FISH OF FLORIDA WATERS. 



Forest and Stream Supplement No. 8. 



The Tronkfish 

 (Ostracion bicaudalc). 



'HE TRUNK- 

 FrSH (Ostra- 

 cion bicau- 

 dale), of 

 which we 

 show a front 

 view, is not 

 sought by 

 the angler, 

 but it is one 

 of the most 

 curious of 

 the Florida 

 fishes, and 



one of the best known in collections. This is the pesce toro, or bullfish, of Oozumel 

 and the West Indies. Cofferfish is a general name for the species of Ostracion. Cow- 

 fish is the name applied to the common O. quadricorne in the Gulf of Mexico. 



The subject of our sketch is a West Indian fish, but we have caught it at Oozurnel 

 and believe it may be found at Key 

 "West. In the clear waters of shelt- 

 ered bays it is a conspicuous object 

 while browsing around the rocks 

 forming the shore line. Its jaws are 

 armed with a single series of small 

 slender teeth, well adapted for seiz- 

 ing the barnacles and small mollusks 

 upon which it feeds. We took sev- 

 eral individuals with small hcoks 

 baited with half grains of corn. 



The covering of the body consists 

 of hexagonal bony scutes, protecting 

 all exposed parts except the snout, 



bases of the fins, and the hind portion of the tail. In tropical countries some 

 cases of poisoning are reported from eating the flesh of the trunkfisb, but it is 

 probable that the fish was spoiled by keeping it too long. When baked in their 

 shells, the trunkfishes, in some localities, are highly esteemed. 



The Spanish Mackerel (Scomber- 

 omorus maculatus).— This handsome 

 and active fish is sometimes styled 

 mackerel and bay mackerel. It is 

 found in summer as far north as 

 Cape Cod. Southward it extends to 

 the Gulf of Mexico. It has been re- 

 corded in the West Indies and on the 

 coast of Brazil. Jordan reported it 

 abundant in spring and summer at 

 Pensacola in 1882. Individuals have 

 been taken in rare instances north of 



Cape Cod, as, for instance, the one obtained by Capt. N. jR. Atwood, off the Maine 

 coast; but such occurrences are traceable to some unusual climatic condition. The 

 species is a lover of warm water, preferring a temperature of 70 to 80 degrees Fahren- 

 heit. The species is gregarious and migratory, traveling in immense schools, scattered 

 over large ocean areas. It comes on 

 to the coast in the spring, probably 

 as the mackerel comes, from the 

 Gulf Stream or from southern wa- 

 ters, advancing further and further 

 north as the temperature becomes 

 agreeable, reaching the northern 

 limit of its migration about the end 

 of July. The approach of cold 

 weather causes a reverse movement; 

 the end of October witnesses its dis- 

 appearance north of the Carolinas. 

 The Spanish mackerel feeds on the 

 menhaden, alewife and other fishes 

 that school at or near the surface. 

 In pursuit of its prey it often leaps 

 out of water and returns to it in a 

 long curve, cleaving it noiselessly 

 with its sharp and tapering muzzle. 



The fish is voracious and associates 

 with the bluefish in preying upon the dense masses of herring-like fishes that appear 

 off the mouths of our bays in suavmer. The menhaden is said to furnish a large part 

 of the food supply of the Spanish mackerel, and we believe it does minister largely to 

 •the wants of its rapacious follower; but many other small species are surface swim- 

 mers in the region frequented by 



menhaden, and share its fate. o -,~ 



Silas Stearns mentions specimens 

 measuring 40 in., but these large fish 

 were generally solitary; 24in. is a 



individuals do not often exceed 2 or 

 31bs. in weight. The largest ex- 

 amples recorded weighed 8 or 91bs. 



The spawning season begins in 

 April in the Carolinas and becomes 

 later and later northward; at Long 

 Island it dates from the latter part of 

 August. The eggs are very small, 

 from -h to of an inch in diameter, 

 and a quart measure will hold over a 



The Spanish Mackerel (Scomheromnrus mavilutu*). 



