The Groupers 213 



may sink into the branch coral or a grove of gor- 

 gonias, while the hook or bait would in this way 

 swing clear. Again, the strike, or bite, is felt 

 much quicker when the hook is above the sinker. 

 The bait most in vogue at this particular point 

 is crayfish or conch, the latter being hard and 

 almost indestructible ; at other places fish bait is 

 employed. 



If the right ground is found, excellent sport 

 may be enjoyed, the red grouper being the chief 

 attraction; but the pleasure is intensified by the 

 remarkable variety of fishes taken, of which the 

 big porcupine-fish, which fills itself with air when 

 reaching the surface and sails along on the water 

 like a balloon, is not least. The red grouper 

 when at forty or fifty pounds is, so far as its 

 game qualities are concerned, like the cod, there 

 being more than a suspicion of laziness, though 

 some big fellows will give fair play ; but the fish 

 should not be wholly condemned. Hauling the 

 best of fishes from a great depth is not the most 

 exciting of pastimes, but such fishes, given other 

 conditions, often prove worthy the term "game." 

 So with the red grouper; I found that while a 

 deep-water fish, a companion of the red snapper 

 and a bottom lover, it came inshore in June to 



