho weakfish unless eaten * 1 • Ashile yet the brilliant tints shine on his sides is of a poor and m- sipid flavor. The weight of this fish varies from two pounds running close in shore, to those of eighteen pounds, rarely caught, and that only iu deep water. \^" eak fishing is generally carried on from a boat anchored in the tideway and the best stage of the tide is the flood tide, and especial- ly the last half of it. It affords the most sport to fish for the squeteague with alight bamboo rod; with a rod his capture Is more certain, and it is not true fishing to take a delii^ate fish like the weakfish out of the water with a heavy hand line, though perfectly allowable in the case of the fierce and weighty bluefish. The reel should be large, the same as is used in fishing for the small striped bass; the line, a finely-twisted linen one, light as may be consistent with strength. The lighter the line the lighter the [3] 26 FISHES or THE EAST ATLANTIC COAST. sinker, is a rule of great consideration in salt wvater angling. A light swivel sinker is used, and a leader, upon Avhich two books of large bend are fastened. An excellent hook is 4-0, best hollow point Limerick. The best bait is the shedder crab, and among other baits hard clam, shrimp or a piece of menhaden or other light col- ored fish. If you are fishing for the smaller weakflsh make a cast and " tiiafaSffv''' CHAPTER IV. The Sheepshead. — Arcliomrgu^ prohatocephalux. — Gill. The fish we now treat of is the greatest delicacy, according to many, which the sea yields to man, but whether it ranks higher in this respect than the Spanish mackerel or the pompano, I think is very doubtful, but de gustibus there is no dispute. The flavor of the sheepshead is however acknowledged by everyone to be most excellent. The appearance of the fish is most peculiar. The head is large and massive, and the back greatly arched at the shoulders, and along the most of its length is placed a large dorsal fin, which the sheepshead can raise or lower at will into a groove where it fits neatly. I know of no other fish whose scientific name is a direct translation of its common and local appellation — [prohatocephaliis is sheepshead turned into Greek). This coincidence is caused by the marked resemblance between the front teeth of the sheepshead and the landowzs. The tooth system of the sheepshead is remarkably well de- veloped ; besides the front incisors (six or eight) there are molars pow- erful enough to crack a clam-shell with ease. The color of the fish is brassy on the dorsal ridge, merging into dull silver, which gets lighter as it nears the ventral line. About the body at right angles to the medial line run six dusky bands ; the eye is large and gamy. The dorsal fin is composed of twelve spines and twelve rays. The pec- toral fins are composed each of sixteen ramose rays. The ventral ray consists of one spine and five rays ; the anal fin of ten soft rays. Upon each shoulder is a dark spot. Altogether, the sheepshead is 30 FISHES OF THE EAST ATLANTIC COAST. one of those beautifully colored, toothsome fishes which only salt water holds within its depths. The sheepshead runs in size from half a pound up to fifteen pounds, and like most of the other coast fishes, is a summer visitor ; appearing in June and leaving in November. This fish runs up from the South, and increases in size as it nears our waters. The sheepshead is not seen above New York State. Though he seldom appears in such numbers as the bluefish, or even the weakfish, yet sometimes the sheepshead come in great schools, and happy is the fisherman who falls in with such a collection of them. It is a thing to boast of, the capture of a large sheepshead. The front teeth of the sheepshead are wisely given him for a special habit of his ; he swims about sunken logs, along the bottom rocks, and is enabled by his projecting teeth to bite off the different molluscs which form the food of the sheepshead. This grazing habit of the fish has given rise to an arrangement on the Virginia coast by which the certainty of an annual call from the sheepshead is se- cured. A writer in the first volume of The Angt er has well described this plan : " The natives drive long stakes of split wood into the bottom of inlets and sounds in square or circular shape, forming pens. On these stakes the molluscs soon attach themselves, and the sheepshead finds in or about them an attraction habitual where he can eat to his fill without beating about for the delicacies he demands." Sheepshead are caught by hand-line and with rod and reel, and of the two methods of course the skillful angler will chose the latter. The sheepshead is a wary and careful fish, and to draw him from his na- tive element requires skill and patience. The rod should be a stout ©ne, and about nine feet long — the regulation striped bass rod is. about right. The line most thought of by skilled sheepshead fish- ermen is a braided linen line of the smallest diameter giving strength enough. To this line is fastened a swivel and tracing sinker, and also a double gut leader composed of two parts, one of which is about two feet in length, the other twelve inches. The best bait is the soft clam, either put on whole or with the shell removed ; the next best is the shedder crab — (is there any living sea animal that FISHES OF THE EAST ATLANTIC COAST. 31 won't take it ?) The hooks are made of stout wire, short shank, and ringed. Most tackle dealers sell a sheepshead hook. The reel ought to be a multiplier, and about the size used in bass-fishing. On making a cast the sinker is allowed to find bottom, and then the line IS drawn taut. The sheepshead is a cautious nibbler, and the taut line enables the fisherman to feel his slightest nibble at the bait. On being hooked the sheepshead will come up without m'kking much fuss, but when near the surface of the water will often sink like a shot. The best places to take the sheepshead are the following : On the New Jersey coast off Long Branch ; atBarnegat ; off Atlantic City; at Rockaway Beach, and in the South Bay. The sheepshead is heavily armored with scales,, aad a landing net is a necessary part of the angler's outfit. CHAPTER V, The Kingfish. — dTenlicirru^ nehulo^us — Mitch. The kingfish, or whitiug, as it is called along the southern coast, is the gamiest fish for its size known to the angler. Its great gaminess, its beauty of coloring and form, and its excellent flavor combined to cause the loyal citizens of New York in the colonial days, to name the fish the king-fish. It used to be very abundant in the waters of New York city, and with the small striped bass, was the crowning glory of the old time fishing. In such esteem was the king-fish that I have read in some fishing book that the New York angler on hearing that king-fish were to be caught from the pier-heads, would seize his rod and basket and rush off in his shirt sleeves to enjoy the long wished for sport. Bat now the kingfish are very scarce in our harbor ; but there are . plenty of them to be bought in Fulton Market, having been brought ap to the city from the Jersey coast and the South Bay. Genio» C. Scott is very enthusiastic about the kingfish, giving it a very high rank among salt water game fishes ; and he makes the assertion that the New York angler cares more for a two pound whiting in liis basket than (well I have forgotten how many pounds of any ■other salt water fish.) But without claiming as much as this for the kingfish, he is worthy in every respect of the high esteem in which he is held by anglers and epicures. The kingfish, also sometimes called barb, is tapering and long in form, has a complete covering of round and ciliated scales, and on FISHES OF THE EAST ATLANTIC COAST. $^ the gill cover are two stout flattened spines. The head and mouth are small and thelsnout well thrown forward. The teeth in the two jaws are not alike ; in the upper jaw they are long and acute ; in the lower they are short and bent inward. There are two dorsal fins ; the first is a triangle and is remarkable for the height of the first ray. The second dorsal is long and low ; the pectorals are wide and pointed. The anal fin is composed of one spine and<" eight rays. The tail is curved in and then out like the letter S. The kingfish glows with many beautiful tints ; upon the back imAl sides are shades of grey and silvery red : the abdomen is blueis.^* white and the fins are of different colors. The first dorsal fin is brown ; the caudal and pectoral fins are olive brown ; the ventral and anal fins are yellow. On the sides above the lateral line are many dark stripes or rather bands, hence nebulosus. It is a summer fish and runs in July and August, and in its wanderings it never goes beyond Cape Cod. The kingfish, as I have said, is very rarely met with about New- York, but further south, at the inlet and along down to Florida they are very plentiful. A light rod and multiplying reel, a strong and very light line, a swivel sinker and two rather small hooks are what is required in the way of tackle; much the same rig as is use^ it* weakfishing. The bait either shedder crab or sand-worm. The king- fish is thoroughly game ; he seizes the bait eagerly and then goes to, the bottom, following up this movement with long runs from right to^ left ; it is really remarkable what a determined resistance the little king-fish will make. In size he varies from one to six pounds, the. average being two or three pounds. The time to fish for them ia when the tide is running in. Kingfish can be caught along the: south side of Long Island, off the Jersey Coast, at Atlantic City^ Long Branch and Barnegat Inlet, and further ?o\ith they are very ■common, CHAPTER VI. The Bonito. — :^arda pelami/^.— Gill The "bonito, or skip-jack as the fishermen call it, is a wanderer in all the warmer waters of the world. It is a species of tunny, sup- posed to have been first seen at the Island of Sardinia. It is plentiful in the Mediterranean Sea to this day ; is found off tlie east coast of Africa, in the waters of South America and all along our eastern coast. In appearance the bonito resembles the members of the maekerel tribe, but on a second inspection is found to be vastly stouter and heavier in proportion to its size. Its symmetrical form and sharply cut fins give it an appearance of great speed, and its sharp teeth a rather vicious look. It is nearly oce-quarter as broad as it is long. The scales on the bonito are so fine that they are scarcely visible to the eye. The mouth is well supplied with teeth, each jaw has about twenty fine acute teeth, slightly inclined inward, and at the base of the tongue there are two patches of small teeth. The eye is large and prominent. The first dorsal is long and consists of twenty-one weak spines ; the sec- cond dorsal is rather small and has two spines and a number of rays; behind this fin are nine finlets. The pectoral fins are long, triangu- lar and lodged in a cavity fitting their shape. The ventrals also Lave such a hollow into which they fit. Between the anal and the e columns of The American Angler, such new points as -were a w)nce interesting and authentic. I do not lay down my pew without asking both the indulgence and kindly criticism of salt water anglers. CHAPTEK XX. THE CRAB AND THE LOBSTER. The Crab — CaUnectus hastatus — (Ordway.) In the months of June, July, August and September, along the Southern coast in early summer, later in the Delaware and on the Jersey coast, and toward the close of summer in Long Island Sound, in the upper bay and its estuaries, and along the New England coast the crab advances from deep water in vast numbers. I do not hesitate to assert that in the crab season there are three crabs caught for every fish brought to market. In New Jersey, on the banks of the Shrewsbury River, there is an immense crab farm whence thou- sands are shipped to the markets of New York and Philadelphia. The little creeks and streams that run in Long Island Sound make the body of water a perfect paradise for the pugnacious crab. But of all places to catch crabs the best is in the Harlem River, and in New Jersey, Salem Creek. The reason why the crab is included in these essays is that every salt-water angler goes crabbing, and if he goes once he will go again. Even people who do not care for fishing proper will go crabbing, probably because they think the yield is paying them for their time. Yes, the crab is a game "fish," but, strange to say, his fighting qualities do not assert themselves until he is in the basket, or just before you put him in. In fact, he is so game that I have seen a blue crab seize a finger of some incautious angler and then jump out into the water forty feet away. This occurrence, which hj the way is not very uncommon, took so little time that it is flow 94 FISHES OF THE EAST ATLANTIC COAST. impossible to say whether the crab yelled and jumped himself, or whether the angler uttered the Indian war whoop and threw the crab. The latter is the most probable. Crabs begin to swarm into the shallow bays and creeks of the coast about the first of June. When they have reached their sum- mer home they all remain quiet for a space. Then each crab selects some spot best suited to his taste and becomes motionless, and soon his upper shell shows signs of swelling about its back edge. After a time this edge becomes wholly freed, and now the crab must free his claws and legs from the hard shell. This he is enabled to do by an opportune softening of the muscles. The crab withdrawing from his shell settles down in the soft mud or sand and does its best to escape observation, for it is now in a helpless condition. Where there is a great deal of eel-grass and sea-cabbage, as in the Harlem River, the crab will cover himself in it and it will take a practiced searcher to spy out his retreat. Along the Harlem mud flats at low tide the boys go "treading for soft shells," and gener- ally get more cuts on their feet from old bottles and tomato-cans than soft shell crabs ; though a dozen are often taken in this way on one tide. About twelve hours after it has cast its shell the soft skin with which it was first covered has become like writing paper,, crackling like it when compressed. Twelve hours or so after, this skin has become like buckram in texture, and on account of this the crab is called a " buckram," as before it was called a " paper " crab. In all those stages the crab is helpless, but after the lapse of forty-eight hours he is again able to take care of himself. The above are approximately the periods in which this strange transformation takes place, but it is dependent to a certain extent upon the weather. A disagreeable spell will retard it for days. The best of all crabs to eat are the soft shells ; they are fried in butter, having been previously rolled in cracker crumbs. Now as to catching the wary fellows. This is best done in shal- low water not over ten feet in depth, and from a skiff. A round- bottomed boat on a crabbing expedition will only prove an incon- venience. Have about a half dozen lengths of cord not more than. FISHES OF THE EAST ATLANTIC COAST. 