Giant Fish of Florida 
THE SHEEPSHEAD (Archosargus probatocephalus) 
1 mentioned the sea-bream in writing of catfish, and one 
of the commonest of the group on that coast is the sheepshead, 
so-called, I imagine, from the solid, sheeplike teeth that can 
even crunch the mangrove oysters, in the neighbourhood of 
which these fish are so fond of foregathering. These growths 
of oysters on the red mangrove always attract the notice of 
visitors unused to the spectacle. The best bait for these 
bream is a fiddler crab, a crustacean found in every lagoon 
thereabouts, and owing its name to a singular habit of waving 
its large claw (only the male has this disproportionate limb) 
exactly as if it were drawing a bow across afiddle. As the sea- 
bream are fond of company, playing one is generally the 
prelude to a good bag of them. They bear little resemblance 
to their namesakes of rivers and ponds, for they are not so 
slimy or sluggish, but on the contrary more spiny, and have 
the dark band markings and game fighting manner of perch. 
They feed not far from the bottom, and must be struck sharply 
the moment they bite, and for their size they play very well. 
They can be taken in immense quantities. 
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