FisuiIne To THE HeEart’s Content. 447 
which mark, if the fish has not already been named, I would 
call it Labrax bimaculatus—the two-spotted bass. In size I 
found it here from three to ten pounds, but am told that it 
frequently is taken weighing from forty to fifty pounds, and 
has been seen of nearly one hundred pounds. We also found 
the sewp* and the sea catfish at Musquito Inlet; the latter 
like the fresh-water catfish of the great lakes, but a hand- 
somer fish in shape and color— weight, from two to ten 
pounds.f There are also plenty of sharks, rays, and the saw- 
fish, sometimes ten or twelve feet long, with a saw of four 
feet in length. We find here the green turtle very com- 
mon, and oysters of the best quality every where for the 
picking up. 
“At Musquito Inlet the redfish were generally about from 
three to six pounds in weight; but we were told that in 
Indian River we should find them of great size, and that there 
was in that. river quite a variety of sporting fishes. So, being 
rather weary of catching the sheepshead, my friend and I 
hired a sail-boat and boatman, put on board a tent, blankets, 
and camp equipage, with some provisions, and started for In- 
dian River. These rivers, as they are called in Florida, are 
like the bays on Long Island; wide, shallow reaches of salt 
water, separated from the ocean by a narrow sea-beach.{ We 
sailed one hundred and twenty-five miles south to the inlet, 
where we camped, and fished for some days. We found here 
the redfish and channel bass in great numbers, and took them 
with mullet bait, cut up as you cut menhaden for the striped 
bass. They were from five to thirty pounds, and full of 
fight and vigor, so that we lost a great many large ones 
from the parting of our lines, which were the best hand-lines 
used by the Newport fishermen. Our hooks were broken, 
our hands were cut to pieces, and we frequently came off 
second best in our battles with these copper-colored kings 
of the river. With rod and reel of the right sort, the sport 
* Porgee. t See Estuary Catfish, p. 440. t Like Fire Island. 
