172 Big Game Fishes 
Aransas Pass and other points on the Texan 
coast, and in the Indian River region. At the 
latter locality they afford excellent sport and can 
almost always be found from May to November, 
and few anglers in Florida but have tried conclu- 
sions with this fish. The jack is a convivial fellow, 
bold, daring, sociable, with a penchant for dis- 
playing its attractions around wharves and docks, 
darting along near the surface, a vision of silver, 
gold, and green, its “ Roman nose,” large head, 
and prominent eyes making it a conspicuous object, 
while the variety in size renders it game for the 
smallest rods. I have taken small jacks with a 
trout-rod with good results, and one can grade 
them up with rods adapted to their size, which 
is an essential in all fair fishing. In taking the 
large jacks I used a jointed greenheart rod eight 
and a half feet long, not over twelve ounces 
in weight; the reel held about three hundred 
feet of line corresponding to what is known as 
number twelve cuttyhunk; and for jacks weigh- 
ing from ten to fifteen pounds, even a number 
nine line, providing three hundred feet was at 
hand, was sufficiently strong to enable me to land 
the game. 
The jack is not an epicure; any lure is game 