95 fifteen feet long and tie one end of each about some pieces of lean meat ; let this sink to the bottom, if it will not sink put on a lead sinker or any other heavy thing that is handy. When the bait has found bottom you will know when a crab has taken the bait by the straightening out of the line. Now haul up the bait slowly and evenly ; the gluttonous crab will still cling to it, and just when you can see the bait dimly through the water and the crab waving his claws about it, lower the scap net from one side, gradually working it under the crab. As soon as he sees you he will let go, but if the man with the scap net is quick and steady the crab will go into the net every time. The best bait of all is a sheepshead with the skin tuken off, and to secure one you will have to speak beforehand to your butcher. The next best bait is meat without any fat, else you will have trou- ble sinking it, and when you are unable to get either of these baits fish heads make an excellent substitute. The bigger your hand-net the better for use ; have the handle not over five feet long for boat fishing. Paint net and all sea-green. The best stage of the tide to catch crabs is while the water is rising. At the first of the flood ti « crabs come in on the flats from the charmels. As the season draws to a close the crabs improve in flavor. Even if the angler is indifferent on the subject of crab-fishings what would he do if he had not that bait of all baits, the shedder* crab, by which is known the crab just ready to cast his shell. You can readily detect a shedder-crab among a lot of hard fellows by pinching the under side of the two side joints. If these are very weak and break easily, you can take off all the shell and find a thin blue skin underneath it. I advise every one who can to go crabbing, it is great fun, and if the crabs are plentiful you are apt to catch, more than you can carry home. The Lobster — Homarus amcricamis — (Edwards.) Are you surprised, indulgent reader of the angler's craft ? Well^ I don't wonder that you are. Faith ! I would be myself if I were you. You have read of the peaceful crab and how he is caught — but the lobster, among the game fishes of the coast ! what next ? As 96 FISHES OF THE EAST ATLANTIC COAST. for being a catcliable inhabitant of New York water and all the way- northward, that he is. Few New York angler's know that within thirty minutes ride from their offices they can have delightf id sport lobster fishing. But from Port Morris all along the beautiful shores of Long Island Sound, in the quiet little coves and bays that indent its either shore, lobsters can be caught in season by the following method: You first want a sound, trustworthy skiff, next two anchors, one for the bow and one for the stern. The most important thing is the lobster net. This should be made of stout linen cord; the ring of quarter inch wrought iron six feet in circumference. This ring will cost, if you go to some friendly blacksmith, about twenty five cents ; to this ring the cord should be netted until the net is two and one half feet deep. These nets are very expensive if bought in a tackle store, but the fisherman if he takes real pleasure in his art will net his own lobster net ; it will cost him then about a dollar and a half. The next thing is the bait. This consists of two salted menhaden (another exemplification of the manifold uses of that fish) which you can buy of some fisherman on shore, either for love, or, that failing, for five cents apiece. Tie across the net a string diameter; tie to this central string the two mossbunkers ; now put about ten pounds of stone in the bottom of the net; this don't weigh much when in the water, and is necessary to take the net down. Now have about one hundred and fifty feet of light strong rope ; fix this to the net in the same manner in which the small boy ties his kite •tring to the "belly-band" of the kite. Go out where you see lob- ster pot floats (be careful to keep out of range of the professional lobster fisherman who owns them), at the first of the flood or at the last two hours of high tide, let down your net in ninety or a hundred feet of water, and while you wait to haul up the net, cut half a dozen little wooden pegs, about an inch long, and put them in a convenient place. After the lapse of ten or fifteen minutes haul up the net ; if it has a lobster in it it will be a heavy job, and if it has not it will also be a heavy job. Suppose you have one; bringing the net over the boat take the bottom of the net and turn lobster and all out on the FISHES OF THE EAST ATLANTIC COAST. 97 bottom of the boat. There must be two on a lobster-catching trip, for this reason : the lobster immediately on being released from the folds of the net rises on his tail, waves his massive claws in the air and makes a vicious attack on the nearest man. He must coolly await it, and just when the lobster is going to seize his leg quietly put a foot on each claw. Hold the lobster prisoner thus while your as- sistant takes a wooden peg and drives it behind the socket of the claw, thus rendering this formidable weapon harmless ; let him fasten the other claw in the same way and now the lobster can do no harm ; by this time the net ought to be pulled up again. Where there are lobsters this sport is exciting and very profitable. I rememuer one such trip I made in August years ago with a neighbor. We went out from Port Morris in a little red skiff, the the bottom of which had been worn completely through by the rubbing of the heel against the stretchers. Through these holes the clear water of the Sound bubbled up like a gushing spring, and we had for bailer a cigar box lid. In the intervals of bailing we kept a lookout for the boatman on shore, who was known to be the possessor of a long range shot gun, and he would have used it if he had known we were lobster fishing near his pots. Well, we caught three lobsters and lost both anchor ropes. The lobsters made up for it, however, as one of them weighed six pounds and a half, the largest one I ever saw. One of the others weighed four and a half pounds and the other two ; so this was not a bad score. It could not be duplicated to-day, however, in the same waters, as the infernal blasting over the supposed wreck of the " Hussar" has settled all the Port Morris fishing. But at Pelham and from there up to Maine, lobster fishing can be had in profusion. There is only one more thing to be said, and that is to caution lest the heavy net pulls the fisherman overboard, and moreover, put all lobsters under ten. and one half inches long back in their element as the law directs. THE FISHES OF THE EAST FLORIDA COAST. By S. C. CLARKE. CHAPTER I. The coasts of the peninsula of Florida afford a great variety of species of fish, and probably a greater variety of valuable food fishes than can be found in any one region in the United States. We find some migratory species that are common on the Northern coast, such as the striped bass, sea bass, bluefish, sheepshead, weak- fish. There are others whose range is not usually farther North than the capes of Delaware ; as the black and red drum. Others, which are local and stationary in their habits ; such as the groupers- and snappers. And others again, of a more tropical character, which only appear on the Florida coast in warm weather, and whose home is in more southern latitudes ; as the tarpum, cavalli and ladyfish. These species are abundant in their season, and many of them are of the best quality on the table ; for instance, the pompano, which takes its place among the three best fishes of the American Continent ; the other two being, in my judgment, the sal- mon of the East coast and the whitefish of the great lakes. Tastes differ, and some may dissent from this opinion, but having eaten of these fish on the shores of their native waters, I give this as my verdict. Nowhere in our broad country can the angler find greater variety of game, or more or better sport than on the coasts of Florida. ^ In. 100 FISHES OF THE EAST ATLANTIC COAST. an experience of more thon fifty years as an angler, reaching from. Canada to Florida and from Massachusetts to Colorado, the writer has found no region where fish were so abundant as on this coast. This abundance has existed f I'om the earliest period in which Florida was known to Europeans. Jean Ribault entered the St. Johns River on the first of May, 1562, and on that account called it " The River of May." He writes: ^' We found it as we went, to still increase in depth and largenesse, boyling and roaring through the multitudes of all kinds of fish." Again : " It is a country full of havens, rivers and islands, of such f ruitfulness as cannot by tongue be expressed, and so many sortes of fishes that ye may take them without net or angle so many as ye will ; also great abundance of pearls, which they take out of oysters, whereof is taken along the river side and on the marshes, in so mar- velous abundance as is scant credible." The fish and oysters remain to this day, but the pearls are not abundant. Among the natural productions of Florida, Ribault mentions the orange; this is worth recording", as most modern writers assert that this tree was introduced by the Spaniards. It was probably the wild orange that these voyagers found, as vast groves of the bitter and sour va- rieties formerly covered thousands of acres of the peninsula, much of which have been removed. It was appropriate that in this fa- vored land the sour orange should be placed near the fish ai;d oysters, for which its juice affords the proper sauce. Captain Bernard Romans, an engineer officer, who was employed 1by the British Government during their occupation of Florida, 1765-80, in surveying this coast, in his "Concise Natural History of Florida," New York, 1775, thus writes of the fisheries : " The whole of the west coast of East Florida is covered with fishermen's huts and flakes , these are built by the Spanish tisner- men from Havana, who come annually to this coast to the number of thirty sail, and one or two visit Rio d'Ais, or Indian River, and other places on the east coast. The principal fish here, of which the Spaniards make up their cargoes, is the red drum, called in East Florida a basa They also salt a quantity of fish which they call FISHES OF THE EAST ATLANTIC COAST. 103 pompanos, for which they get a price three times as high as for other fish. A few soles, sea trout, and the roe of mullet and black drum make up the remainder of their cargoes. These roes are dried and smoked, and used instead of caviare by the Spaniards, who are very fond of them." It may be added that these mullet roes are still prepared for sale on the east coast, being much used by the Spaniards and Minorcans of St. Augustine. My host at Halifax Inlet, B. C. Pacetti, prepares many of them every summer, and I have found them to be a savory- relish for my lunch when out fishing. Captain Romans says of the Indiaji River : " It abounds so niucu in fish, that a person may sit on the bank and stick them with a knife or sharp stick, as they swim by. i have frequently shot from four to twelve mullets at one shot ; nay, our boys used to go alongside the vessel in the boat and kill the catfish with a hatchet. In St. Augustine the fishermen used to allow people who brought a real (12| cents) to take as many fish as they pleased out of the boats." Romans has the peculiarity of using the small letter i, to express the personal pronoun. We give the following list of the fishes of the Florida coasts : " Kingfish, barracouta, tarpom,bonito, cavallos, pompanos, silverfish, jewfish, rockfish, groupers, porgys, red, gray and black snappers, grunts, mangrove snappers, hogtish, angelfish, morgatefish, dog-snap- pers, yellowtails, muttonfish, mullets, murray, parrotfish, sproats, red and black'drum, bonefish, sharks, stingrays, and an immense variety of others, all excellent in their kinds, and we may with safety eat of of all fish caught on the Florida shore, unless it be hogfish taken on the outer reef, fori have heard of one of this kind having sickened some people; but i have always eaten that delicate fish with safety.!' .With the west, or gulf coast of Florida I am unacquainted ; but I have passed two or three months of twelve winters on the south-east coast, and have been out fishing in my boat nearly every day in company with one of the oldest and best fishermen of that region; Mr. B. C. Pacetti, some of whose knowledge I may have picked up^ In my first season I used a hand-line, like the natives, but soon aban- 104 FISHES OF THE EAST ATLANTIC COAST. tloned it for the rod and reel, -which if it does not take more fish, certainly affords more sport. Having no market near Mosquito Inlet, where I lived, we never cared to take more fish than could be used in one family. If we did, they were fed to the dogs, pigs or poultry, all of which live princi- pally on sea food. So to use sheepshead, a fish which brings from twentj-five to fifty cents per pound in New York, seemed at first wasteful; but at the Inlet they are so abundant m their season that from fifty to one hundred might be killed in a day by a single line, if the fisherman seriously sets himself at work and was fishing " for count." ■ Fish of^most kinds being most abundant near the shore where the bottom is covered with snags and roots of the mangrove, the hooks often get fast and are lost. In many places the bottom is paved with oyster shells, which cut off a fine line. Therefore silkworm gut is not suited for this fishing, nor is it necessary for these bold biting fish. Sharks cut off many lines, and rays break them, so that a line of 100 yards long is generally used up in one season. We lose five or six hooks daily, on an average, and some sinkerp. ii'or red bass, salt water troat, groupers, snappers, and cavalli, I lase New York bass books, Nos. 1 and 2. For sheepshead, the Vir- ginia pattern, Nob. 6 and 1 answers best, being made of thick wire which resists the powerful jaws of that fish — the same hook for the «lrum. For small fish, such as b"ia.fillffi«>Ti. whiting, pigfish, etc., I Bse the Virginia hook Nob 6 and 7, which are strong enough to hold a good sized bass. As the numbers and si2.es of hooks vary, I remark that these figures are taken from the cataJogue of a fishing tackle house in New York, A Cuttyhunk linen "line, "Jf)-thTe£,cl, 300 feet long, will hold and kill most of the fish encounterecl on this coast. Of course a 500 pound jewfish, a tarpum sis feet Jong, 01 a ray eix feet across, wil get away with the tackle. ReeJ, a maJtip'Jyer, of brase or German silver, to bold 100 yards, provided with a drag to increase resistance. Thumb stalls ^ ; depth 2>^ ; Lat. i (scutes) about 30. D. VIII-i, 20 ; A. II-I, I7- ^^P® Cod to West Indies ; common southward. Ma^^geovk Ssxvi^ER—Ltifjanus awron<&e«s.