The Groupers 215 
the most valuable food and game fishes, many of 
which are noted for their size. It has a large 
head, with wide buckler-like gill-covers, very large 
or deep where its neck should be, grading off 
gradually; not what would be termed a handsome 
or comely fish, yet with its red coat, bright and 
prominent eyes, long and full dorsal, it makes 
a brave showing. The young, especially when 
they weigh about ten pounds, are particularly 
attractive. 
There are fascinations in angling in tropical 
seas not experienced elsewhere. The fishing is 
excellent all the year round. Sir Henry Wotton, 
the good friend of Izaak Walton, once said that 
“he would rather live five Mays than forty 
Decembers,” and every angler will agree with 
him, as where is there good fishing in December? 
It is the season in the North for story-telling. 
The angler takes out his rods, his fly-book, or his 
trolling lure, large and small, and tells to some 
patient and loyal friend, who has heard the same 
tale fifty times, of the colossus that escaped on a 
certain day; and the friend, with the camaraderie 
of the true angler, smiles, expresses wonder, and 
enjoys it, and fails to note how the monster 
grows with passing seasons. But there is a 
