The Florida Jewfish 303 
Our struggle with the jewfish attracted the at- 
tention of the skipper of a smack, and as I was 
about to cast off the fish, he hailed and asked for 
it. We towed it alongside while he ran up in the 
wind, then a barbless hook was inserted in its jaw, 
the crew manned the halyard, and the jewfish was 
hauled aboard. The skipper, who hailed from 
Mystic, quickly took a few stitches in its mouth 
to prevent it from eating the rest of his catch, 
then the fish was lowered into the well and later 
carried to Havana, where jewfish steaks were 
highly esteemed. 
Within thirty miles of this place I caught a 
number of jewfishes, several giving me exciting 
contests before subdued. One taken in shallow 
water fought in a lagoon for three-quarters of an 
hour before it was landed. The tackle employed 
for this fish was an ordinary halibut line with a 
doubled leader six feet long, and a very large 
hook; the bait was hooked through the fish just 
under the dorsal fin, near the tail, so that it was 
practically uninjured; a small sinker was used to 
carry it down. 
There are two genera called jewfish by the 
habitués of the reef: the black grouper, when of 
large size, and the “ Warsaw,” Promuzcrops ttazara. 
