The Kingfish 287 
common catch offshore, ranging from Brazil to 
Massachusetts, but most plentiful in the region 
from Key West to Cape Florida. I have seen the 
water ploughed into foam by it in the open Gulf, 
and it is as gamyas its cousin. I never heard the 
name cero used by any men on the outer reef in 
connection with either of these fishes; all called 
them “kingfish.” To the professional fisherman 
it is exceedingly valuable, and is caught in great 
numbers in the vicinity of Key West. In all the 
Gulf states about 400,000 pounds are taken an- 
nually, valued at $6000. I often took it down the 
reef, off Sand, East, and Bird keys, where it came 
in near the great fringing reef that was sub- 
merged at high tide. The water here was perhaps 
fifteen or twenty feet deep, with a bottom of coral 
heads, plumes, and sponges, washed by the grand 
swell, and being on the edge of the Gulf Stream 
or in its very midst, seemed to offer the exhilarat- 
ing conditions demanded by this active creature, 
which by trolling could almost always be taken 
here. The adults ran from fifteen to thirty or forty 
pounds, and there were legends of colossi which 
weighed up to one hundred pounds, but I never 
saw them. The young, from six to twelve pounds, 
were very gamy with light rods, calling to mind 
