THE INLA2n"D PASSAGE. 25 



Alligators will not appear till Avarm weatlicr— that 

 is, till the middle of January — by which time the 

 tourists will think he has got into the dog days, but 

 fish are abundant in all the fresh-water streams. In 

 that very Juuiper Creek we caught so many big- 

 mouthed bass with fly and spoon that we not only 

 gave up fishing, but had to salt down dozens. And, 

 by tlic way, these fish are much more of game fish 

 than they are at the North ; the smallest fight well, 

 take the fly freely and jump out of water as frequent- 

 ly and fiercely as the small-mouthed variety in our 

 waters. 



Before leaving the instructive branch of my sub- 

 ject I wish to advise the yachtsman against giving 

 too much weight to the appearance of the Southern 

 sky. This will often cloud up toward evening in the 

 most threatening way. Such a heavenly monitor at 

 the North would warn us to make everything snug 

 and get the best bower over, but in the South these 

 appearances signify nothing. After a most fright- 

 ful-looking evening the morningAvill break clear and 

 warm and quiet. There are fev^r storms in Florida 

 during the winter, a '^ norther" occasionally and 

 possible a thunder storm, but no fierce northeasters 

 and no hurricanes. As to the comparative advantages 

 of working through the tortuous creeks with changing 

 tides, or running outside for short stretches, a pref- 

 erence miglit be given to the latter were it not that 

 the shoals oif the mouths of the inlets extend so far 

 to sea. Many of the rivers have carried down so 

 much sediment that they have made shoals t^n or 

 2 



