MONTHLY FISHING GUIDE. 



" Mark well the various seasons of the year, 

 When the successive fishing months appear; 

 In each revolving moon some fish there be 

 That mav be taken in river or in sea." 





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JANUARY. 



For the majority of anglers January represents the ** winter of discon- 

 tent," so far as fishing is concerned. Florida, the perennial paradise of the 

 angling brotherhood, yields good sport at this period of the year, when the 

 bluefish, Spanish mackerel, sheepshead, groupers, and other varieties of sea- 

 fish bite well at the favorite resorts, named elsewhere. On the Gulf coast 

 of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, the fishing is also good 

 during January. 



FEBRUARY. 



The month of February is considered — by the fishing fraternity — 

 much more welcome than its predecessor. It is three days shorter than 

 January, iand one month nearer to the general season of piscatorial pleas- 

 ures. Winter fishing through the ice can of course be indulged in by 

 Northern rodsters, but that is a rather "chill and cheerless pastime " to 

 most men. Aside from this amusement there is none w^ith rod and line in 

 the North, and the good fishing of the Gulf coast has one disheartening 

 feature for multitudes of anglers — it is too far away. 



MARCH. 



To the lover of angling, as also to the soldier, the word " March ! " 

 signifies something. To the former it means a step nearer, on the calen- 

 dar, toward the longed-for fishing season. The tarpon fisher greets it as 

 the time of the preliminary skirmish with his favorite finny adversary, and 

 the sea-fishing of Florida is good. On the whole, there is something 

 breezy about March, and " It's an ill wind that profits nobody." 



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