I04 HUNTING AND FISHING IN FLORIDA. 



bay among the reefs is probably one of the finest fishing grounds on 

 the Florida coast. Tarpon are abundant in the ba}' and run up 

 many of the rivers. Of course the Tarpon is the king of all Florida 

 game lishes, and phlegmatic indeed must be the man who does not 

 feel a thrill of excitement when the magnificent fish hurls himself 

 completely out of the water again and again, shaking his head 

 savagely in his frantic efforts to dislodge the hook. May and June 

 are the best months for Tarpon fishing ; but good sport mav be had in 

 April and sometimes in March, and a few fish are taken during the 

 winter months by patient and enthusiastic fishermen. Tarpon are 

 numerous in Biscayne Bay, and very fine fishing may sometimes be 

 had at Steamboat Creek at the south end of the bay. 



All kinds of fishing may be had in and about Biscayne Bay. 

 Kingfish are unusually abundant ; perhaps the very best place for King- 

 fish is near the black and w^hite channel buoy off Cape Florida. For 

 those who enjoy bottom fishing and want large fish and plentv of 

 them, I would advise them to try in the vicinity of Alligator Reef 

 Lighthouse, where the fishing is most excellent. 



Crocodiles are to be found in Biscayne Bay, but in most cases 

 they are very sh}' and ditiicult to shoot. Continuing farther south 

 from Card Sound into Barnes Sound, crocodiles are more numerous 

 and not nearly so shy. From Cutler going south, the road, if it may 

 be called one, is very bad, and one enters a country w4iich is rarel}^ 

 visited by a white man. It is rocky pine land, bordered by a low 

 and wide marshy prairie and occasional mangrove sw^amps. In 

 these prairies deer are abundant and very tame. They are rarely 

 hunted, as but few w'hite men have ever been in this countrv, and it 

 is too far away from any settlement for an Indian to carrv out game 

 to sell. 



Deer are numerous and wolves commence to appear in some places 

 east of Whitewater Bay. A few panthers wander about this country, 

 but they are not numerous. In some of the ponds and marshes alli- 

 gators are plentiful, and many of them are large, as that country is 

 seldom visited by hunters. Deer and bears were at one time com- 

 mon on the larger keys, but there are few left on them now. 



