218 WHERE, WHEN, AND HOW TO CATCH FISH 



grains. The market fishers of Key West catch all their fishes with 

 hand lines, from small sailboats, usually sixteen to twenty feet long, 

 with wells in them, and thus bring the fish in and sell them alive. 

 They put them in sunken boxes alongside the fish market dock, 

 usually separating the fishes according to species. 



Their customers come and select the variety and size wanted. 

 There are no " middle men," each fisherman sells out his stock direct 

 to the consumer, who goes on his way rejoicing, and the fisherman 

 starts out after more fish. Now, there is an ideal anti -trust situation 

 for you. 



SOLDIER KEY. 



TWELVE MILES FROM MIAMI. 



This Key belongs to the United States Government and was used 

 as a residence for the men who built Fowey Rock Lighthouse, four 

 and a half miles east, very near the outer edge of the Great Reef. 

 When this lighthouse was completed, the old Cape Florida Light, on 

 the extreme lower end of Key Biscayne, was abandoned. Soldier 

 Key is approached from the inside by two principal channels, in 

 which there is fair fishing for all the fishes of the bay ; but I have 

 never done very well in them except for the smaller varieties, such as 

 Grunts, Porgies, Small Groupers, and Snappers. I have seen many 

 Barracuda near the Key, but never caught one there. At times there 

 is fine Bonefishing around Little Soldier Key, a small "bump" or 

 rock a short distance to the south, and some are taken all around the 

 Key itself. In my general resume of Biscayne Bay I have described 

 the fishing on the reef east of this Key, and around Fowey Rock 

 Light. 



I will here say that I have now reached the limit of one day's 

 fishing which can usually be done from Miami, either with sailboat 

 or launch. 



Parties desiring to fish from here south to within a few miles of 

 Key West will have to "cruise," that is, will have to use their own 

 craft, or charter one large enough to live aboard. Such boats can be 

 chartered in Miami, of all suitable sizes, from twenty-five feet to 

 sixty-five feet, providing accommodations for from one person and 

 the skipper up to a party of five or six, with a crew of three or four. 

 One, two, or three small boats are necessary in all cases. The 



