130 Big Game Fishes 



were seen on the shallow reef mentioned; and 

 as several were taken in seines at night in the 

 lagoon, in water from three to five feet in depth, 

 the fish doubtless came in at this time to feed 

 upon crayfish, which were then in the open, and 

 the large white short-spined echini found there. 

 Little is known of its breeding habits. Young 

 two inches long were taken in August in the 

 lagoons, and it was supposed to deposit its spawn 

 in water fifteen or twenty feet deep just outside 

 the breakers ; but this assumption was obviously 

 not justified by actual observation. Females 

 with spawn were taken in May and June. 



The hogfish is rarely caught by anglers who 

 fish with the rod, as almost the entire fishing is 

 conducted or carried on in deep water, and it is 

 necessary to go out in the smacks and fish for 

 them, a la cod, with a hand-line not a satisfac- 

 tory proceeding to the man who has been trained 

 to look upon the. hand-line as a device of the 

 pot-angler, which is hardly true. The strongest 

 argument against hand, or cast-line methods is 

 that by them the fisherman can take too many 

 fish. 



Found with the hogfish in the new American 

 possession of Porto Rico is a fish known as 



