44 Big Game Fishes 
readily taking crayfish. All were cunning, and 
well deserved the name of sea lawyer. 
The gray snapper, Lutianus griseus (Linn.), has 
a wide range, having been observed as far north 
as New Jersey, though it is not a common visitor, 
and as far south as Brazil, ranging east to the 
African coast. At Bermuda it is common and 
attains a large size, individuals from fifty to sixty 
pounds having been caught near Hamilton by 
friends of mine, and I have heard of larger speci- 
mens. The largest gray snapper I took on the 
outer Florida reef weighed thirty pounds, and 
this was exceptional, the average weight being 
from seven to fifteen pounds. 
I believe with the gray snappers there is a 
certain but limited movement into deeper water 
in the winter months. In summer large indi- 
viduals are frequently found about mangrove 
roots in from five to ten feet of water. Along 
the coast of Florida, the spawning season is from 
about June 15 to August 15. The young are 
found almost anywhere, as gamy as trout, I 
discovered, and among the most attractive and 
interesting fishes of the reef from the fact that 
they would allow me to approach so near that I 
could almost touch them. 
