TALES OF FISHES 



seen such a fish. Then Mr. Schutt came and con- 

 gratulated me upon landing a waahoo. 



The catching of this specimen interested me to 

 inquire when I could, and find out for myself, more 

 about this rare fish. 



Natives round Key West sometimes take it in 

 nets and with the grains, and they^all it "springer.'' 

 It is well known in the West Indies, where it bears 

 the name "queenfish." After studying this waahoo 

 there were boatmen and fishermen at Long Key who 

 believed they had seen schools of them. Mr. 

 Schutt had observed schools of them on the reef, 

 low down near the coral — ^fish that would run from 

 forty to one hundred pounds. It made me thrill 

 just to think of hooking a waahoo weighing any- 

 where near a hundred pounds. Mr. Shannon testi- 

 fied that he had once observed a school of waahoo 

 leaping in the Gulf Stream — all very large fish. 

 And once, on a clear, still day, I drifted over a 

 bunch of big, sharp-nosed, game-looking fish that 

 I am sure belonged to this species. 



The waahoo seldom, almost never, is hooked by 

 a fisherman. This fact makes me curious. All fish 

 have to eat, and at least two waahoo have been 

 caught. Why not more? I do not believe that it 

 is just a new fish. I see Palm Beach notices printed 

 to the effect that sailfish were never heard of there 

 before the Russo-Japanese War, and that the ex- 

 plosions of floating mines drove them from their 

 old haunts. I do not take stock in such theory as 

 that. As a matter of fact, Holder observed the sail- 

 fish {Histiophorus) in the Gulf Stream off the Keys 



many years ago. Likewise the waahoo must always 



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