THE MULLET FISHERY. 569 



thread cotton twine. They are from 50 to 100 fathoms long, C to 12 feet deep, and have a mesh 

 varying from 2J to 3 inches. When properly hung they are worth about 50 cents per fathom. 

 The fishing with gill-nets at Cedar Keys lasts about six months, beginning with September. The 

 nets are usually set at high water, the night tide being frequently utilized. Two nets are usually 

 fished in common. When a school of mullet is seen the boats take such a position as to bring the 

 fish directly between them. The nets are then shot in opposite directions, the ends of one meeting 

 or overlapping those of the other. The catch is equally divided. 



A method known as "stop-fishing" is frequently employed in the small creeks tributary to 

 the sounds and bays. The mullet frequently enter the creeks in considerable numbers on the 

 flood-tide, and at high water the nets are stretched across the mouths to prevent their escape. As 

 the tide ebbs, many, attempting to get out, are gilled in the meshes, while the others remain in 

 the deeper holes and channels, where, at low water, they are easily secured by means of a small 

 haul-seine. By this method all of the fish that chance to be in the creek when the net is set are 

 easily secured. 



The average catch to a gill-net at Saint Mark's, according to Mr. Stearns, is 100 pounds daily 

 or 15,000 pounds per annum. At Ocklokony Bay he estimates the catch to be 100 to 300 fish at a 

 tide, oi- 15,000 to 20,000 for the season. 



FISHING WITH CAST-NETS. Another kind of apparatus extensively used in the mullet fisheries 

 of both Eastern and Western Florida, and to a limited extent by the fishermen of other States, is the 

 cast-net. This is, perhaps, next to the hook and line, the apparatus earliest used in the fisheries of 

 the United States. It is said to have originated in Spain, and was doubtless introduced into this 

 country by the Spaniards who came to Saint Augustine in 1565, since which time it has been in con- 

 stant use in that locality. A superficial examination of the cast-net by one who had never seen it in 

 actual use would lead to the belief that it was a very crude affair, and could hardly be successful in 

 the fisheries ; but a more careful examination shows that it is fairly adapted to the fisheries in which it 

 is employed, and that by long use the fishermen come to be very expert in handling it. The cast-net, 

 briefly described, is a circular piece of netting, 8 to 16 feet in diameter, with a stretch-mesh varying 

 from 1 to 2 inches. It has a hole at the center, through which pass 20 to 30 brails or cords, which 

 are attached to the circumference at points equally distant from each other. The inner ends of 

 these are secured to a long line, by means of which the fisherman handles the net. On every second 

 or third mesh of the circumference is a sinker, usually of lead. The number of sinkers varies, 

 according to the diameter of the net, from 100 to 200, eah weighing about an ounce. During the 

 fishing season the fisherman takes the net in his boat and starts for the shoal-water fishing grounds 

 of the inner coves, bays, or lagoons, where the net is most successfully used. When a school of 

 mulbt is seen he at once rows or paddles up to it, and, after fastening the line to his arm, seizes 

 in his left hand the ring which lines the aperture at the center, and with the other proceeds to throw 

 the net over the fish. In throwing, one of the leads at the circumference is held between the teeth 

 and a number of others are gathered in the right hand; then, by a swinging motion of the arms 

 and body, the net is thrown to a distance of 8 to 10 feet from the boat, in such a way that it spreads 

 out and falls flat upon the surface of the water. The leads at the circumference at once carry this 

 to the bottom, the central portion of the netting forming a bag, into which the fish rise as they find 

 themselves surrounded. The sinkers keep the rim of the net well down, and, by a slight jerking 

 motion of the line which connects with the brails, the circumference is gradually drawn inward till 

 the leads are together in one bunch at the center; and as they are raised from the bottom the net- 

 ting drops over them, the fish being retained in the folds until they can be lifted into the boat. 



Two styles of cast-nets are in common use, the Spanish, or "bag-net," as it is sometimes 



