122 Big Game Fisbes 



ant yellowtail, Ocyurus chrysurus, was most com- 

 mon and one of the gamiest. The angel-fishes, 

 especially the black and white variety, would 

 astonish one by their strength, while the great 

 parrot-fishes in gorgeous tints should be included 

 in any account of game fishes, affording good 

 sport with light tackle. 



Among these gorgeous creatures, which seemed 

 colored to accord with their environment, the 

 hogfish reigned supreme, its striking shape and 

 brilliant color rendering it a conspicuous object 

 as it poised beneath a lavender sea-fan, as though 

 for effect, or slowly swam about followed by a 

 train of curious and brilliant yellowtails. The 

 hogfish ranges in weight from six to twenty-five 

 and even thirty pounds, though the large speci- 

 mens are rarely caught, individuals weighing 

 twenty pounds being considered large. But this 

 ocean park in summer was the home for fishes of 

 extreme size, and the sport they afforded compen- 

 sated for the pitiless heat that ashore made 

 butter a liquid and life correspondingly miserable. 



The best fishing was in the morning, and by 

 poling over the lagoon in shallow water, just at 

 sunrise, quantities of crayfish could be caught feed- 

 ing, and grained, the bait of baits for hogfish, 



