382 NATURAL HISTORY OF AQUATIC ANIMALS. 



head he ever saw was on the 4th of October, 1814; he had observed it as late as the 17th of 

 October. 



In Florida the Sheepshead is abundant along the shores throughout the entire year, and this 

 is also the case throughout the Gulf of Mexico. 



It is curious to see how much at variance were the statements of early observers concerning 

 its habit of entering fresh water streams. Mitchill states explicitly: "He confines himself strictly 

 to the salt water, never having been seen in the fresh rivers." Holbrook, speaking of the vicinity 

 of Charleston, says: "It enters shallow inlets and mouths of rivers, but never leaves the salt for 

 fresh water." In the Saint John's and other rivers of Florida the Sheepshead becomes almost a 

 fresh-water species, the young especially being constantly taken in seines in company with Bass, 

 Perch, and suckers, far above the limits of perceptibly brackish water. It is not yet possible, to 

 infer with any certainty what the temperature limits of this species may be, but it would seem 

 probable that they never willingly encounter water colder than 60, except perhaps in fall, when 

 they are reluctant to leave their feeding grounds. 



The statement just made, however, requires "k certain qualification. No one knows whether 

 the Sheepshead of our Northern waters go south in winter or whether they simply become torpid 

 and remain through the season in deep holes near their summer haunts, their presence unsus- 

 pected. Perhaps it would be wiser to say that they are not actually engaged in feeding when the 

 temperature is lower than 60, and that their winter habits arc entirely unknown. Where the 

 water is throughout the year warmer than 60 they are constantly active. The Sheepshead feeds 

 almost exclusively upon hard-shelled animals, mollusks and barnacles, and particularly on young 

 oysters as they grow attached to stones and sticks of wood. With its strong cutting and grinding 

 teeth and powerful jaws it can easily rip otf thick bunches of shells and grind them to pieces. 

 The ordinary bait for it in the North is the soft-shelled clam, while in the South it is caught 

 frequently by the use of shrimps and crabs. 



In discussing the habits of this species I cannot do better than to quote quite fully the obser- 

 vations of several writers on fish and angling, many of whom have taken a special interest in the 

 study of its haunts and movements. 



Mitchill wrote in 1814: "This noble fish visits the neighborhood of Long Island annually, 

 emerging from the depths of the ocean. He feeds in the recesses and inlets upon the clams and 

 mussels, which are abundant, and on which he loves to feed. He confines himself strictly to the 

 salt water, never having been seen in the fresh rivers. His term of continuance is only during the 

 warmest season; that is, from the beginning of June to the middle of September. He then 

 disappears to the unknown depths of the Atlantic, and is seen no more until the ensuing summer. 

 The Sheepshead swims in shoals, and is sometimes surrounded in great numbers by the seine; 

 several hundreds have often been taken at a single haul with the long sweeping nets in use near 

 Rayner Town, Babylon, and Fire Island. They even tell of a thousand brought to land at a 

 draught. He also bites at the hook, and several are not unfrequenrly thus caught in succession. 

 The outfitting of a Sheepshead party is always an occasion of considerable excitement and high 

 expectation, as I have often experienced. Whenever a Sheepshead is brought on board the boat 

 more joy is manifested than by the possession of any other kind of fish. The sportsmen view the 

 exercises so much above common fishing that the capture of the Sheepshead is the most desirable 

 combination of luck and skill; and the feats of hooking and landing him safely in the boat furnish 

 abundant materials for the most pleasing and hyperbolical stories. The Sheepshead is a very 

 stout fish, and the hooks and lines arc strong in proportion; yet he frequently breaks them and 

 makes his escape. Sheepshead have been caught with such fishing-tackle fastened to their jaws. 



