The Gray Snapper 49 



Of all the game fishes of Florida the snappers 

 afforded me the most sport, as they were essen- 

 tially gamy at all ages and sizes. The small 

 specimens, weighing from two to six pounds, 

 often found in the shallow waters of the lagoon, 

 were the trout of the reef. In one locality, where 

 a key had been battling with the hurricanes for 

 centuries, the great gales had swept the key 

 away from the roots of the mangroves, leaving 

 many stumps isolated and completely submerged. 

 Anchoring the dinghy near these shelters, and 

 casting with a heavy trout rod, using crayfish 

 bait, rare sport was always had. The snappers 

 lived among roots with a horde of other fishes, 

 and would rise as soon as the lure sank a few 

 feet, not having the discretion and coyness which 

 marked or characterized the adult snapper of this 

 region. 



The snapper family is very large, including 

 twenty genera and about two hundred and fifty 

 species, nearly all of which have a high economic 

 value ; and wherever they can be taken in water 

 about twenty feet in depth, typify all that com- 

 mends itself in a true game fish. In American 

 waters alone, according to Dr. Jordan, there are 

 about fourteen genera and thirty-five species ; but 



