586 HISTORY AND METHODS OF THE FISHERIES. 
are colonies of red-snappers living by themselves in the southern region, which yield most excellent 
fishing on account of their having been but little disturbed by man. They are, however, small, and 
lying, as they do, far from land in broad areas of unproductive bottom, they are difficult to find. 
The fishing grounds south of Mobile Bar in 37, 39, and 40 fathoms are called ‘‘The Southwest 
Ground” or “Campeche;” southeast from the same point in 19 fathoms, is the “Trysail Ground;” 
a small spot in-shore of that is known as the “Dutch Bank.” Then from Pensacola Bar, is the 
“Old Southwest Ground,” a small shoal-water spot but a few miles from land; the “ Middle Ground” 
is another small bank, situated 5 or 6 miles from the bar; the “Old Deep-water,” a 40-fathom 
ground S. and 8. by E. off-shore; and the “Charles Henry Ground,” and the “ Henry Holes,” at 
the edge of deep-water southeasterly from the bar. Between Pensacola and Cape San Blas there 
are numerous small spots for fishing which have each several names given according to the fancy 
of the fishermen, and often referring to some object on land that may be used as a range or bear- 
ing; as for instance the “Roger’s Hill Bank,” the “First Yellow Bluff,” and the “Second Yellow 
Bluff” banks, the “Fifteen off Bald Hill,” &c. Off-shore there are other grounds, designated by 
the depth of water on them, and some conspicuous land-marks that the fishermen use to lay 
their course from, as “The Twenty-one Off The Pass,” “The Second Seventeen Off The Inlet,” 
the “Saint Andrews Ground,” the “Old Cape Ground,” and the “New Cape Ground.” South of 
Cape San Blas the grounds are not so well known, and also being mostly far from land are not so 
easily distinguished from each other. There are a few names applied to large areas of ground, as 
the “Dog Island Grounds,” and the “Middle Ground,” one including at least 25 miles square and 
the other being twice as large. 
The fishing grounds are found by sounding, the sudden change in the depth of water showing 
that a gulch is reached, whereupon the vessel is hove to until the lines are tried for a bite. Ifthe 
fish bite freely, a buoy is placed to mark the spot and the vessel is allowed to drift, with sails slacked 
off sidewise from the wind, until the fish cease to bite, when the sails are trimmed in to work the 
vessel up to the buoy again. ~ 
In smooth water, when a first-rate “bank” is found, the vessel is anchored near the buoy, but 
on small and thinly populated “banks” anchoring is unnecessary, for two or three drifts suffice to 
catch up all the fish that will bite. Some “banks” are so infested with foul fish, sharks, large 
jew-fish, leather-jackets (Balistes capriscus), and porgies (Sparus pagrus) that they give the snappers 
but little chance to bite, and the fishermen are obliged to leave them for others. 
The gear used in this fishery consists of cotton lines 60 fathoms long, arranged with two cod- 
fish hooks at the end, on different snoods, and a piece of lead for sinker, weighing 2 pounds or 
more, fastened to the line 5 or 6 feet above the hooks. Red-snappers, and in fact all the large 
bottom fish caught on these grounds have their swimming-bladders very much distended with air 
by being relieved of the great pressure to which they are accustomed, and unless the air is removed 
at once the fish will not live in the vessel’s well, nor will it keep so fresh in ice. To provide for this, 
when the fish are to be kept alive, the fishermen have little metal tubes, called ‘‘prickers,” fitted 
in wooden handles and sharpened at the end, which they thrust through the side of the fish into 
the bladder, when the air escapes, and the fish is thrown into the well as lively as ever. The 
coarse scales of the side seem to cover the opening made by the pricker, keeping water from 
filling the cavity of the stomach. When fish are to be stored in ice, the air is let out by means 
of an old file or a one-tined fork that the fishermen sometimes use for handling fish. The deeper 
the water is that fish are taken from, the more distended they are with air. Those caught in 35 or 
40 fathoms are puffed out in an almost round form, and the scales along the sides are started and 
turned up on end, giving the fish a peculiarly distressed appearance. 