The L'ero (Scomberomorus regains). 



million. A <Ub. Spanish mackerel is 

 estimated to yield 1,500.000 eggs. 

 Spawning takes place in warm and 

 very shoil water. The newly hatch- 

 ed embryo is about of an inch in 

 length. It is believed that the species 

 grows very little in the first two 

 years of its life, and does not exceed 

 a half pound in weight at the end of 

 that period. 



"The Spanish mackerel is one of 

 the best food fishes, as well as one of 

 the most beautiful in form and color- 

 ation. It swims in schools and is a 

 surface feeder. I have seen it as early as January in Florida, though last winter, 

 owing to the temperature of the water along the coast, I did not meet with it until 

 the first week in March. The leaping of a Spanish mackerel while feeding, on a 

 bright day, is a beautiful sight, but the fish are shy and difficult to approach in a 



boat for rod- fishing: therefore, on 

 open waters, trolling with a long- 

 line is more successful, for which 

 small pearl or bright metal squids, 

 or the pilchard, anchovy or small 

 mullets may be used. 



"The most successful rod-fishing 

 is from the points of inlets and 

 passes, and from the end of long 

 piers in the tide-ways. Ordinary 

 black bass tackle may be used, as 

 the inshore schools do not often run 

 above two or three pounds in weight. 

 For baits any of the small fishes just 

 named are suitable. The best Spanish mackerel fishing I saw last winter was at San 

 Carlos Pass in March, and from the piers of Port Tampa in April, where large schools 

 were running at those times, at the latter place in company with the salt-water 

 'trout.' The mode of fishing is by making as long casts as possible, and slowly reeling 



in the bait, no sinker being used. 



"The Spanish mackerel takes the 

 artificial fly pretty well. Grayish or 

 y ellowish flies on No. 2 Sproat hooks, 

 and rods and other tackle made for 

 black bass fly-fishing, are all that 

 are needed for this, the most enjoy- 

 able and most sportsmanlike method 

 of angling for the Spanish mack- 

 erel. And it is a fish worthy of 

 The Kingfish (Scomberomorus cuvatla). the fly-fisher's highest regard, be- 



ing very gamy and exceedingly 

 beautiful. Its manner of fighting when fast to the angler's hook is principally 

 on the surface of the water— darting here and there with dazzling rapidity, in 

 straight or curving lines, and leaping into the air — its bright form shining 

 resplendent in the sunlight— like an animated silver arrow." 



The Cero (Scomberomorus regalis)- 

 — King cero, spotted cero, sierra and 

 pintado are the names for this spe- 

 cies. 



The cero abounds in the West In- 

 dies, and has been recorded from 

 Brazil. On the east coast it migrates 

 northward occasionally as far as Cape 

 Cod. About the Florida keys it is 

 very common associated with other 

 species of the genus. 



The cero feeds on other fishes, but 

 little is recorded of its habits; it 

 swims on the surface and is taken 

 there in large numbers by fishermen. 



The species reaches a length of 5 

 or 6ft., and weighs up to 20 or 301bs. 

 It resembles the Spanish mackerel 

 in a. general way, but may be im- 

 mediately distinguished by the nar- 

 row stripes along its sides, which are not present in any of the other American species, 

 "Its spots are dark, where those of the Spanish mackerel are yellowish-bronze. The 

 cero is caught in company with the kingfish by trolling along the Florida keys 

 from Cape Florida to Key West, and they form the principal supply of food-fishes 



in the Key West market, where both 

 species are sold under the name of 

 'kingfish.' 



"The cero is sometimes caught 

 from the wharves and piers of the 

 Florida keys, or from anchored ves- 

 sels by still-fishing, or rather by 

 casting pilchard bait; but the usual 

 and most successful method of fish- 

 ing is by trolling with hand-line 

 from a sailing vessel, using a small 

 codfish hook baited with a strip of 

 pork-rind cut in the semblance of a 

 small fish. A wire snell is necessary 

 on account of the sharp, lancet- 

 shaped teeth of these fishes. A 



The Cavalli (Caranx hippos) 



" v- ; ' 



The Dolphin (Coryphmna hippwi w). 



