190 WHERE, WHEN, AND HOW TO CATCH FISH 



CHAPTER X. 



INDIAN RIVER. 



There are no laws against the use of nets and seines in Indian 

 River, except the one applying to the inlets. For this reason the 

 river is kept partially depleted, but as the large Channel Bass are not 

 considered a choice food fish, the market fishermen usually return 

 them to the water ; large numbers of Sea Trout escape, so, as nearly 

 all the fishes mentioned at Mosquito Inlet are more or less numerous, 

 moderate sport can be had at all points on the river. I consider the 

 above a fair statement of the present condition of the sport fishing 

 on Indian River from the Haulover to Indian River Inlet. As the 

 above conditions prevail at all the towns and stations for the distance 

 named, I will have to group them under the one heading of " Indian 

 River," as above. They are Titusville, 155 miles from Jacksonville ; 

 Faustina, 168; City Point, 170; Cocoa, 175; Rock Ledge, 176; 

 Eau Galle, 190; Sarno, 191; Melbourne, 195; Malabar, 200; 

 Micco, 209 ; Roseland, 213 ; Sebastian, 215. These points are all 

 on the west side of the river, and are railroad stations. In addition, 

 there are on the east side of the river the following small places, 

 viz : Courtney, Indianola,Merrit, Doctor Whitfield's Fairy Land, and 

 Georgiana, all on Merrit's Island, so called. 



The sport fishing is almost entirely done from rowboats, trolling 

 with phantoms, spoons, red and white cloth, live Minnow, or cut fish. 

 The phantom, in my opinion, is far the best. The fishes caught 

 in this way are mainly Sea Trout, with an occasional Channel Bass, 

 or Cavalle. The latter will generally tear a phantom into ribbons. 



Channel Bass can nearly always be caught (from one to three or 

 four) by anchoring row or sailboat on any sandy point projecting into 

 the river, on either shore, hand line, or rod and reel, 18, 21 line, 5 

 or Qfo hook, cut Mullet bait ; cast as far as you can and let the bait 

 lie. I have always had some success on the sand point a few rods 

 below Doctor Whitfield's, some six miles below Rock Ledge. 



Whiting can be caught on the west sandy shores nearly the entire 



