ON THE EAST COAST OF FLORIDA. 207 



nautical miles by the Hawkes Channel route on the "Great Florida 

 Reefs," which extends to that city from Cape Florida, nine miles 

 south of Miami. The width of this reef from the line of Keys to its 

 eastern edge is from two to six miles, and its edge is nearly coinci- 

 dent with the inner line of the Gulf Stream. The proximity of the 

 warmer water of the Gulf Stream has a decided effect upon the fish 

 life, as the species are far greater in number than farther north, very 

 many of which are of the highly-colored varieties. 



As all the species of fishes whose habitat extends from Biscayne 

 Bay to Key West are caught in the Bay, or the passes leading into it, 

 I will have to, in many cases, group them together, to avoid repeti- 

 tion. I will say, however, that larger numbers of the highly-colored 

 kinds are caught as we proceed south to Key West. 



I consider the season from the Bay to Key West to be all the 

 year round, except for the migratory species, such as Kingfish, Blue- 

 fish, Spanish Mackerel and some others, which I will treat separately. 



I consider the Sailfish a migratory one, South America being his 

 home, and the waters off Biscayne Bay being the northern limit of 

 his migration, except in rare instances. 



It is well to repeat here what I have said in my instructions, that 

 the "Northers," especially when cold, and windy weather, sadly 

 interfere with the angler's success, the same as- farther north. How- 

 ever, many more good days may be expected here, as the cold ones 

 are not so frequent, nor of so long continuance. Even in the worst 

 weather I have always been able to pick up enough to eat. 



In the U. S. Fish Commission Report of 1899, B. W. Evermann 

 and W. C. Kendall give a "Check List of the Fishes of Florida," 

 which contains 576 species, a very large proportion of which they 

 locate in the waters of Biscayne Bay, the Keys, and Key West. I 

 will give a list of those I consider important to my subject, nearly all 

 of which I have caught, observed, or know to have been caught by 

 anglers or market fishermen, viz : 



Alligator Gar, Black Drum, Gray Drum, 



Amber Jack, Blow-fish, Puffer, 



Anchovy (bait), Bluefish, 



Angel-fish, Spade-fish, Bone-fish, Big-eyed Herring, 



Barracuda, Bonito, Little Tunny, 



Besouga, Spot, Lafayette, Goody, Bur-fish, Swellfish, Puffer, 



Bill-fish, Needle-fish, Blackfish, Sea Bass (one specimen), 



Black Bass (fresh water), Bream (salt-water), 