— Professor J(.i dan's de.'^cription is like our South Florida fish, except as to canine t-eth. FISHES OF THE EAST ATLANTIC COAST. 131 1 find the name " mangrove snapper" in Capt. Roman's list, and it is a significant one, as this species lives in holes among the roots of that tree. Jordan places it in the same genus with L. blackfordii, the red snapper, which is an ocean fish of different habits. Like the grouper, the mangrove snapper is stationary, seldom ven- turing far from its retreat, in which it takes refuge when alarmed. It is one of the most shy and cunning fishes of this coast, and long casts from the lioat are necessary to beguile it. No doubt tine tackle would be more successful than the coarse hand lines commonly used, but the snapper has very sharp teeth, and silk worm gut would stand no chance. It makes for its hole with a rush as soon as it feels the hook, after the manner of the grouper, and is a more active fighter than that fish, though, perhaps, not stronger. Cut mullet is generally used for bait. Cast as far from the boat as possible, into the a deep channel near the snags; let the bait rest gently on the bottom for five or ten minutes, and as soon as the bite is felt get ihe snapper away from the bank — otherwise fish and hook are gone. In form the mangrove snapper resembles the small-mouthed black bass. Color, a reddish brown, with golden reflections. Hard spines in dorsal fin. Head, small, with wide mouth furnished with sharp teeth. Canines very large, with which it snaps savagely when cap- tured. Eye very large and bright, with golden colored iris. Scales large. The large eyes seem to indicate nocturnal habits, confirmed by the fact that the snapper feeds more freely at night, and on dark days. The fishermen say that when placed in a car alive with other fish, the snapper will mangle and devour them. It is not soli- tary, but is often found in considerable numbers together in deep holes, and is thus captured with the cast net. " Size in Halifax River, from half a pound to five pounds. In the Indian River I have taken them of seven to eight pounds in weight, and it makes a vigorous resistance when hooked, showing good sport if kept away from its hole. Is of excellent quality on the table and keeps well. JORD N AND gilbert's DESCRIPTION. W L. au}orubens—{CviV.—VaX).—MaiT\gro\e Snapper. Vermillion-red above, rosy below ; sides with cblorjg irreeular yellow spots ; dorsal and pectoral tins reel ; 132 FISHKS OF THE EVST ATLANTIC COAST. -ventral and anal lighter. Body, oblong — elliptical, moderately compressed, not «levated. Mouth, moderate, without distinct canines ; tongue with a large oval patch of teeth, besides which are five or six smaller patches ; nostrils round, near together. Preopcrcle finely serrate, its notch obsolete. ^Gill-rakers very long and slender. Dorsal spines rather slender; 2d. anal spine a little longer than 3d.; ■caudal fin lunate, its lobes not attenuate. Head 3>^ ; depth 3. D. XII , 11 ; A. Ill, 8; Lat I. 54. L. 1.54. West Indies, North to S. Carolina and Florida. Crab-Eater, or Sergeant Fish. — Elacate canada. — (Linn. — "Gill.) — The trivial name " sergeant fish," comes from, the dark stripe on the side, resembling that on the trowsers of a non-commissioned officer. In shape the crab-eater resembles the pike of fresh water, ^ox — being long and cylindrical, with a similar formation of head iind jaws. Its habits also are similar to those of the pike, lying under weeds and banks, waiting to seize upon smaller fishes. I have not met with it in the Halifax River, but have found it abundant at the Indian River Inlet, where it averages three feet in length, weighing live or six pounds. Takes mullet bait eagerly. In game qualities and value of flesh it is perhaps equal to the pike — not very high praise. JORDAN AND GILBERT'S DEECRIPTION. E. canadensis— {I inn. — Gill ) — Crab-eater, Cobia. Olive brown ; sides with adis- tinct broad band of darker, and a less distinct band above and below it ; below, silvery. Head much depressed ; mouth moderate, the short maxillary reaching front of orbit. Pectorals broad and falcate ; caudal deeply emarginate, the upper lobe the longer. Lateral line wavy and irregular, d«'scending posteriorly. Head 4+ in length ; depth 5 2-3, D. VIII-i, 26 ; A. II, 25. L. 5 feet. In ail warm seas, occasional on our Atlantic coast in summer. CHAPTER VII. The LAPVFihH, oh Bone Fis i. —The Jewfish. — The Takpum, cR Tampon. Lapyfish — Skip Jack — Bone Fish — Albula conorhynchx (Block Schneider.) — My description is as follows of freshly caught specimens : Length, one to three feet. Body, slender andcylindical. Head, 1-5 the whole length ; eyes very large, iris yellow ; mouth large ; teeth tmall; labials long and large, with fine teeth on edges. Scales small. Fins all soft rayed ; dorsal high in middle of the back, 18 ; pectoral 16 ; anal 10 ; tail deeply forked. Color of back, dnrkblue; sides and belly silvery ; head greeni.sh. i'tie ladyfish, though not valuable for food, it being a mass of bones and fat, like a menhaden, is so active and vigorous on the line that it affords more sport than any other species on the coast. * No- sooner is it hooked than it begins to throw itself from the water in successive and lofty leaps, then darting round and round the boat,, under it and over it till exhausted, or till it escapes by casting out the hook, or cutting the line with its sharp labials. The mouth being tender, the hook does not take a firm hold, and one-half the number hooked usually escape. I know of no species which equab it in activity ; even the grilse, or young salmon, makes fewer leaps,^ and is less rapid in its play. Like the cavalli, it feeds both at the bottom and on the surface, and could probably be taken with the fly or spoon. It appears in the Halifax River in April in schools in chase of the mullet and other small fry. ]LM jl^'iSjH.^S OF THE EAST ATI.ANTIC COAST. J EWFiBHrr- J^roinocrojjs guasu — Gill — This is a giant perch, resembling ip outline a much magnified tautog or blackfish. It grows to the vAveight of five or six hundred pounds, and of course >it is onl}' the ^mailer specimens that can be taken with rod and jreel. I was, once present at the capture of a young jewfish, weigh- ting about twenty pounds, and it gave a fight of half an hour's du- , ration. When, brought to table it proved to be a rich and well ilavored fish. It is a fish of great strength, and the large ones will break hooks ;ind lines which are '-large enough to capture good sized sharks; this I have. myself seen iji the. case of a shark hook one third of an inch m diameter. I jiave niyself hooked a large jewfish, how large 1 never knew-^-ail d saw was the sweep of a huge tail a foot broad, and away went mj tackle. The jewfish .has the h^bit of floating along on the surface with he tide, apparentl)^ asleep, and it is then sometimes shot. One wa killed in this way in Spruce Creek, a tributary of the Halifax River, a few years ago, by Mr. B. C. Pacetti, a fisherman of those regions who supposed it to weigh 600 pounds, and he was familiar with this lish, having captured, many of them. He once fastened to a large jewfish which he found floating near St. Augustine, and it towed his boat off seawards till he Avas joined by several other fishing boats, and among them they managed to capture it; when they ecot it to town thei-e were no scales in St. Augustine that could weigh it whole, so they cut it up, and it weighed over 500 pounds. Even a specimen of that size is said to be good eating, so that this species must furnish perhaps the largest of edible fishes. A plaster cast of a jewfish weighing probably forty or fifty pounds, was shown in the fisheries department of the Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia. How far north this species occurs I am unable to say, but it ap- pears to be a stationary species, found on both coasts of Florida, and abounding in tropical seas. Found in deep holes and channels in the salt water sounds and inlets. Takes mullet bait. Jordan and Gilbert's synopsis describes only this one species of Promocrops, as follows: Yellowish olivaceous, with numerous FISHES OF THE EAST ATLANTIC COAST. 137 ■brown spots. Body more compressed above than below. Mouth large, maxillary reaching beyond the orbit; preopercle feebly ser-: rated; opercle with three flat points; fins all very low, caudal round-' ed. Head 3 1-6; depth 4. D. XL, 16; A. Ill, 8. West Indies, north to Florida; reaches a weight of 400 or 500 pounds. Takpttm — Tarpom. — Megalops thrissoides. — (Gunther.) — Captain Romans includes this species in his list of the fishes of East Florida, and spells the name with the o. Imagine a herring-shaped fish, fivo or six feet long, with brilliant silvery scales, the size of a half dollar, in schools of a dozen or twenty, leaping from the blue surface of a summer sea. This is all that the angler usually sees of the tarpum. Sometimes one of these glittering rushing monsters takes the hook. What follows ? The line runs out with great speed till it has all left the reel, where it parts at its weakest point, and the fish goes off leaping, seaward. When hooked on a hand line similar results fol- low. No man is strong enough to hold a large tarpum, unless he is provided with a drag, or buoy, in the shape of an empty keg attached to the line, which may retard or even stop the fish, after awhile. Aided by a buoy the tarpum is sometimes taken with a harpoon, or grains. I have heard of one instance of this fish being killed on a hand line. As usual, the line was snatched from the hands of the fisher- man in the. first rush, and the tarpum went leaping down the river, but the heavy leaden sinker struck it on the head and stunned it, so that it was picked up by means of a boat. This happened in the Halifax River. One was killed a few years ago in the Indian River, as I am credibly informed, with rod and reel by an angler from Philadelphia, after a contest of some hours. The fish was over six feet long and weighed more than 100 pounds — certainly one of the greatest angling feats on record. It is a fish as much more power- ful and difficult to handle on a rod than the salmon, as the salmon is more powerful than the black bass. This may perhaps be thought a rash assertion, but it is gathered from my own experience. Twice I have hooked a tarpum, and twice I lost my tarkle, without cbeck- [101 138 fJ.SHKS OF TUE EAST ATLANTIC UUAST. ing the fisla in the slightest degree — and I have killed a twenty-f our pound salmon, fresh run from the sea. ) Those anglers who have exhausted the pleasures of salmon fishing and sigh for new worlds to conquer, may betake themselves with their heaviest rods and two hundred yards of line to the Florida coast in spring ; there, at the mouth of the St, John, or at Halifax or Indian River Inlet they will find foemen worthy of their steel. Should they succeed in killing a tarpnm, let it be stuffed and hung up as the choicest trophy in their museum. The brilliant scales of the tarpum are used in Florida for the man- lufacture of ornamental jewelry. The fish itself is said to be good eating. ^ Of the genus Megalops Messrs. Jordan and Gilbert write : " The species are of very large size, the largest of the Clupeoid fishes, found in all warm seas. The name comes from a Greek word, meaning " large-eyed," I DESCRIPTION, M, thtissoides — (Block and Schneider — Cunther. ) — Tarpum. --Uniform brilliant sil- very; back darker. Body elongate, compressed, little elevated. Head 4 in length, ■depth 3 4-5, D. 12; A. 20; Lat i, 42 ; B. 23. Dorsal filament longer than ihead. Atlantic ocean, entering fresh water; common on our Southern coasts, CHAPTEK VIII. The Deum. — The Hogfish, or Pigfish. — The Sailor's Choice. Deum. — Pogonicts chromis — (Linn). — Fishermen believe that there are two speci e.s of drum on the Florida coast, one large and light colored, weighing up to seventy-five or eighty pounds, the other dark colored and smaller, weighing from three pounds to ten, the larger being much the better