Favorite Fish and Fishing 



While the redfish is very susceptible to bait 

 it often rises to the fly, if a large and gaudy 

 one. In either event it offers a stubborn 

 resistance when hooked, and when of large 

 size from twenty to forty pounds a 

 good strong rod is a sine qua non, though 

 I once killed one on a Henshall rod of eight 

 ounces, which was fully thirty-five pounds 

 in weight. Most of the fish-scale jewelry 

 and artificial flowers are made from the 

 scales of redfish. 

 Groupers and All of the groupers, the red and black, 



Snappers , , e r . 



the scamp and gag, are game-fishes worthy 

 of the steel of the angler, and grow to 

 goodly size, twenty to forty pounds. They 

 inhabit comparatively deep water about the 

 inlets, or along the outer shores and keys, 

 especially in rocky situations. Being bot- 

 tom feeders they must be taken with natural 

 bait, though the trolling-spoon has its at- 

 tractions. Those named are rather sober in 

 their garb, which is more or less marbled 

 or spotted with black, but some of the 

 groupers about Key West are remarkably 

 handsome fishes, and are much given to 

 150 



