46 WHERE, WHEN, AND HOW TO CATCH FISH 



large ; maxillary large, nearly y 2 length of head, its posterior mar- 

 gin reaching past front of orbit ; lower jaw with fleshy tip, bluntly 

 conical ; interorbital area concave, with a shallow medium groove (as 

 wide as pupil at posterior edge of orbit), divided by a ridge in front 

 and behind ; supraocular ridge bony and striate ; preocular ridge pres- 

 ent ; teeth large ; premaxillary teeth small, little compressed, irreg- 

 ularly set nearly uniform in size, somewhat thicker and shorter 

 posteriorly ; premaxillary with two pairs of very large compressed 

 teeth, their length more than half width of pupil ; anterior ones 

 directed downward, posterior ones downward and backward ; teeth in 

 lateral series of lower jaw small anteriorly, increasing gradually 

 backward, when they nearly equal those on palatines ; palatine teeth 

 similar to those on lower jaw, arranged in reversed order. Distance 

 from tip of snout to front of dorsal 2| in body ; second dorsal spine 

 longest, lyj, in snout ; second dorsal and anal equal; anal inserted 

 under first third of soft dorsal ; caudal forked, upper lobe the longer ; 

 pectorals reaching beyond front of dorsal, 2^ in head; origin of 

 first dorsal slightly behind the ventrals ; cheeks and opercles scaly, 

 about 12 rows of scales on cheeks; upper part of head with small 

 embedded scales. Color silvery, darker above ; sides in young with 

 about 10 dark blotches which break up and disappear with age ; some 

 inky spots, usually on posterior part of body, are very conspicuous in 

 both old and young specimens ; soft dorsal, anal and ventral fins 

 black, except on margins ; pectorals plain, except upper part of its 

 margin, which is black ; fins of very young specimens nearly plain. 

 The largest and most voracious of the Barracudas, reaching a length 

 of 6 feet. ' ' Weight to 75 pounds ; average, 20 pounds. 



Caught from rowboat, anchored, still fishing, Tarpon rod and reel, 

 10$ or Tarpon hook, 21 line, wire snood Xy^ feet long. Bait : Live 

 Mullet, Spot, Grunt or other small fish ; no sinker. Keep the bait 

 floating just under or on surface. When the fish bites, let him run a 

 few feet and strike, and play him until he surrenders. Or, trolling 

 from rowboat, sailboat, or launch, with same rig as above. With rod 

 and reel you must slow up to play and land the fish. Or, trolling 

 with y^-cotton handline, squid, or large hook and live or dead small 

 fish. And last, and the best method of all, fish from rowboat on 

 bars near passes, sand banks, along shores, and in shallow small bays, 

 especially on west side of Biscayne Bay, in, say, three to five feet of 

 water ; Tarpon rig, with small brass or iron chain as leader. Bait, 