fish. Professors Jordan^' and Gilbert only describe one species, so that the smaller is proba- bly the young fish. We find these latter associating with the sheepshead, which they much resemble in appearance and habits, feed on the same mollusks, and are taken with the same bait. The large ones, say from twenty to forty pounds weight, appear in April or May in large schools in the bays and rivers, announcing their presence by the peculiar grunting or drumming noise which they make under the water, which can be heard a long distance, though it is difficult to locate the sound. These big drum are taken vrith strong hand lines, usually at night, with a whole crab upon the hook. Of course a fish of forty pounds can make a strong resistance. It is a dead pull between fisherman and fish. In St. Augustine the large drum is considered a good fish, and sells well. Where fish are more abundant and various, as at Halifax or Indian River Inlets, DO one eats drum. To my taste, the flesh is rather coarse, but of good flavor. The smaller ones, which are often taken while rod fishing, make a strong fight, similar to a sheepshead, surging to the^ 142 FISHES or THE EAST ATLANflC COAST. "bottom, and throwing their weight on the rod and line, one of which 18 liable, in the hands of an inexperienced angler, to be broken. JORDAN AND GILBERT'S DESCRIPTION, P chromis — (Linn)— Drum. — Grayish silvery, with four or five dark vertical bars, which disappear with age ; fins dusky ; body oblong, much compressed ; pro- file very steep, its curve uneaven ; ventral outline little curved Mouih moderate, maxillary scarcely reaching middle of orbit. Scales large, those on breast much smaller. Fins large, pectorals reaching beyond tips of ventrals, nearly to vent ; second anal and spinal more than half length of head. Head above scaly, except a triangular space on snout. Head 3 1-4 in length ; depth 2i. D. X, 20 ; A. II, 6; Lat. I. 50. Cape Cod to West Indies ; abundant southward HoG-FiSH — Pig-fish — perhaps JLachnokemus falcatus of Jordan and Gilbert's Synopsis. At any rate a fish of fine quality, rich and delicate. At Halifax Inlet it usually weighs about a pound, and in some seasons quite abundant, in others rare. It gives good sport on a rod, takes mullet bait and is found in deep channels. Color gray- ish ; profile steep, form compressed ; teeth projecting similar to those of the sheepshea^. Sailor's Choice — Pomadasys fulvomaculatus — (Mitchell). Are excellent pan fish, very abundant in the bays and sounds of Florida ; in size from two ounces to a pound. Resembles in form the scup of Northern waters. A very strong and active fish for its size, making fine play on a light rod. The Synopsis gives it a length of one foot, which is double the size of any that I have seen. Jordan's description. Light brown, silvery below, sides with numerous orange colored and yellow spots ; those above the lateral line in oblique lines, those below in horizontal rows ; vertical fins with similar spots ; head blueish with yellow spots ; angle of mouth and gill membranes with orange. Body oblong, compressed, not much elevated. Head long ; snout conic ; mouth low and small, the maxillary hardly reaching to the nostrils ; outer teeth slender and rather short ; eye high, 4^ in head, nearly midway in its length. Dorsal and anal entirely naked, with a sheath of scales at base ; anterior spines of ^dorsal higher than the posterior; spines, gradu- ated; pectoral moderate. Head ^A \ depth 3. D. XIL, 16 ; A. IIL, 12 ; Lat. I. 75. L. T foot. Atlantic coast from New York southward— a food fish of some importance. CHAPTER IX. The Salt Water Catfish. — The Congeu Eel. — The Silver, ok White Mullet. — The Yellowtai, or Silver Perch. Salt Water Catfish — Gaff Topsail. — ^luriehthys niarlnus — (Mitchell). — This may be set down as a game fish, being strong, active, and enduring in fight. Its play is much like that^of the channel bass or redfish of the same waters, and it takes the same baits. In the spring it comes into the inlets and bays in great num- bers, and becomes rather a nuisance to the angler, being an unpleas- ant fish to handle on account of its slimy covering, which besmears the hands and the tackle, and its long barbed pectoral spines inflict painful wounds on the incautious angler. It is a handsomely formed fish, with a forked tail, long dorsal fin, and barbels depending from the mouth. Color steel blue above, below silvery ; from three to ten pounds in weight. _ Flesh white and firm, and well-flavored, as I have found from experiment, though it is not often eaten. The eggs of this species are golden yellow, and of the size of grapes, which they much resemble, in bunches of ten or twelve. The fish- ermen say that this catfish carries its young, when hatched, in its mouth. Conger Eel — Muroena ocellata — (Agassiz). — I have never seen the common eel on the Florida coast, but the conger is found in cer- tain localities. If one goes near nightfall or on a dark lowery day to a certain deep channel about a mile from the mouth of the Halifax River, he may capture one or more of these ferocious fishes. At the breaking out of the Secession war there was at this place 146 nSHES OF THE EAST ATLANTIC COAST. a quantJty of live oak timber belonging to the United States government. Some of this was burned by the Confederates, and the rest of it thrown into the river, where it still lies on the bottom, affording hiding places for grouj^ers and conger eels. The angler who has with difficulty played one of these congers, weighing from four to ten pounds, and got him alongside the boat, will find that he has caught a Tartar. The conger has an immense mouth, filled with long and sharp teeth, and if you turn him loose in the boat he comes at you open-mouthed, like a mad dog. I know that the first one I caught would have driven Pacetti and myself overboard if he had not luckily disabled it with an oar. After that, P. always held the conger outside the boat with a gaff hook, while he cut off its head with a big knife. We got five of them that day, weighing from four to eight pounds, and when we took them home, although the meat looked white and delicate, the good woman of the house declined to cook them, saying that she " had no use fur snakes." In early times in England, the conger was considered a delicacy, and history tells us that one of the English Kings died of a surfeit of this fish. MuLLLET — Mugil Uneatus — (Cuv. and Val.) — Silver or white mul' let-'-J/ brasiliensis — (Ag.) — Although the mullet is not a game fish, yet being indispensable to the angler as bait, it should find a place among the game fishes. All along the Southern coast, in the inlets, bays and rivers, the mullet is found in immense numbers, and being mostly in shallow water, is easily captured with the cast net, an implement so useful to the coast people that they could scarcely live without it. Its use re- quires some strength of arm and considerable skill and practice ; with it a man can almost always procure a mess of fish — not always, for in a cold norther all fish will betake themselves to deep water, where the cast net is useless. In winter the mullet is small and ill-flavored for human food, though it is always good for fish bait ; but in summer and fall it is large, fat, and so well flavored as to be the favorite food fish of the natives. At this season it is salted and packed for winter use for FISHES or THE EAST ATLANTIC COAST. 149 the people of the interior, taking salt well, and being as a pickled fish next in value to the mackerel, though at some distance behind. The roe of the mullet being salted, dried and smoked, is a rich and palatable food. The mullet has a gizzard-like organ for grinding up the small Crustacea and mollusks which it takes into its stomach with the mud, which seems to be its principal food. Itself is the food of all carniverous fishes and birds, as well as of mankind, so that but for being a very prolific species, it would be in danger of exter- mination. Size, from half a pound to six pounds. If, as it has been aflSrmed, the mullet will sometimes rise to a fly, it might give good sport, being a strong and active fish, capable of leaping out of the water like a trout. In engaging boatmen and guides for Florida waters, it is impor- tant to select those who can use a cast net. I knew a party of anglers from Canada who came to camp out in southern Florida one winter, who, neglecting this qualification, found their trip a failure — they could get no bait. JORDAN AND GILBERT'S DESCRIPTION. Miigil albula — Striped mullet. — Body rather elongate, little compressed, sub- terete; snout not broad, moderately depressed ; mouth moderate, lips thin, the max- illary iiot covered by the preorbital ; angle made by the dentary bones obtuse, or nearly at a right angle. Scales comparatively small, a few on the dorsal and anal fins. Pectoral fins placed little above the axis of the body. Coloration dark blue- ish above, sides silvery, with conspicuous darker lateral stripes ; a dusky blotch at base of pectorals. Head 4 1-3 ; depth 4; D. IV-i, 8 ; A. Ill, S ; scaler 42 — 13. Atlantic coast of the United States ; very abundant southward, where it is much' valued as a food fish. Yellow-tail — Silver Perch — Scicena punctatri, — (Linn.) — This is a pretty little fish, quite abundant in some parts of the Florida coast, which affords good sport on a light rod^ and is a well-flavored pan-fish. In Halifax River it seldom weighs half a pound. Color greenish above, below silvery ; tail yellowish. Besides the above described species, which belong to Soijthern waters, we find on the Florida coast in winter some species which 150 JFISHES OF THE EAST ATLANTIC COAST. go North in sumTaer, such as the sheepshead, bluefish, kingfi8h7 or whiting, blackfish, and Lafayette, or spot^^all abundant, but of small uize. Sheepshead, from half a pound to six pounds, can be taken in numbers which would astonish a New York angler — say from twenty to fifty in a tide, and they afford good sport on a rod with clams or crabs for bait. Bluefish from two ounces to two pounds in weight are sometimes abundant, the same ferocious, snapping, greedy fish which on the Northern coast affords so much sport to the fisherman, and which chops up such multitudes of small fish. Blackfish seldom go over a pound, but are abundant, and " excellent meat," as father Walton says. Whiting run from three ounces to a pound, and af- ford fine sport with light tackle, being a very strong and active fish. The Lafayette, or spot, is abundant but small — average four ounces. All this seems to show that these species are hatched in Southern waters ; and go North in summer to feed and grow. *In addition to these valuable food and game fishes, we encounter others which might be called the obstructive, or dangerous species — • those which destroy our tackle and give us trouble and annoyance. Such are the sharks, the rays, the sawfishes and the congers. • CHAPTER X. The Shakes.— The Sawfish. Sharks.— Several species are found on the Florida eoast ; the common brown, or dusky shark, the shovel-nose, the hammer-head, the sand shark, the nurse shark. In warm weather most of these are abundant, ferocious and troublesome. They cannot bear cold weather, audit sometimes happens in the spring, when a warm spell has brought the sharks from the Gulf Stream to the coast that a sud- den fall in the temperature destroys many of these delicate mon- sters. The common brown shark grows to the length of eight or nine feet, and destroys great quantities of fish. When abundant, they, like the wolves, take courage from their numbers, and become bold' and aggressive, although usually they are cowardly for creatures of their size and strength. At such times they will take large bass and other fish away from the angler as he plays them. They are sure to take the bait if they see it, and when hooked the shark takes a turn near the surface, and usually cuts off the hook, unless it is fixed where the teeth cannot touch it. In that case a shark of good 6iza*can be played and killed on a rod. I have killed several of five feet long, and they did not make so long a fight as a red bass of half that size. I once killed a shark five feet long weighing perhaps fifty pounds, in half an hour ; when gaffed it was found to be hooked on the outside, near the pectoral fin ; so that the fish could exert all its strength. When catching red bass on the sand shoals near the Inlet I have known the sharks to collect about the boat m «uch au 154 FISHES OF THE EAST ATLANTIC COAST. numbers, and become so bold, thac we thought it prudent to charioje our ground. When a captured shark is brought alongside I'lo boat be will sometimes show fight, and bite a piece out of the planks of the boatV side. He is easily killed by a blow on the head with a club, or with a pistol ball in the same place. I have occasionally gone out shark-fishing with strangers who have a curiosity to see that sport. We go towards night to some sand-bank on the channel, and near the Inlet, drive a stout stake into the sand, to which we at- tach the end of a half -inch rope 100 feet long, armed with a big ' book and four or five feet of chain. This hook baited with a three pound fish is taken with a boat and dropped in the channel ; the line is coiled up on the shore, and we wait for^results. When a shark finds the bait, which may be in ten minutes, or an hour, the line slowly moves off ; when time is given for swallowing the bait, (there is no nibbling in this kind of fishing) we give a strong pull to fasten the hook, and all hands lay hold of the line to bring the captive to the shores The sport is lively for a few minutes, as a shark of eight feet long will drag three or four men to the water's edge, when we have to give him line. Ten minutes of this work will tire the shark, which is dragged ashore and knocked in the head with an axe — but beware of the sweep of his tail, and trust not yourself near his head ; either end of him is dangerous. ,The first time I went shark fishing, we caught seven, from six to eight feet long, in an hour's time. A man who was planting in that neighborhood came with a large boat and took them away for his compost heap. The livers contain from one to three gallons of oil, excellent for leather dressing., |f3. C, Pacetti during the war made a business of catching sharks for their oil, which he sold to the tan- ners at one dollar per gallon. He had a windlass at the land- ing near his house, with which big reel he could handle a shark alone, or if too large, his wife could help him land the monster. He used to set his line at night, and usually found a shark on it in the morning, unless, as sometimes happened, a bigger shark would eat him up, all but the head. He once found in the stomach of a large shark, half of an alligator five or six feet long when living — the FISHES OF THE EAST ATLANTIC COAST. 