Aqua-lunger's view of grotto 



by the thousands. Into this place salt-water fish come from the 

 Gulf six miles away: snook, mangrove snappers, and sheepshead. 



Almost any average swimmer can dive off the seawall and 

 meet these fish gill to gill, and if he wears an Aqua-lung he can 

 stay down for the better part of an hour, making the discovery 

 for himself that fish aren't the least bit afraid of a submerged 

 human if he stays reasonably still. With the Aqua-lung almost 

 any paddler can be his own Beebe. 



The land around Crystal River is a fine region for exploration 

 above water as well as below. Hereabouts the sea and the land 

 have so contrived to merge and form uninhabitable labyrinths 

 that you have awesome jungles within gunshot of room service. 

 Here, on a meandering lake a mile and a half long, the river has 

 its beginning in a series of springs bubbling up from some inex- 

 haustible source. On its way to the Gulf, the river is joined by 

 feeder streams, and long before it gets to open water it divides 

 into a maze of channels that confuses everybody but guides. 



My first evening on Crystal River I walked the entire eight 

 feet from the front door of the cottage to the seawall, rigged up 

 my flyrod with a popping bug, and caught eight bass, two of 

 them weighing 5 pounds. The surprises of the area were height- 

 ened sometime after midnight when I was awakened by sounds 

 of splashing and heavy breathing, like a couple of channel swim- 

 mers in a struggle. The next morning I learned that the noise 

 was nothing more than a mama porpoise teaching her child a 

 couple of new rolls. 



The man who introduced me to Crystal River's underwater 

 possibilities was Bill McDougall, one of the outstanding goggle 

 fishermen in Florida. Bill initiated me into the use of the Aqua- 

 lung. It's a foolproof, simple rig consisting of a tank of com- 

 pressed air that you wear strapped to your back, a couple of 

 valves, a hose, and a mouthpiece. With it, you can carry an 

 hour's supply of air or more down into those depths where the 

 fish become casual and curious. With rubber fins fastened to 

 your feet for easy propulsion, with goggles to keep the water out 

 of your eyes, and the mouthpiece to feed you air, you're well 

 equipped to discover a new world. 



1 9& Exploring an underwater cave. 



