The Amber Jacks 



near shore that it is taken from the dock at times. 

 But the best fishing is some distance off the beach, 

 anchored in a small boat beyond the breaking of the 

 swell. 



The amber jack doubtless frequents the deeper 

 waters of the Gulf Stream here, and its appearance 

 so near shore is merely a foraging trip, as in localities 

 where small boats can lie along the submerged reefs 

 further down the coast the fine fishes may often be 

 seen swimming along the reef in deep water. 



We may imagine ourselves shoving off some fine 

 morning, the men skillfully pulling the boat through 

 the surf and anchoring off the sands where the amber 

 jacks are known to be. The air is soft, and the wind, 

 what there is, is warm. The boatmen are blacks who 

 know the country well, and the boat is soon anchored 

 in a spot where some unknown angler in the past 

 hooked a fish that towed his boat far out into the 

 Gulf Stream before it was gaffed. 



The equipment for the sport is a i6-ounce rod with 

 a single tip, a tuna or tarpon reel, holding 600 feet 

 of 21- or 24-thread line, a mere thread one might 

 think with which to play so large a fish, but not 

 found wanting. The bait, a live " spot," is cast 

 thirty or forty feet away, and the anticipating part 

 of the sport is begun. The current is strong and 

 sweeps the bagging line, and ever and anon the click 

 will sound a note and the angler's pulse will start 

 and throb ; but when this has happened several times 



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