155 shark's teeth had cut him in two, spite of his scale armor. What chance would a man have in those terrible jaws ? Fortunately, the sharks on this coast feed so freely on fish that they do not care to attack mankind. I have heard of no well- authenticated instance of human beings eaten by them. The bodies of some drowned persons have disappeared, which may have been devoured by sharks, but there is no evidence uf it. Mr. Pacetti, who has been among them all his life, and has caught hundreds of them with nets and hooks, tells me that he was never attacked but once by a shark. He was fishing on the beach with a net in the night, and wading in the surf a shark seized him by the leg. Having thick canvass trousers on, he escaped unwounded, and he thought the shark hardly knew what it was he attacked. Ne'v'er having seen, what is commonly afiirmed, that the shark must turn on hia bade to seize his prey, I asked Pacetti what his experience was in the mat.ter. His reply was, " A shark lays hold like any other fioh, and he would have to go hungry if he had to turn over to bite, — most any fish would get away from him." Another question is, how large do they grow? I have seen in the Indian Ocean, a leopard shark fully twenty-five feet long and as wide as the ship's long boat. It kept about the ship on a calm day with smooth water, for some hours, but would not touch a bait, which was fortunate, for no tackle that we had on board would have held such a fish. The mate struck at it with a harpoon, which bounded off from the tough and elastic hide, and the shark left us. It was covered with light colored spots on a darker ground — a terrible look- ia^ creature, which could have swallowed an ox. The Shovel-nose Shark is a much more active species ; when liooked, it never stops to be played, but goes off like a locomotive, taking the tackle with it. The PIammmer-head, or Ground Shark, is a strange looking creature, with the headset at right angles with the body; the eyes at the extreme points of the head, and the mouth underneath like other sharks. This species rarely appear on the surface of the water; it is said to be one of the most ferocious and dangerous of the shark 15l) USHES Ol-' THE EAST ATLANTIC COAST. family. I have killed small ones of three feet long, on a rod. The Nurse SuAmi—Scylliioyi eirratum—{Gnv.)— This is a slugtrish species of shark, reddish brown in color, eyes small, barbs depending from the mouth, teeth very small, ,but strong. I have seen notches bitten out of a knife by this tish, in cutting out a hook; lives on tlae bottom, and when it takes a hook gives no play at all, but hangs like a dead weight. From five to ten feet long, according to Pro- fessor Jordan, and inhabits warm latitudes. Sawfish. — Prisfis antiquorum — (Latham.^i — ' Belongs to the Se- lachians, or shark family, and resembles a shark in form and arrange- ment of fins, with a long bony protuberance extending from the uppe.i jaw. This is about one-quarter to one third the length of the fish; has at short intervals sharp spines projecting from eacli side, like the teeth of a comb, making a fearful weapon, with which the saw-fish strikes and kills its prey, consisting of mullet and other fish. The mouth is large and toothless, and is situated, like the shark's, beneath the snout ; into this the fish which are killed by the saw are received. It is sluggish, lying usually on the bottom, waiting for its prey, and when disturbed by a passing boat will, if of large size, strike powerful and dangerous blows with the saw, which has a lateral motion. Between the saw-fish and the shark are frequent battles, and iis the latter is very fond of its cousin, the saw is often found on the beach, the wearer having been devoured. This species grows to the length of fifteen feet, and are then formidable to encounter. The liver contains much oil, for which the saw-fish is sometimes har- pooned ** I have taken the smaller specimens of three or four feet long with rod and reel ; they take the bait quietly, so that you thnik your hook is fast to the bottom ; after long pulling, up comes first a savage looking saw, striking right and left. To disable this fish strike it a heavy blow with a club at the junction of the saw with the head; by this it is paralyzed and can be handled with impunity. The islanders of the Pacific ocean mount this saw upon a handle and use it for a sword. CHAPTER Xr. The Rays. To the class of Selachians the rays also belong, and mfany species of them are found on the Florida coast, from the enormous devil- fish, which reaches a width of eighteen or twenty feet, to the little skate, or old mnid, one foot in lenqrth. ^ That which we principally meet with, the stingray, although not properly a game fish, yet as it often affords the angler considerable sport, although involuntarily, we must include it in our list, and under the name of stingray, stingaree, or clam-cracker — Dasyatis centrurus — (Mitchell.) It is thus described : " Disk a little broader than long, its anterior angle obtuse. Tail relatively stout, about one-third longer than the disk. Width of mouth about half its dis- tance from the tip of the snout. Caudal spine one and a-half times width of mouth. Spiraclrs very large. Color uniform brownish. Length eight feet." — Jordan and Gilberts Synopsis. To this I should add that the stingray has a pavement of enam- bled teeth, with which it can crush clams or oysters, and a bone five or six inches long attached to the tail, one-third the distance from its extremity ; this bone is barbed like a fish-hook along its sides, and can be erected or depressed by the fish. When the ray strikes its enemy it draws the long whip-like tail across the object, the bone tears through the flesh making a fearful wound, the danger of which seems to be aggravated by the poisonous nature of a black filimy matter which covers the bone ; however this may be, the Tvound is exeremely painful, and v«,ry dangerous, often producing 158 nSHES OF THE EAST ATLANTIC COAST. lockjaw. The fishermen dread the stingray, and with reason, : s it is often /"ound lying oh the flats and sani bars, where the net is cast. My friend Pacetti has been several times struck by the rays, an<3- onco he came near losing his leg from the woimd. In fishing for bass and sheepshead the angler will sometimes find his hook apparently fast to the bottom, and on pulling on it, the line will move slowly away with irresistible force — this for thirty or forty yards, when it will stop for ten or fifteen minutes and then move on again, in the same slow, resistless "way, as if a yoke of oxen were hitched. If the angler wishes to kill the fish he must raise his an- chor and follow wherever the ray may lead him. In this way, if the ray is of modei'ate size, say fifty or sixty pounds, he may in an hour's time bring his fish to the gaff. But this must not be attempted rashly, for as soon as the ray is touched with the gaff, it strikes an accurate blow with its long whip towards the gaffer. The staff, or handle should be four or five feet long, and the arm that holds it strong, otherwise it will be wrenched from its grasp. If the boat- man understands his business he will [insert the gaff near the head of the ray and quickly turn the fish upon its back alongside the boat,, then with a heavy and sharp knife stab the ray several times in the throat. If properly done, the blood will gush forth as if with the strokes of a pump and quickly exhaust the powers of the fish. When dead, if the sting is wanted for a trophy, tow the carcass to the shore and cut off the tail, which much resembles one of those long black leather covered waggon whips, used in the South. Set the carcass adrift on the tide, and if there has not been a shark seen tnat day, in five minutes two or three of those ugly brutes will be tugging and tearing at the carcass of their cousin, the ray. The^-e is no better bait for a shark than a chunk from a ray's fin; and indeed the flesh is white and delicate in appearance, and is considered a delicac:f by many nations less fastidious than Americans. The principal food of the ray is shell-fish, and I have often seen it when dying vomit forth a pint or more of small mollusks. I once hooked a ray up the river about half a mile froln home and undertook to drive it to the landing. It towed me about the river FISHES OF THE EAST ATLANTIC COAST. 159 for an hour, and I had got my team well in hand, when it sulked and stopi^ed on the bottom. The boatman would punch it with a pole and start it again. Finally it got the boat into deep water where the pule could noc reach it, and as we lay there anchored in the channel ;i schooner came up the river before the wind, and to avoid being lun down we had to cut loose from our fish. New-comers to Florida, and especially those fror^ the West, who hav? never seen anything larger than a catfish or pickerel, are at first much interested in the capture of sharks and rays, but after a while the sport loses its zest, and we are glad to cut loose from these unmanageable monsters, with as little loss of time and tackle as may be. The largest stingray I ever saw captured was taken by a young native fisherman of twelve years old, with a hand line. It was ten and ahalf feet long, and must have weighed 150 pounds. I have killed them of sixty or seventy pounds, on a rod. The whipray, or eagleray — Raia aquila — (Linn.) — Is about the same size as the stingray., but a much more active fish. When hooked it is impossible to check it at all- -away goes fish and tackle. It is often seen sporting on the surface and leaping from the water. Tail very long and slender. Food like that of other rays, principally mollusks. It also goes by the name of clara-cracker ; is much less abundant than the stingray. CHAPTER XII. TAR P UM— TARPON— SILVER KIN G. \^3fegalops thrissoides.'\ BY AL. FRESCO. For life I can't help scribbling once a week Tiring old readers, nor discovering new, In youth I wrote because my mind was full And now because I feel it growing dull. But " why then publish ? " — There are no rewards Of fame or profit when the world grows weary, I ask in turn, — why do we play at cards ? Why fish ? Why read ? — To make the hours less dreary. In journals devoted to sports of forest and stream, we frequently notice references to the lordly salmon, the noble striped bass, the plucky " bronze backers," and the sj^eckled beauties — but the tar- pon, " the Noblest Roman " ot" them all — the game fish j!>ar excell- ence oi American waters is seldom noticed. When the acrobatic performances, and the fighting qualities of this noble fish become known, a new revolution will present itself to those who can enjoy true piscatorial sport. In a recent communication published in one of your contemporaries, that accomplished writer " S. C. C." referred lo the fighting qualities of the tar2)on ; and in writing comparative- FISHES OF THE EAST ATLANTIC COAST. 161 ly of like qualities in the salmon, black bass, striped bass and brook trout, he rated the first at five and the four latter at one. This fish is common in Florida, its habitat extending from Texas to the Georgia line, and possibly further north. At the mouth of the St. Johns River it is known as the jew fish ; at some points as the silver fish. By Captain Romans, the orthography used was tarpum, and this has been adopted by "S. C. C ; " and I find it spelled tar- pum in the report of the United States Fish Commission for 1880. This fish is very common on the South West Coast of Florida where it is known as tarpon. It was deemed advisable to change the name of Salt Spring, a tributary of the Anclote River, and owing to the great number of this fish visiting it, it has been named Tarpon Spring. The authority for the use of the word tarpudi is as old as Captain Romans ; but, in my wanderings in this State, I found the fish called tarpon and not tarpum, and I use the former term, claim- ing that the most common name in use should be adopted. In its habits, the tarpon differs in different localities. In the St. Johns River they put in an appearance in June, and leave in October? for warmer waters and pastures new. It is probable that they follow the coast line to the southward in the autumn, and winter among the . Florida Keys. They can be found at all seasons in the streams of the .southeast and southwest portions of the State. A friend who spent the last two winters collecting in Estero Bay, informed me that they <.