THE BKEAKFAST LUXURY OF THE AGE. 129 



in proportion. Its jaws are armed with small, fine teeth, that 

 laugh at silk or linen reel-lines; gills of two rigidly resisting 

 plies ; meat white, but neither mealy nor flaky, though of 

 close texture, creamy and peculiarly delicate, of most deli- 

 cious flavor. 



The Spanish mackerel is seldom taken with rod and reel, 

 though small ones of from three to six pounds sometimes 

 venture to taste a baited hook. I have taken two while 

 angling for striped bass with shedder crab bait ; but it is em- 

 inently a fish for the troll, if captivating trolls can be invent- 

 ed. These fish surround a shoal of gar-eels, butter-fish, shin- 

 ers, spearing, or young menhaden, when the tiny baits anx- 

 ious to escape rise to the surface, followed by the Spanish 

 mackerel, which may be seen two miles distant, leaping, a 

 thousand at a time, their forked tails conspicuous, and their 

 bodies gleaming like miniature rainbows. The bite of a Span- 

 ish mackerel is very different from that of a bluefish. It is 

 not so dashing or strong ; and when hooked, it swims deeper, 

 and does not resist so pertinaciously. In size it ranges from 

 three to fifteen pounds. It is often reported as having been 

 taken of thirty pounds* weight, but this, I think, is an error. 

 The bonetta is very like it in outline, and it is also a compar- 

 ative stranger along our coast ; one of these fish was recently 

 taken in Jamaica Bay which weighed about thirty pounds, 

 and the daily papers noticed it as a large Spanish mackerel ; 

 but the bonetta as a food fish is vastly inferior. 



Both the Spanish mackerel and cero are spring-spawning 

 fishes, and no doubt spawn in our bays, for there are occa- 

 sionally small ones taken by the angler in June, before the 

 large ones visit our shores, and I argue, therefore, that the 

 small half-pounders are of last year's hatch. 



Spanish mackerel and large bluefish shoal together while 

 feeding, and woe be it to any soft-rayed herbivorous beauty 

 that crosses their path. Bluefish and striped bass feed to- 

 gether also, but the bass swims deeper than the bluefish, and 

 generally nearer shore. This is frequently proven while cast- 



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