The Mackerel Family 



281 



The market fishermen of Key West troll for 

 kingfish and cero in their schooner smacks, using 

 coarse hand-laid cotton lines, and codfish or other 

 large hooks as mentioned. The bait is usually 

 a piece of white bacon-rind, cut in an elliptical 

 shape to resemble a fish, and strung along the 

 shank of the hook, and fastened at the top by a 

 piece of fine copper wire. This rude device is 

 very successful, as they take hundreds of fish in a 

 few days, of a size running from ten to fifty 

 pounds. The cero and the kingfish are favor- 

 ite food-fishes in Key West, where large quanti- 

 ties are consumed ; and years ago many were 

 carried to Havana by the smacks, until a prohibi- 

 tive duty was imposed by the Spanish governor- 

 general, in order to favor Spanish fishermen. 

 Under the changed conditions that now exist in 

 Cuba this trade will doubtless be resumed. Both 

 the cero and kingfish are excellent food-fishes, 

 with a flavor much like that of the Spanish mack- 

 erel, but more pronounced, — that is, not so deli- 

 cate and delicious, but more pungent. 



Northern anglers who go to Florida in quest 

 of the tarpon will find in the cero and king- 

 fish game-fishes of great merit on light tackle. 



