CONTEST WITH A SHEEPSHEAD. 93 



bring him to the surface, but as soon as he smells the upper 

 air he turns quicker than thought, and, unless I yield him line, 

 he will either part it or break my rod. The sheepshead is 

 what Lord Dundreary said of a certain bird, ' werry wobust.' 

 You are right, judge, he is beautiful ; but do not count him 

 until he is in the landing-net. There ! stand out of the way 

 of his dorsal and pectoral spikes ; I always wear boots when 

 angling for sheepshead or trolling for bluefish." 



" Ho ! judge, you have hooked a good one. Good ! Play 

 him gently and gingerly." 



" He'll not let me ! I expect to lose him. There, that's the 

 third time I have brought him to the surface, only to see him 

 take more line and get farther from the boat at every turn. 

 By the powers, there ! Captain, how much will he weigh ?" 



"I guess summut near on to ten pound." 



" What ! You don't mean to say he'll not scale more than 

 ten pounds ?". 



" Yes, sir ; maybe et's summut bigger." 



I check the interesting colloquy by stating that I think our 

 fishes are about the same size, but that the one I have just 

 hooked is larger than either. The judge then sees that it is 

 best to employ all his time at fishing while the biting con- 

 tinues. As I land the second one, I remark : 



" Judge, you perceive there is no mistaking the bite of a 

 sheepshead ; his bite informs you that he is in earnest." 



" Precisely so. His bite is like that of no other fish. It 

 is as spasmodic as a bluefish and as powerful as an alligator, 

 and he gives, also, an indescribable premonition, informing 

 you that a powerful fish is examining your bait. There ! 

 he's gone !" 



" Well, judge, please examine your hook. The point is bro- 

 ken off. The only safe place to hook a ' head' is in the lip, 

 or at the angle covering the mandibles. I took thirteen here 

 one day, and played a greater number which I lost. Our 

 fishing-tackle kings should inspire greater confidence and 

 better temper by giving us finer tempered hooks." 



