ON THE EAST COAST OF FLORIDA. 



47 



half-pound Mullet or other small fish, head and tail cut off. Your 

 guide to pole the boat until he sees a fish lying on the bottom, or 

 moving slowly, he then stops and holds the boat with the pole ; you 

 keep your seat and cast as near the fish as possible ; he will run a short 

 distance, but will soon return and, usually, after eyeing the bait, will 

 make a rush and gobble it. The instant he takes it, strike him. If 

 successful in hooking him, he will make long runs, as, like the Bone- 

 fish under same circumstances, he has no deep water to run to. Play 

 him until he surrenders. He has no superior as a game fish when 

 thus caught ; in fact, I consider him fully equal to the Tarpon or any 

 game fish when caught in this way. I call this fish a salt-water Pike, 

 or salt-water Mascalonge. Picuda, Spanish, means Pike. Edible up 

 to 15 pounds. A 1, or A. 





V 's 



40. "HOLOCENTRUS ASCENSIONIS.' 



Illustration. Page. 



358 848 



Squirrel-fish ; "Head 3}i ; depth 3-f ; eye 24; snout 4^. 



Matejuelo; d. XI, 15; A. Ill, 10;° scales 5-50 to 54-7; 



Soldado; coeca 25; vertebrae 11 + 16. Mouth small, little 



Welshman. ... .,. ' 



oblique, maxiliary scarcely reaching middle of eye ; 



longest dorsal spines more than half length of head ; soft dorsal 



pointed, as high as the body ; third anal spine very strong, as long as 



