Bait and Grounds 411 



in a purse or bag, in which the entire catch was 

 easily lifted and hauled ashore. 



The mullet, Mugil cephalus, is the most im- 

 portant bait fish in the Gulf region and is found 

 with another species, the silver-mullet, Mugil 

 curema, in vast numbers from the lower Florida 

 keys northward, Biscayne Bay and Key, Indian 

 River, and the Gulf states all having their 

 quota, caught in seines and cast-nets at the 

 various points alongshore. The average mullet 

 weighs about half a pound to a pound, adults 

 reaching seven, eight, or even twelve pounds, 

 according to fishermen. 



Fishes of various kinds constitute the common 

 bait of the Florida region, but on the outer reef 

 crayfish and conch were equally important. Be- 

 fore the singular destruction of the coral at Tor- 

 tugas, some years ago, nearly every branch and 

 head was the home of one or more crayfish, 

 pronounced "craw," on the reef, really the spiny 

 lobster, Palinurus. They dug out the sand so 

 that their tails could be inserted, and backed in, 

 leaving their whips or antennae to wave to and 

 fro. It was an easy matter to grain them. The 

 grains was a two-pronged barbed spear not un- 

 like a fish's tail in shape, with a long, yellow 



