CHAPTER XXIX 



BAIT AND GROUNDS 



To the sea-angler the bait and often the 

 bait-catcher is an important factor to be con- 

 sidered, especially in Southern seas, on the great 

 reef which reaches out from Cape Florida and 

 trends to the west as though determined in ages 

 to come to enclose the Gulf of Mexico and make 

 it an inland sea. The bait-taker is an interest- 

 ing personage, and the collection of bait, at least 

 on the reef, a fascinating pastime. Paublo, his 

 naked black shoulders half covered by the cast- 

 net slung over them, the heavy sinkers or 

 weights leaden beads clanging as he strode 

 along the shore, his keen eyes on the watch 

 for mullets, was a most picturesque figure. The 

 newcomer would wonder who or what he was, 

 as in one hand he bore a huge cimeter-like 

 object with a cloth bound about the end as a 

 handle. With the cast-net he took mullets, 

 bait for barracuda, jack, and amber-jack. With 



408 