-ntered the bay on the flood and left it on the ebb tide. In many of the streams of Southwest Florida, they seem to be residents, and do not visit the lower and salty portions. A majority of these fish >ummering in the St. Johns River, enter the stream on the flood, and leave it on the ebb tide, probably spendiug a short time between the tides, about the bar or the shoals at the mouth of the river. Mile Point one mile above Mayport, Shell Bank below Mount Caroline and the Back Channel east of Dames Point Light, seem to be fa- vorite haunts of the tarpon, that do not leave the river on the ebb tide. On one occasion, I was anchored over-night near Mile Point, and an immense number of moss bunkers had collected in the eddy astern of my boat. It appeared to me that hundreds of tarpon had giither- 162 FISHES OF THE EAST ATLANTIC COAST. ed and resolved upon the destruction of the bunkers. At about 10 p. M., the tarpon commenced jumping and slashing, and the noise made by the fish prevented me from sleeping. Midnight arrived, and as " Nature's sweet restorer, balmy sleep " would not visit me, I baited my tarpon line, and permitted my bait to float with the tide to the point where the vaulters were feeding: I, like " patience seated on a monument," fished and waited ; but as I could not secure a bite, I retired to my blankets at 2.30 a. m., and if not a wiser, I was a madder man than at turning in time the previous evening. In many of the streams of the southwest coast there exist broad and shallow reaches of water, the bottom being covered with a denst^ growth of grass. The tarpon enter the grass, and approach the shore as closely as possible without exposing their backs, their object being aoparently to bask in the sunshine. If a boat should approach clo.se enough to disturb them, they rush for the deep water with lightning like rapidity. This peculiar trait, I have more especially noticed on the Hom-isassa River, and at Gordan's pass and Lagoon. This prac- tice of " laying up," I have not noticed on the St. John's River. In some of the streams of South Florida they seem to live in fresh water, as in the upper portions of the Homosassa, Calloosahatchee> Rogers, and Harneys Rivers. On the Calloosahatchee, above the islands, the water is scarcely brackish, and at this point, these fish exist in immense numbers. When I ascended this stream in 1875, at the point referred to, the fish were so plentiful tnat one or more could be seen breaking the water at all times. To the fisherman who has been accustomed to the depopulated streams of the north, this may seem a "fish story," but unles* they visit the streams of South Florida, they cannot form the faintest idea of the immense quantity of fish to be found in that section. In outline, the tarpon somewhat resembles a striped bass. It is covered with large ivory-like scales ; about one-third of the surface of each scale being ornamented with a coating resembling frosted silver. One of the smaller scales in the way of a piscatorial visiting card I enclose for the inspection of the editor. I enquired of many persons if this fish was edible, and could not obtain any information. Possessing ichthyophagous tendencies, in FISHES OF THE EAST ATLANTIC COAST. 163 July last I resolved upon determining this matter and cut some steaks from a specimen weighing 128 pounds. I had them fried, and upon testing them I arrived at the conclusion, that as an edible fish the tarpon rates next to the pompano. To rae it resembles a spring chicken in flavor. Several gentlemen tasted the fish and confirmed my opinion. Since that time the flesh of this fish has been sold ia this market at ten cents per pound. The flesh is very tender and of a light walnut tint. To many the color of the flesh would be aa objection. As a vaulter the tarpon is unequalled, and his aerial feats "must be seen to be appreciated." On one occasion ray friend G. and a com- panion, were rowing through Salt River (a tributary of the Homo- sassa) in a sixteen-foot Whitehall boat. A tarpon was sunning him- self in the grass, and being disturbed made for deep water. Find- ing the water shallow, and the boat in the way, he endeavored to clear it nt an angle. The head of the fish came in contact with the side of G's companion, which contact deflected him from his course^ and he passed under one of the boat seats. A pocket knife was used to " settle his hash," but it would not penetrate the ivory-like armor of the fish. Oars were used to dispatch the prisoner, but it was found that if he was interfered with the boat would suffer from* the vigorous blows of his head and tail. G. seated himself in the stern,, and his companion in the bow and for the nonce the fish was awarded the post of honor unmolested. When peace was declared, the gentlemen resumed their oars, but the one who deflected the silver king in his course, found that he could not ''paddle his own canoe," for several of his ribs were fractured. G. rowed the boat to Jones* Landing on the Homosassa, and the tarpon was weighed, tipping the scales at 153 pounds. Some qf your readers will probably pronounce this a "•fi'sh story," but if they could see a tarpon rush through the water, and form a just estimate of the momentum of a moving fish of this weight, they would not question the correctness of the above statement. Several years since, the side wheel river steamer Water Lily was- en route from Jacksonville to Mayport. The captain was seated on a chair in the centre of the forward deck, with his back to the for- 164 FISHES OF THE EAST ATLANTIC COAST. ward house. As the boat was passing St. Johns Bluff, a small frisky tarpon leaped from the water, cleared the guards, and landed in the captain's lap. The juvenile vaulter was secured, and weighed sixty-eight pounds, being the smallest specimen that has been cap- tured in this river to my knowledge. About a year since a party was sailing a boat in Clear Water Harbor, and a frolicsome tarpon amused himself by jumping over the boat, and in his course stuck above the boom, and in an instant the old sail was in tatters. Some years since a man was fishing for channel bass, in an ancient •dug out near the mouth of Trout Creek, a tributary of the St. Johns River. A jovial tarpon vaulted in the air, landed in the canoe, and the bottom was knocked out of the machine. The fish escaped, the fisherman caught a ducking, and was rescued by parties anchored near by. When in a vaulting mood, I have hundreds of times seen large tarpon clear the water with their tails from one to four feet. On one occasion my friend P. was fishing at Mile Point and a large frisky tarpon jumped near his boat, rounded the sand bar and re- peated his aerial feats fifteen times. In Sept. '81 I was fishing at the. same point for these fish, using a large cork float, for tackle a gang of large Virginia hooks, and for bait two halves of a mullet. The finat disappeared, and instantly there appeared in the air, the largest tarpon I ever saw. He left the water at an angle, and, as improbable as it may appear to the uninterested, he landed at least twenty feet from where he left his native element. Whilst in the jiir he opened his capacious mouth, shook his head like a terrier shaking a rat, and ray gang of hooks went flying through the air. On many occasions I have had these fish seize my bait and run with lightning like rapidity for twenty or a hundred yards, then leap into the air, shake their heads and expel the bait. It has been my lot to capture many varieties of fish in various portions of the United States, and in difft^rent oceans of this world, but I never found anything to even approach the ligliluing-like dashes of the tarpon. On one occasion my fneua i>. wiio .i.-uing opposite the old Light House at Mayport for channel bass. Bites FISHES OF THE EAST ATLANTIC COAST. 165 were few and far between, and B. reclined backwards on the stem sheets of the boat holding the line between his finger and thumb. One of these fish seized his bait and started off, and before he could clear his finger from the line it was cut to the bone. Daring the summer it is common to meet amateur fishermen on our streets, ind they will exhibit their scarred fingers and laughingly reply *'I hooked him but he left." For vaulting exploits tarpon cannot be equalled by anything in- habiting ocean or river. Among the colored people in the neighbor- hood of Trout creek they have the reputation of throwing sinkers at the fishermen, and when one of these gentry is fishing for channel bass, and hooks a tarpon, he reclines on the boat seat, and permits the silver king to vault and rush unmolested. The lead-throwing notion is the result of the jumping proclivities of this fish. Several years since, a representative of the colored persuasion hooked a large one, and attempted to land him by "Scotch navigation." When the fish neared the boat, he went through one of his aerial performances, and his head was high above the boat. The darkey kept a taut line; the hook tore out; the traction of the fisherman caused the sinker to come in-board^ and the darkey's pate came in contact with a heavy piece of lead. From information obtained I have reason to believe that in the southern portions of the State these fish vault in the air, when they are in a frolicsome mood; but iu all my wanderings in that portion of the State I never witnessed the performance, but have frequently seen them break water like a bluefish. Ihe capture of a tarpon with a hook and line is a difficult under- taking. Every summer many are hooked, but few are landed. Dur- ing the past season in this section but five have been captured, the smallest weighing 125 and the largest 198 pounds, or an average of 147 pounds. We frequently read of the excitement attending the capture of a bronze backer or a speckled beauty, but those who give their experiences should hitch on to a tarpon, and they would dis- cover " music in the air " worth recording ; for the capture of a sil- ver king is a bright spot in a fisherman's existence, and a fact worth referring to at a camp-fire. The other day my friend Dr. Q. informed me that during one 166 FISHES OF THE EAST ATLANTIC COAST. forenoon in August last, at Mile Point, he had ten tarpon bites and iailed to land a fish. The inside of the mouth of this fish is like gutta-percha. The tongue resembles that of a calf, and with it they seem to eject the bait. The lower jaw points upwards, and on the upper are two moveable plates, armed with minute teeth. With these armed plates they seem to cut the line. The tarpon takes the bait near the surface or at the bottom. At times, after takmg the bait they will instantly appear in the air near the boat; and at others they will run with lightning-like rapidity for a long distance, and then indulge in their acrobatic performances. It seems that they hold the bait in their mouths, and when they jump and are in the air, shake their heads and eject the bait. It is a common thing for them to retain the bait until they jump, and to the astonishment of the fishermen when they reach the water the bait is clear and the fish is off at a tangent. Over two years since I prepared a tackle which I fancied would circumvent the silvery beauties. I attached three of Job Johnson's No. 2 drum hooks to a stout cotton snood. I lapped the hooks one above the other, so that the snood was not exposed. I then passed the three hooks through a half mullet, and was rewarded with a bite. I " yanked," and the performance commenced. My line was 600 feet in length, and after a half hour's vaulting and lightning- like rushes the fish succumoed, I requested the boatman to up anchor and row for shore. The fish quietly followed the boat, but before I reached the beach the snood was cut off with his scissor-like jaws. Upon examining my tackle I found that he had swallowed the bait, and the uni^rotected portion of the snood had been cut by the moveable maxillary plates of the fish. 'J'o give your readers some idea of the strength of the tarpon, I shall merely refer to two instances illustrative of their prowess. On one occasion I was fishing for channel bass, and McMillen, the boat- man, requested permission to put out my tarpon line. I baited the gang of hooks mounted on piano wire. On a board was wound 700 feet of line. I requested McMillen to unwind all the line and coil it on the bottom of the boat, and if he hooked a fish, to pass the line to me. Very soon I saw a tarpon vault in the air, and on reach- FISHES OF THE EASr AILANT^U COAST. 107 ing the water cut and slash in an unusual manner. I yelled to Mac to "give him more lino," and as my back was towards the boatman I could not understand why he did not obey instructions. I turned round and found that he had not unwrapped the line. He had braced his feet against a seat and had a death grip on the board on which the line was wrapped. The result was a heavy cable laid cot- ton line parted. Some years since several of my friends were casting in the surf at Pellican Island for channel bass. In the party was an ardent fish- erman, a boy of fourteen. To secure it, he had fastened, one end of his line around his waist. He baited his hook and threw it as far as practicable from the shore, and hooked a fish. lii>t.nitly the boy started for the coast of Africa, struggling and yelling. The gentle- men rushed into the surf, rescued the boy, and landed the p.ime moving power at the other end, which proved to be a tarpon weigh- ing eighty-three pounds. After testing various kinds of tackle, I have adopted a barbarous and possibly an unsportsmanlike rig for the capture of this noble fish. I take the heaviest piano wire obtainable, and make three joints, four inches long, and three, six inches in length. The joints of the links are made by heating the wire in the fire, bending each •end, allowing half an inch for soldering. Before soldering, I polish each piece of wire with emery paper, and tin it to prevent rusting. To the upper link I attach a strong brass swivel two and One-half inches in length. I wrap the ends of the wire below the loops with tine copper wire, and finish the job with common solder. I use hooks two inches from tip to shank. To each of the three lower links I solder two hooks at a right angle. When completed, the hooks are in two lines. For bait I cut a mullet in half from mouth to tail. I ])ass one hook through the eye, one amidships, and the other near the tail. Three hooks pass through the bait, with points exposed, and t he three others pass beyond the edge of the bait. In addition, I tSKe a packing needle and fine twine, and tie the links to the bait. By adopting this course I make an