4 1 o AMERICAN FISHES. 



spring. In the West it is sometimes seined by farmers in winter in still 

 places in the rivers and peddled about the towns. 



The Moon-eye, Hyodon tergisus, is a handsome fish, taking the hook 

 readily and feeding on minnows, crustaceans and insects. It reaches a 

 weight of one to two pounds. "In Lake Pepin," writes Dr. D. C. 

 Estes, " in some seasons they seem to be quite plenty, and at others but very 

 few are seen. On the whole, I have always regarded it as a rare fish. They 

 are vigorous biters, and are as gamy as the striped bass {^Rocciis saxatilis). 

 They take freely the minnow or fly, and are one of the smartest of fishes. 

 They will come up, taste of a fly, let go and be gone before the angler has 

 time to strike. Therefore, to be a Moon-eye fly-fisher one must be very 

 sharp and not read a book while casting, as I once knew a man to do. As 

 to his being a food-fish there is not a single doubt. I ate one this very 

 morning for my breakfast, and it was excellent, the bones being far less in 

 number and of larger size than in the herring." 



The Lady-fish, Albiila vulpes, occurs in the West Indies, in the Gulf of 

 Mexico, on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of North and South America, 

 and sparingly along our Atlantic shores as far north as Cape Cod. It is 

 also found about the Bermudas and Cape Verde Islands, in the Indian 

 Ocean, the Red Sea, and on the coast of Japan. With us it is usually 

 called the " Lady-fish ;" in the Bermudas the " Bone-fish," or " Grubber." 

 At the Bermudas large schools are taken, and it is there considered a most 

 excellent food-fish. From personal observation I can testify that its 

 reputation is by no means a false one. 



Henshall found it in the Indian River inlet, and gives it a fine character 

 as a game-fish. Describing winter angling experiences, he writes : "In 

 the course of an hour, and in quick succession, I took several more salt- 

 water trout, a few red-fish or channel-bass, some ravallia or snooks of from 

 three to ten pounds, some crevalle of three or four, and finally a Bone-fish 

 of about three pounds, which gave more real sport than any of the others. 

 The Bone-fish or Lady-fish, as it is sometimes called, is a slender, silvery 

 fish, and fights in the water and in the air like the black-bass, but mostly 

 in the air — a Silver Shuttle."* 



The species is found in some numbers in San Diego Bay, on the coast of 

 California, where it is taken with the mullet: On account of its beautiful 

 color it sells readily, but is not especially esteemed as a table fish. 



* Turf, Field and Farm, Dec. 1884. 



