490 



FOREST AND STREAM SUPPLEMENT. 



| Jan. 9. 1890. 



. The Drum (Pogonias chromis).— 

 Common names of this species are 

 black drum (adult), banded drum, 

 striped drum and little dium (young). 

 The name is ; derived from the sound 

 produced by the fish in some uncer- 

 tain way. 



The drum is found along the east 

 coast from Cape Cod to Florida, and 

 is abundant in the Gulf of Mexico. 

 The young ascend rivers for short 

 distances. In the St. Johns Goode 

 records them at Jacksonville and 

 Doctor's Lake. North of New Jersey 

 the drum is a comparatively rare fish, 

 and none but adults are seen. In 

 Great Egg Harbor Bay, N. J., the 

 prettily banded young were found in 



abundance by Prof. Baird in August, 1854; but in 1887 the writer could not find them 

 on the same grounds, and the adult was only taken occasionally. The drum migrates 

 in schools along the coast, but its northern limit in winter is not recorded: it 



The Yeltx)wtail (Ocyurus chi-y.mrus). 



does not arrive on the New England 

 shores until July. It lives on the 

 bottom, where it passes a sluggish 

 existence among the oysters, crabs 

 and shrimps upon which it feeds. 

 The chin is provided with sensitive 

 barbel?, which are supposed to aid 

 the fish in its search for food. In the 

 pharynx are series of large molar 

 teeth, which enable the fish to crudi 

 oysters and other shell fish with 

 great ease. Some naturalists believe 

 that the drumming is caused by 

 clapping together the pavement-like 

 teeth of the pharynx; others think 

 it due to some action of the air blad- 

 der; some ignorantly attribute it to 

 the fishes beating the tail against the 

 bottom of the vessel, to rid them- 

 selves of parasites infesting that re- 

 gion of the body. The sound is heard more especially in the breeding season, 

 and is sometimes regarded as a signal between mates. The drum is generally con- 

 sidered very destructive to oysters. 



The drum is one of the largest 

 game fishes on our coast. It is said 

 that individuals have been taken ex- 

 ceeding lOOlbs. in weight and meas- 

 uring 4ft. in length. The usual size 

 is far below this; examples weighing 

 201b3. are mature. The bands are 

 said to continue in specimens of 10 or 

 12lbs., and such fish are preferred to 

 larger ones. Its food, as already 

 stated, is hard-shelled invertebrates, 

 and especially oysters, mussels, clams 

 and crabs. Scallops ha ve been given 

 to it in aquaria. The male is larger 

 than the female and more noisy. The 

 spawning takes place in salt water 

 during the spring months. In the 

 salt-water rivers about Halifax Inlet 

 March is stated by Clarke to be the breeding season, while Silas Stearns found April 

 and May to be their months in the vicinity of Pensacola. The eggs sink to the 

 bottom; they are brown and as big as- 

 B shot. The young are banded. They 

 grow very fast and become "black 

 drum," according to Mr. A. W. Rob- 

 erts, at the age of about three years. 



"The drum is found everywhere in 

 Florida where there are oyster banks 

 and mangrove roots laden with coon 

 oysters. Their -drumming' is con- 

 stantly heard, especially at night, 

 when one is anchored in the tide- 

 ways and in the bays. The largest 

 ones, of 20 to GOlbs. , are taken near 

 'the inlets, and those of smaller size 

 further up the bays, and the char- 

 acter of the tackle to be used will 

 depend on the locality to be fished. 



"For the 'Jumbos' heavy striped 

 bass tools are required, while that 



recommended for the spotted weakfish is more suitable for those weighing less than 

 101b?. They are often taken while fishing for sheepshead, and the smaller ones are 

 barred in a similar manner. It feeds 



r>n mollusks mostly, and the best oAllh&iLa. ' / 



baits are clam and fiddler. Thedrum, 

 unless of large size, is not much of a 

 game fish, though it pulls and tugs 

 strongly and bores toward the bot- 

 tom like the sheepshead , being also a 

 bottom fish.'' 



The Redfish {Scimia ocellata).— 

 Drum, red drum, bass, red bass, 

 spotted bass, channel bass, spot, red 

 horse, poisson rouge, pez Colorado, 

 bull redfish, are some of the names 

 of this valuable fish. 



