The Kingfisb 287 



common catch offshore, ranging from Brazil to 

 Massachusetts, but most plentiful in the region 

 from Key West to Cape Florida. I have seen the 

 water ploughed into foam by it in the open Gulf, 

 and it is as gamy as its cousin. I never heard the 

 name cero used by any men on the outer reef in 

 connection with either of these fishes; all called 

 them " kingfish." To the professional fisherman 

 it is exceedingly valuable, and is caught in great 

 numbers in the vicinity of Key West. In all the 

 Gulf states about 400,000 pounds are taken an- 

 nually, valued at $6000. I often took it down the 

 reef, off Sand, East, and Bird keys, where it came 

 in near the great fringing reef that was sub- 

 merged at high tide. The water here was perhaps 

 fifteen or twenty feet deep, with a bottom of coral 

 heads, plumes, and sponges, washed by the grand 

 swell, and being on the edge of the Gulf Stream 

 or in its very midst, seemed to offer the exhilarat- 

 ing conditions demanded by this active creature, 

 which by trolling could almost always be taken 

 here. The adults ran from fifteen to thirty or forty 

 pounds, and there were legends of colossi which 

 weighed up to one hundred pounds, but I never 

 saw them. The young, from six to twelve pounds, 

 were very gamy with light rods, calling to mind 



