The Sheepshead Family 259 



abundant fish of both the east and west coasts 

 of Florida, but it is seldom found in the dense 

 salt water along the keys at the southern end 

 of the peninsula, as it is essentially a brackish- 

 water fish. The angler need never repine for 

 a lack of sport in the " flowery state " if he is fond 

 of " sheepsheading," and he will have no difficulty 

 in securing bait, for the fiddlers are to be found in 

 myriads convenient to good fishing grounds. 



THE SOUP 



{Steiiotomus chrysops) 



Another fish of the SparidcE family is the scup, 

 or porgy, which was first described by Linnaeus, 

 in 1 766, from specimens sent to him from South 

 Carolina by Dr. Garden. He named it chrysops, 

 or " golden eye." The names scup and porgy are 

 derived from the Indian name scuppaug. The 

 porgy is mentioned, like the cunner, in deference 

 to the ladies and the rising generation of anglers, 

 to whom it is fair game on the summer excur- 

 sions to the seashore. It is confined to the At- 

 lantic coast from Cape Cod to South Carolina, 

 being especially abundant in northern waters. 

 A kindred species, the fair maid {Stenotomus 

 aculeatus), is common from Cape Hatteras south' 



