242 GA^rE FISH OF NORTH AMERICA. 



There is no species of commercial fishing which brings so much 

 sport and excitement to the fishennan, and quite likely no vacation 

 would be more enjoyed by the novice than one passed on a cruise 

 for mackerel. 



The beauty of this fish is widely known. Its body is long and 

 slender, and its lines are like those of a yacht ; tail forked, color 

 dark greenish blue on the back ; sides steel blue, marked the whole 

 length by oblique blue-black bars, belly silvery white. Tne mack- 

 erel is one of the most beautiful fish that swims, and one of those 

 most esteemed for the table. 



BoNlTO or Skip-Jack. — Sardapelamys, — Cut, 



This is one of the scombridae or mackerel family, and is often 

 taken by trolling in deep water outside the bars and inlets. It 

 spawns about June. It is not highly prized for the table, although 

 it is a good marketable fish. It has the tail of a mackerel, but is 

 a much thicker fish in proportion to its length, and is much more 

 brilliant in its colors, the back being a vivid green that merges 

 into an equally vivid blue upon the sides. Its upper part is marked 

 with five decided black longitudinal stripes. Its belly is white. 

 Average weight, one pound and a half. 



Sf.u^ish Mackerzu — Cybium Tnacuiatum. — Cuv, 



This fish makes its appearance in northern waters along the 

 coast in June, and is taken often as late as the first of December. 

 It is taken by trolling squids in bays, sounds, and estuaries, and 

 also in the open ocean. Its weight often reaches twelve pounds. 

 It is highly esteemed for the table. Few fish are more beautiful 

 Its back and sides, down to its lateral line, are dark blue tinged 

 with purple and gold ; below the line it is pink and gold for a short 

 distance, shading to white on the belly. Spots of gold of the size 

 of a gold dollar are scattered over the body to the number of 

 twenty or thirty. Sometimes it is taken with hook baited with 

 shedder crabs, while angUng for striped bass. The best trolling 

 squids are made either of Britannia metal, tapering, with a tail of 

 red ibis feathers, or of brightly polished metal inlaid with pearl, to 

 represent the sea shiner. 