attractive and armored bait, with hooks partially concealed, and an almost invisible snood. Tackle rigged in this way possesses great strength, for the last time I^vas 1(38 FISHES OF THE EAST ATLANTIC COAST. lishing at Mayport I captured two sharks, one seven and the other nine feet in lenscth, on my tarpon rig. In August last, 1 was fishing near my friend P., and hooked a large tarpon, and after a long and exciting tussle the fish was dis- posed to yield. I requested P. to come on board and use the grains. He complied, and as I was cautiously bringing the silver beauty to the side of the boat the hooks tore out, and he settled to the bottom like a log. P. left me; I did not break a commandmtnt, but seated myself in the cockpit of the boat, held my peace, filled my pipe and indulged in, a smoke. P. returned to his boat, and soon after shouted that he had "made a discovery." I questioned him regarding it, but he told me "to wait and he would make a tackle to capture the artful dodgers." A few days later he visited me and exhibited "his new rig," which consisted of a dog chain two feet long. To the links of the chain he had fastened seven copper wire loops, and to each of the loops he soldered a hook. He proceeded to Mile Point, opened a large mullet from vent to gills, passed swivel end of chain out of mouth of bait, a^xd to it attached his line. The balance of the chain he stowed away in the belly of the fish, leaving the points of the hooks protruding frDm the incision, and to keep everything in situ he took a number of turns around the body of the fish with strong thread. The bait was appropriated by a tarpon, and during the head-shaking process the end of the chain escaped from its place cf confinement, twitched about the fish's head, and the lower hook entered on the outside below the gills. After a struggle P. beached a tarpon weighing 125 pounds. An examination established the fact that one of the upper hooks had taken a slight hold in one lip, and had held long enough for the "skirmishing hook" to enter. P. tried another experiment, that of attaching four piano wire snoods eighteen to twenty-four inches long, to a swivel, and to each snood was attached a large sized hook. He opened a mullet as above ; passed swivel through mouth of bait, and stowed the hooks in belly leaving points exposed, and secured the hooks by wrapping bait vdth thread. He was rewarded with a bite, and landed a tarpon six feet Fli^HES OF THE EAST ATLANTIC COAST. 169 eleven inches in length, weighing 198 pounds. It was found that one of the hooks had a slight hold in mouth, and that one of the " skirmishers " had switched round and entered the back of the fish below the head, and held him. Tarpon fishing is in its infancy, and we trust that some of your piscatorial experts will invent appropriate tackle, try tarpon fishing, and teach us greenhorns how to capture th'^'". Thov nffor n. fine field for '^xn^nrnpnt. Tarpon seem to confine themselves to a fish diet, and I have yet to hear of one noticing a crab bait. The bait universally used is a portion of, or a whole, mullet. On one occasion my friend, Dr, F , was fishing for large mouthed bass at the head of the Homosassa River, and as they would not rise to a fly, he used a minnow for bait. He soon ascertained that he had about six lineal feet of tar- pon at the other end. At first the fish paid no attention to the trac- tion of a light split bamboo trout rod, but he ultimately started off at lightning speed, the reel humming as it never did before, and ti,* Doctor was minus a leader. He rigged his line again, used a min- now as bait, made a cast, got a strike, and, to his astonishment and disgust, another tarpon had appropriated the bait, and in an instant he was minus his tackle. From that time to the present the Doctor has refrained from using minnows for bait where tarpon exist. Nearly two years since your valued correspondent, "M.," was trolling with a spinner near Sannibal Island for channel bass, and toward evening he found that he had hooked a larger fish than he bargained for. After a tussle the fish was landed, and it proved to be a tarpon weighing thirty-eight pounds. Last summer, I had a large and strong spoon bait made by Hill & Co., of Grand Rapids, Michigan. I only used it on two occasions but failed to secure a strike. Next summer I propose testing it again, for I feel assured that the silver king cannot resist such an attractive lure. ^The capture of the noble tarpon is worthy of the notice of experts, and if they wish an exciting experience, a new revelation, I would advise them to visit southeastern or southwestern portions of the State during the winter, or the lower St. Johns during August and September. If they should engage in tarpon fishing in this riverj whilst waiting for a bite they can indulge in the capture of channel 170 FISHES OF THE EAST ATLANTIC COAST. 1ki>.^ ueighiiig litiai lu eiily lu t>ixiy puUmls ; or if they fish at the Jetties they can kill time by landing sheepshead, cavalli, sea troutl and medium-sized bass. As yet, no one in this section except myself has attempted the cap- ture of a tarpon with a rt^^ and reel ; and thus far I have been so fortunate as not to ho'^k one with this description of tackle. Anothe summer, I will destroy several first-class heavy bass rods or capture one of the silvei Sgs with rod, reel, and Cuttyhunk line. Tarpon fishing will open a new field worthy of the notice of pis- catorial experts. At present, this sport is in its infancy, but it is probable that the time will arrive, when we shall succeed in captur- ing the silver beauties in greater number than in the past. What is required for the successful capture of these fish, is a double spring hook, eighteen inches in length, and so arranged that the hooks can be closed ; a half mullet securely attached, and when the bait is interfered with, a catch or ring shall be displaced and the hooks sep- arated to a distance of at least eighteen inches. With such a rig, these fish can be captured ; and the question arises who will inven^ and make a spring hook adapted to tne capture of the silver kings The southwest coast will soon be opened up by railroads and steam_ boats, and, as many fishermen will visit that section, tackle for tar. pon fishing will be required and it should be supplied. As a game fish, the silver kings have no equal ; in their lightning- like dashes for liberty, they excel anything wearing scales, and as vaulters they cannot be equalled. I write eulogistically of the tar- pon, for he and I have had more than one tussle. In an article in a recent number of a contemporary, a gentleman offered to pay for an excursion ticket to Florida, and three months hotel bill, to any 'one who would land a tarpon with a rod and reel. My impression is, that the gentleman inaking the offer " has been there," and had his " fing- ers burnt." In Orvis and Cheney's new book entitled " Fishing with a fly," Dr. Henshall informs us that " the capture of the salmon is an epic poem, and the taking of the trout an idyl," but we opine that if he found a seven-foot tarpon on the end of his line and succeeded in landing the vaulter, that he would describe the operation as a tragic fc poem. , CHAl 1] K XIII THE FlSlIIXa GROUNDS OF IXORID A— TACKLE AND LKRKS. By Dii. C. J. Kenwohthy. — At. Feisco. In Florida, as elsewhere, almost any hotel and boarding-house keeper who resides near a creek, river or lake refers in laudatory terms to the fishing. The majority of such statements should be re- ceived cum grano salts. As a rule, good fishing cannot be secured near large cities or where fishermen use seines and cast nets. Jacksonville is the objective and distributing point of the State, but fishing near by is poor, very poor. At the mouth of St. John's River 'twenty-five miles below Jacksonville, fair fishing can be se- cured. Ten days smce my friend. Col. H., spent a day at this point. He used an eight-ounce split bamboo and landed 210 sea trout, bass and sheepshead. He fished again on Monday and landed sixty. On Friday last Arno and his partner (professional fishermen) caught, with Japan cane rods, 130 strings of fish, and on Saturday 110 strings. A " string " of fish in this market consists of one or more fish weighing about four pounds. As yet no oae has tried fly fishing for sea trout and channel bass in the creeks emptying into the lower St. J ohn's River^ but we are of the opinion that they will seize the feathery lure as well as on the southwest coast. Fair accommodations can be obtained at Mayport and Pilot Town at two dollars per day or ten dollars per week. In some of the creeks tributary to the St. John's River, between Jack- sonville and Sandford, bream, large-mouthed bass and pickerel can be caught in great numbers. In January and February the bass will take a spoon or fly. In the upper St. John's (above Enterprise) and 172 FISHES OF THE EAS'l' ATLANTIC COAST. its tributary streams and lakes, the fisherman will soon be surfeited in capturing large-mouthed bass. But as there are no hotels and boarding houses, and as the water is generally bounded by broad marshes, persons will be compelled to use a boat large enough for camping purposes. At St. Augustine there are a number of excellent hotels, but the fishing is poor when compared with streams further south. At New Smyrna the fishing is fair, and for further information I will refer the reader to the interesting articles in The Angler by " S. C. C." At this point there is a new hotel and several boarding-houses; board from eight to sixteen dollars per week for permanent boarders. Indian River can be reached at Sand Point or Rock Ledge by steamers on St. John's River, and a short trip overland. Twice each month Captain Henderson will make trips from this city to Indian River with his new, comfortable and safe sharpie, sixty-five feet long and nearly fifteen tons measurement. I have not fished the lower end of the Indian River, but from reliable information ob- tained from many friends I am convinced fishermen will not be dis- appointed if they visit this locality. If disappointed, it would be agree- ably so in finding such a great variety of fish and in such immense numbers. At Lake Worth, a few miles further south, in the lake or at the inlet, excellent fishing will be found. Fair accommodations can be secured at various points on the river, but the best course that can be adopted by fishermen would be the chartering of a sail- boat, with a good captain, at Sand Point or Rock Ledge. This could be avoided by taking passage with Captain Henderson on his Sharpie. I have reason to believe that a steamboat is, or will soon be, running on the Indian River. If a fisherman wishes to^capture large-mouthed Jbass until he is surfeited, let him visit Kessemmee City, secure a boat, descend the Kessemmee River, and he will isoon be surfeited with the "big- mouths." But if the angler expects to meet with the pluck and fight of the small-mouthed bass of the North he will be mistaken. If the fisherman is disposed to enjoy a sail and explore the interior of the State, let him ship a suitable boat to Kessemmee City by steamboat and ra'lroad : launch the boat, descend the Kessemmee FISHES OF THE EAST ATLANTIC COAST. 173 River, skirt the southwest shore of Lake Ochechobee ; enter ami pass through the canal to the Cullowahatchin River and descend this stream to Charlotte Harbor. In the streams along the coast between St. Marks and Cedar Keys the fislicr will find a piscatorial incognito. The coast is shoal and can be navigated in a email boat. The streams are numerous, and excellent camping-grounds will be found on their banks. The shoals waters along the coast abound with ducks, the shores with beach birds, and the land with deer and turkeys. All the streams abound with black bass (southern trout), channel bass, cavalli, sheepshoad, bream and sea trout. On these streams a fly rod would be found very useful. As the coast referred to is not inhabited, parties visit- ing it must provide for tlie inner man. At Cedar Keys fair fishing can at times be obtained. On one oc- casion during a forenoon I landed 388 pounds of sea trout at this point. Alfred Jones, formerly of Homosassa, has opened a house at Scale Key, distant two or three miles from Cedar Keys. At Car- digan's Reefs, a short row from the house, fair channel bass, sea trout, sheepshead and blackfish fishing can be secured. The able New York steamer Eliza Hancox, Captain Post, has been placed on the route between Cedar Keys and Tampa, and travelers will be pleased with the accommodations on this able boat. Homosassa, the sportsman's paradise, has been patronized in the past by hundreds, but the old building has been destroyed by fire. The fishing is good, but Mother Jones' table and her clean soft beds are wanting. A new hotel has been erected at Anclote, and much has been written about the salt water fishing at this point, but 1 must confess that I could not find the "superior" part of it. Lake Butler, a short distance from the hotel, affords good fishing for black bass. On several occasions I endeavored to find good fishing at Clear \V:it(>r Harbor, but failed. At St. John's Pass I found fair shl•^■rlsileadlng. Much has been written about the superior fishing at Tampa Bay but I was disappointed. At the oyster bank off Point Gadsden, nine miles from Tampa, fair sheepsheading can be secured. At t!ie mouth of the Hillsboro River at Tampa, on the young flood, sheepshead 174 FISHES OF THE EAST ATLANTIC COAST. and pea trout can be captured. When I fished at this spot, wind bait and tackle were wrong, and I failed to capture a scale. \t the wreck of the steamer H. M. Cool, opposite the mouth of Old Tampa Bay, fair fishing, more especially for grouper, will be found. At Long Boat Inlet, Sarasota Bay, good fishing will be found. At the mouth of Sarasota Pass, channel bass and sheepshead can be captured. My friend Dr. Fei-ber informed me that he fished a pool in Billy Bow-Legs Creek (a tributary of this bay) and hooked ca- valli on the fly at every cast. Three years since a friend captured a great number of Spanish mackerel, trolling with a spoon, in Little Sarasota Bay. At Casey's Pass, the southerly outlet of the last- named bay, good sport can be obtained in the way of catching grouper, channel bass and sea trout. South of Casey's Pass is Kettle Harbor, a point where sawfish do most congregate, and ihe piscator can amuse himself catching the sawyers. In addition he will find quantum sitfficit of sea trout and sheepshead. At Little Gasparilla Pass, Charlotte Harbor, the fish- ing will be found A. 1. On the young flood at the northerly point of Little Gasparilla Island, cavalli, channel bass, sea trout, and bone- fish can be captured in immense numbers. At this point I have hooked these fish at every cast and reeled them in until my arms ached. Within twenty yards of the entrance will be found a bluff, shelly shore, which extends to the south for over a hundred }• irds and at this place at any stage of tide sheepshead ranging from two to four pounds can be landed as fast as hooks can be bailed. Cruis- ing about on the sand bar on the southerly side of the pass I noticed large channel bass. I waded out to where the water was knee-deep, cast my bait near the fish, and instantly the music would commence In the centre of this island is a fresh water lagoon, where excellent drinking water can be obtained. At any of the passes at Charlotte Harbor excellent fishing will he found, At Punta Rassa, which can be reached by steamship from Cedar Keys, fair accommodations can be secured at the residencu of the telegraph operator or at Jacob Summerlin's house. The dock at this point is the paradise of "sheepsheading." At this place your correspondent "M." landed fifty-six sheepshead in sixty minutes. This F.SHES OF aHK EAST ATLA>TIC COAST. 