This is one of the most important 

 ashes of the Gulf of Mexico, and ex- 



The Red G-roupeh (C'erna morio). 



tends northward in summer to the 

 Chesapeake, and possibly to New 

 Jersey. ' At Somers Point the fisher- 

 men were positive that they had 

 caught the red drum occasionally. 

 It is more abundant on the Texas 

 coast than any where else, exceeding 

 in number all the other food fishes. 



The redfish is not much of a wan- 

 derer, and its limits are pretty sharply 

 defined. It moves along the coast in 

 La rge schools, which break up in the 

 bayous and bays, where it improves 

 greatly in flesh and color by feeding. 

 In west Florida, according to Stearns, 

 it arrives from sea in March and 

 April, its coming being influenced 

 by the temperature of the water. It 

 remains for some weeks in shoal water near the inlets, or conceals itself for protection 

 from its enemies. It spends the summer in brackish water, and sometimes ascends 

 the streams into fresh water. The young fish are permanent residents in some 



regions, but the adults leave in a 

 body after spawning. 



j The species is carnivorous subsist- 



^^^^^^KS^t^ ing on shrimp, crabs and small fish. 



It is said to root among the grasses 

 and sea weeds with its head obliquely 

 downward, in search of crustaceans, 

 and to pursue schools of small fishes 

 at the surface, when it sometimes 

 breaches out of water. 



Specimens taken in the rivers and 

 inlets in the spring range from 5 to 

 lOlbs. in weight, but adults reach a 

 weight of 601bs., when they are 

 known in the Gulf of Mexico as bull 

 redfish. Large individuals are not 

 as well liked for eating as moderate 

 sized ones. The species is rather 

 elongate; an example of the largest 

 size would measure more than off. 

 The spawning season is not definitely known. Clarke says they begin to breed in 

 August and September in shallow bays and inlets, and are then unfit for food. D r. Goode 



learned on the St. Johns that school- 



The Striped Bash (Ruecus lineatug). 



The Jewfish (Promicrups itaiara). 



ing begins in November and the fish 

 are then gravid, but in December 

 they are all spent. Jordan and 

 Stearns found the young in Pensa- 

 cola Bay in April, ranging from 

 2|in. upward. The eggs, according 

 to Clarke, are buoyant. 



"The channel bass, or redfish, is 

 abundant in all Florida waters ex- 

 cept along the southern keys from 

 Cape Florida to Key West. It grows 

 to 40 or 501bs. in weight, and is then 

 a difficult fish to handle on the rod. 

 It is a good game fish and pretty fair 

 for the table. When hooked it gives 

 good play, and does not bore toward 

 the bottom like the drum, but will 

 test the angler's skill and tackle by 

 frantic rushes and long runs, varied by energetic tugs and jerks. It has a large 

 mouth and feeds on small fishes, crustaceans and thin-shelled mollusks, all of 



which are good for baits. 



"For the largest redfish heavy 

 striped bass tackle is just right, for 

 it is not very unlike that fish in its 

 way of taking a bait and its mode of 

 fighting after being hooked, though 

 it is not so active and succumbs 

 sooner. The largest redfish are 

 caught near the inlets and passes, 

 and the smaller ones further up the 

 bays and in the streams emptying 

 into them. 



"The mode of fishing for the large 

 fish is by casting mullet bait, exactly 

 as in striped bass fishing, though 

 there is no necessity for long casts 

 in Florida waters. Most of the 40- 

 pounders, however, are taken on 

 hand lines. I once killed one of 

 3olbs. on an 8oz. Henshall rod and black bass tackle iu twenty minutes; and with a rod 

 of lloz. I have killed them upto401bs., also drum and tarpon of as great a weight with 



the same rod, but a stout, well-made 

 gkggc _ ^^OTMEgw, striped bass rod i:- the proper tool 



for such work. 



'•'For the smaller (2 to lOlbs.) chan- 

 nel bass of the streams and coves, 

 light striped bass tackle, or the 'Lit- 

 tle Giant' rod, braided line, size E, 

 and 3-0 Sproat or O'Shaughnessy 

 hook will answer admirably. For 

 bait use pilchard, anchovies or cut 

 mullet, fiddlers or crabs. 



"The smaller bass will also rise 

 pretty well to the artificial fly, with 

 predominating tints of red, brown 

 or yellow. The best location for fly- 

 fishing is under the mangroves on 



The Sea Catfish tGateichthi/s felta). 