175 may be considered a "fish story," but to do away with the improba- bility I may remark that "M." had a man to bait his lines and un- hook the fish. Those who know "M." will receive his statement unquestioned; but to doubters I will say that my friend Dr. Lewis of Philadelphia, stood by and timed our mutual friend "M." II the fisherman is disposed to try conclusions with large game, he can fish from the end of the dock and hitch on to large jewfish and shark. Yi ith a boat and spinner large numbers of channel bass can be captured by trolling. At this point "M." hooked on spoon bait and landed a juvenile tarpon weighing thirty-eight pounds. By ascending the Calloosahatchie River above the islands the fish- erman will reach the home of the cavalli and tarpon. If the fisher- man is disposed to lay the foundation for a camp-fire .yarn, let him provide himself with a harpoon spear, 100 yards of whale line and a staunch boat. By keeping his eyes open he will see devil fish from fourteen to twenty feet in width sporting in the bay. They can be approached and harpooned. If struck the ball will open, and the occupants of the boat will enjoy a ride without raising an ashen breeze. South of Punta Rassa is Estero Bay, where, in addition to the small fry previously referred to, tarpon and sawfish revel in all their primitive ignorance of fishermen, steamboats and artificial baits. Those who visit this bay should not fail to ascend Cork- screw River and enjoy the fishing, and deer and turkey shooting. In this river tarpons, the silver kings, exist in countless numbers. At Gorden's Pass twenty-eight miles south of Punta Rassa will be found a sportsman's paradise with fish galore; good oysters, ducks, beach birds, deer, and bear. South of this point to North Cape Sable any of the inlets, rivers, or creeks, will furnish unequal- led piscatorial sport. From reliable information and actual obser- vation, I have no hesitation in asserting that for number and variety of fish, the lower Indian River, and many points on the southwest coast of Florida excel any other portion of the world. In many of the interior lakes large mouthed bass and bream exist in great numbers, but they afford but poor sport. After the first effort the former give up, and come in like a log of wood. ^ In the 176 FISHES OF THE EAST ATLANTIC! COAST. lakes and streams of the central portion of the State, war-mouthed perch from one to three pounds will be found, and for fighting qualities they can be recommen;led. My only experience in fishing^ in the western portion of the State was at Apalachicola in 1844, when I captured my first channel bass ; at that time the fishing was excellent. To properly enjoy fishing on the southwest coast, a party of from two to four should charter a small sloop or schooner of from five to six tons burthen at Cedar Keys. The cost of the craft will be from five to six dollars per day; and this will include the cap- tain with man or boy, one small boat, stove, crockery, cooking utensils and bedding. Party chartering boat to provide provisions. If party consisted of four, the expense should not exceed ten dollars per day. I cannot refrain from making a few remarks regarding fly fishing in Florida and will quote from my article published in " Fishing with the Fly." " The votaries of the rod and reel have overlooked an important field for sport; for, in my opinion no portion of the United States offers such advantages for fly fishing as portions of Florida during the winter months. The health of the State is beyond cavil or dis- pute; the climate is all the most fastidious can ask; there is almost a total absence of insect pests, and last though not least, a greater variety of fish that will take the fly, than in any other section of the Union. My friend Dr. Ferber, on his return from the south- west coast in April last visited me, and stated that he had caught on that coast with artificial flies eleven distinct species of fish ; and I can add five species, making sixteen which can be captured with the feathery lure." " Instead of wading icy-cold and over fished brooks, tearing clothes and flesh creeping through briars and brush, and being sub- jected to the sanguinary attentions of the mosquitoes, and black flies, in bringing to creel a few fingerlings, in Florida, the angler can cast his fly from a sandy beach or boat inhale an invigorating atmosphere, bask in the sunshine, and capture specimens of the FISHES OF THE EAST ATLANTIC COAST. 177 finny tribe, the weight of which can be determined by pounds instead of ounces." With regard to tackle, I may remark, that the game fish of Florida are uneducated, and make no distinction between a mist- colored leader and a clothes line. The great desideratum for Florida fishing is strength of tackle — stout lines and large hooks. A heavy bass rod is all important; if fly fishing is indulged in the rod should not be less than eight ounces. As the fish are not particular, ex- pensive flies need not be used. On the southwest coast spoon bait are used to a great extent; I have tested many spoons and spinners, but those made by L. S. Hill & Co. of Grand Rapid. Mich, suit me best. These baits should be purchased from the manufacturers, and they be requested to add stronger hooks to the sm'all sizes, and nstead of treble to apply double hooks. For fishing in this State, I would recommend No. 1, 2, 2^ and 3. For sea trout, Hdl's " trout and bass fly" would be found an attractive bait. For hand-line fishing, resident experts, use cable laid cotton, and braided cotton lines. Unless for fly fishmg strong and cheip tackle is all that is required. Lines and hooks suitable for ordinary fishing can be purchased in this city. ABBEY & 1MB RIE, Manufacturers of rilEriSHn&TAGKlE 48 Maiden Lane, New York, Particular attention given to the manufacture of ] #/ RODS, REELS, LINES, Etc, BAMBOO AND GREENHEART CHUM RODS, S-toel IPi-v-ot: J^eels. JExtra Strong Gut, Hand Lines for TiW,CHiiEiB4SS,SBiPlAyk If your dealer does not keep our goods in stock or will not order them fo you, send us 50 cents for our 120 page Illustrated Catalogue and Price List. THOS. J. CONROY Manufacturer, Importer, Wholesale & Retail Dealer in FINE FISHING TACKLE, 6s Fulton Street, New York. New Styks of my Olchr ited Hexagonal Bamboo Rods. New patterns Steel Pivot multiplvina R^-els in Aluminium. Brass, German Silver and Rubber. ' Cuttyhunk" Reel Lmes all lensth and sizes, Harrison's Celebrated Knobbed and Needle Eved (rshaughnessy Hooks. Hooks on Brass wire and Plain Wire Srells. Artificial Flies and Baits m Great varietv and a large assortment of tackle of every description suitalile for the Inland and Coast P'ishing. SOLR AGENTS FOR 3fITCHELL'S PATENT BUTT FLY IWBS, Tents. Camp Cots, Can,p Stoves, Jack Lamps, Tackle Cases, Etc. My long experience in fitting ou* paities for Florida enables me from simply knowing the points to be visited, to select such articles as are best adapt( d to the locations. Send 15 cents for illustrated Cataloi;ue and Hand Book of Fish- ng Tackle with supplement. HENRY C. SQUIRES, WHOLESALE AND RETAIL DEALER IN GunSiFistiing Tacl{leiUwnIenis,Pleasufe M^ & Canies, AND EVERYTHING FOR THE FOREST, FIELD OR STREAM. « f . .^ / / "i 1 fl i 1 ^p s ^ffl i 1 m 0:B S m 1 1 ^^^B ^^^3 ^^^^S ^S 9[ ^ ^^^ ^^^B ^3 ^ SPOR'I SMKN'S SUITLIES OF EVERY DESCmPTlON. Camping Goods. Rubber Goods, Sports.nen's Clothing, Boots and Shoes, and Ammunition of all kinds. 178 BROADWAY, NEW YORK CITY. SPECIAL TO ANGLERS. THE AMERICAN ANGLER.— A weekly journal devoted solely to fish, fish- ing and fish culture, is published on Saturday of each week. Subscription $3.00 a year. Ten cents per copy. PORTRAITS OF FISHES.— Printed on tinted Bristol boards 7 x 11 inches. They are sixty in number; twenty-three are engravings of thope killed in fresh water ard thirty-seven of the salt water species. The fresh water series, postage paid, $2.00 ; salt water, $3.50 ; whole series. $5.00 ; single copies, 10 oents. A handscnic portfolio, Russian leather, $1.25 post paid. FISHES OF THE EAST FLORIDA COAST.— In pamphlet form, twelve engravings, post paid, 25 cents. THE ANGLERS' SCORE BOOK.— With blanks and stubs for recording scores of fish; giving blanks for date, name of water, species of fish caught, num- ber, weight of largest, total weight, size of largest, baits used, state of water, wind and weather Paper cover, 10 cents ; cloth, 25 cents post paid. The American Angler, 252 Broadway, New Yoi;k. w&mi mm m CLOTH of GOLD Oia^RETTES. Our Cigarettes cannot be surpassed. If you do not use them, a trial will convince you that they have no equal. Two hundred millions sold in 1883. 1 3 First Pi ze Me dais lAwarded. WM. S. KIMBALL & CO, PHOTOGRAPHY MADE EASY, By the New Dry Plate Process. No Stains, No Trouble. Amateur Outfits in Great Variety from $10 upward Send for illustrated catalogue or call and examine, as we take pleasure in showing our goods. We are sole proprietors of THE DETECTIVE CAM ERA. to "i) 1^ '?^ . 1 ^ c^ ^ •+J ^ ^ so so •^^ p -« ^ ^ s Patented Jao. S id The Lightest, Neatest and most Compact Camera ever made. It is designed to be carried in the hand, and used without either tripod or focussing cloth. Uescriptive Circular mailed on Application. '^i^-Z'^^SM E. & H. T. ANTHONY & CO., "^ -^ Forty Years Ettablished in this line of husiness 591 uroadway New York, THE SUPERIORITY OF THE CELEBRATED Hexagonal Split Bamboo Fishing Rods, MANUFACTUUEIJ BY BF.NeCHOLS, 153 Milk Street, Boston, Mass., Is t'vidrnt from the fact that the ■Tontlemen who use tliem are enthusiastic over their good qualiti(^s. Bead the foUowiug letter: ,^ ^ ■• 10 -.oat South Kensington, October 18, 1883. Deak Sib —The special prize of £10 for the coUectiou of Salmon Rods distinguished more for their excellence than their numbers, has been awarded to you by the Jury. Mr. Burdett Coutts who offered the prize, asked me this morning to please convey to you his compliments and congratulations and aavs he is greatly pleased that his prize has been awarded to an Ameri- can and one whose rods are so favorably and generally known as yours. To B. F. Nichols, Esq.. Boston, Mass. ^V. N. COX, U. S. Fish Commission. ICopv letter received October 31.] Send for catalogue, with Massachusetts Fish and Game Laws-FREE. My Goods are sold in New York City by HAWKS >^ OGILVY, 3oo Broadway,.. Split Bamboo Bass and Fly Rods, Flies and Fly Books, Artificial Bait, Bait Boxes, Hooks, Etc. .'^^^X^^ /ff'^j^"^"^ Water-pioof Silk,Lineii andTotton Lmes.Ee^K Floats. B .sl.ets.Suik-rb.Leaders r William >Wurfflein, 208 North Second str33t, Philadelphia, Pa., IMPORTER OF Fishing Tackle. TROUT. t m BASS AND SALMON | TACKLE, I For Brook, River, Lal;e AND Salt Water FISHING. Rods, "--| Reels, Lines, Flies, I Hooks and Bait J OF E\T:Ry DESCRIPTION, I Of the Latest and Most ^ Improved St^xes, in I GREAT VARIETY, AT LOW PRICES. ftS'Send for Price List. jMeution American Angler. PHILADEUPHIA FISHINGTACKLE HOUSE, MANUFACTURERS OF Fishing Rods, Lines, Reels and Tackle of Every Description. ^ ^^ Outfits for Florida and Other Sea Fishing a Specialty. Onr No. l>, loUiish Hooks are i)rouo\UH-ijcM)y --Al Fresco " thk JiKsr hook for sea fishing made. We make a specialty of Hand-made Fishing Rods. Manufactured from tlie celebrated Bcthahara Wood, they are stronger than the Split Bamboo, and as tough and elastic as tempered steel. 4®=" We arc making au improvement on Gimp Snells. Every Fisherman has experienced the difittculties attending the use of Uimp, Linen or Out for this purpose. This Snood, being a combination of braided Linen and non-corrosive Flexible Wire, efifectually prevents it from twisting around the line, and makes it the strongest and most durable Snell in the market. Price per doxen on best quality Hooks for Wi-ikti-ih. "o (vnits. Pickerel, fio cents. Sea Bass, 5o cents. Fishing Rods and Tacklr cri lie smt bv mail at l.', per 07... and rrj^isterod, if de- sired, at lo cents additional. C5-p;ii'r lllustrai.a Pric I>ist of Fishing Tackle sint by mail for lo cents in stamps. A. B. SHIPLEY &, SON, 503 Commerce Street, PHILADELPHL\. PA. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 002 ftR4 1 24 .-^