492 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[Jan. 9, I89u. 



adds greatly to the sport of its capture, Dr. G-oode has 

 seen them rise five or six feet above the water. 



May and June are the usual nest- building months of 

 the biack bass in Florida, but this season is extended in 

 some instances by early and late spawning. In the FOR- 

 EST and Stbeam office is the mounted head of a black 

 bass caught in Florida, which weighed 23£lbs. 



For giant black bass the angler must go to Florida: 

 here, according to authentic records, he will find individ- 

 uals reaching a weight of 201bs.. with powers of resistance 

 equal to the struggles of a winninish. He will learn, 

 also, that a veteran angler has taken three tons of black 

 bass in Lake Monroe during a single winter. 



" In running waters it is as gamy as in the North, and 

 is a much better food fish. It rises well to the artificia.1 

 fly of the conventional patterns and colors, and can be 

 taken by any of the usual baits, or by trolling with the 

 spoon, or even a bit of white rag. 



"In view of its greater weight than at the North, a 

 somewhat heavier rod should be used, from 8 to lOoz. , 

 both for bait and fly-rods, otherwise the same tackle is 

 employed: and it will be found in Florida, as elsewhere, 

 that inch for inch and pound for pound it is the gamest 

 fish that swims." 



The Sea Bass (Centropristis striatus).— This is the black- 

 fish of Florida and the black will of South Carolina. We 

 have for years believed it to be distinct from the Northern 

 sea. bass (Centropristis nigricans). According to this belief 

 the range of the species would not extend much north of 

 South Carolina. In the Gulf of Mexico the species is 

 rather abundant in some localities in west Florida and 

 about certain of the keys; on the Texas coast it is rare or 

 wanting. On the east coast of Florida it is common, 

 Clarke found them in abundance at Mosquito Inlet. 



The sea bass is a voracious feeder and one of the most 

 persistent biters known. The young are found in the 

 channels of shallow bays and around the piles of wharves 

 and landings. The large fish frequent deeper waters of the 

 off-shore banks where they hide under stones or in rock 

 crevices. It is not necessary as a rule to locate the sea 

 bass: the angler's fervent desire generally is to locate 

 where he is " conspicuous by his absence." 



The food of this fish includes shrimp and crabs, squids, 

 sea worms, small fishes and all other animals of suitable 

 size. The species is a bottom feeder. 



The size of the Florida sea bass is much below that of 

 its Northern relative, seldom exceeding ] 2 or I4in., with a 

 weight of a pound or less. 



Silas Stearns recorded the spawning season in the Gulf 

 of Mexico to occur in early summer, and he has caught 

 the young in July and August. The male develops a 

 prominent hump on the top of his head during the breed- 

 ing season and takes on great brilliancy of colors. 



"I have seldom taken the sea bass on the Gulf coast of 

 Florida with rod and line, though I have found it more 

 common on the east coast, on Indian River. It is not 

 much of a game fish and is usually but of a pound or two in 

 weight. 



" Ordinary black bass tackle will answer very well for 

 the sea bass, but as it is usually met with in the tideways, 

 in rocky situations, and where a rather heavy sinker is 

 required, the " Little Giant" i-od is more suitable. For 

 baits — shrimp, fiddler and clam are all good." 



The Red Grouper (Cerna mono).— Other names of 

 this inrportant fish are brown snapper, red snapper, red- 

 bellied snapper, groper, red groper, Cherna, CJieima 

 amerieana and Cheima de vivero. 



The red grouper is one of the commonest fishes of the 

 Gulf of Mexico, and occurs in less abundance in the West 

 Indies. It is associated with the red snapper on the off- 

 shore banks, where invf>rtebrated animals are plentiful. 

 Grouper banks are located eight miles due west of Clear- 

 water Harbor. Along our east coast it comes north in 

 summer occasionally as far as the bays of Long Island. 

 Off the coast of Y ucatan the Grampus found it on the 

 Campeachy Banks. Along the Florida Keys small-sized 

 grouper are the rule. 



This is decidedly a bottom fish in moderate depths, but 

 comes into the bays and inlets to spawn, and the young 

 are most abundant in the inlets. At Mosquito Inlet small 

 fish of 1 to 31bs. are common. Indian River Inlet con- 

 tains examples of 10 to 121bs., and in the Gulf very large 

 specimens are plentiful. The red grouper is a voracious 

 destroyer of small fishes, and is very fond of crabs and 

 other crustaceans. It is said to be wary in taking the 

 hook, but we have never experienced any difficulty in 

 catching even more than we needed when fishing for red 

 snapper. 



We have caught many individuals weighing 301bs. or 

 more on the red snapper banks, and Silas Stearns has 

 recorded a maximum weight of 401bs. for this species. 



The spawning season appears to be late spring; Stearns 

 has obtained the young an inch long in June. 



An interesting account of red grouper fishing is pub- 

 lished in Forest and Stream of May 2, 1889. 



"This is a pretty fair game fish with light tackle, and 

 tries to keep near the bottom. 



"The 'Little Giant,' or a light striped bass rod, multi- 

 plying reel, braided line, size E, and Sproat hook, 3-0, on 

 a gimp snell, with sinker adapted to the tide, constitute 

 the best tackle. For bait may be employed sea crawfish, 

 shrimp, fiddler or clam. In the channels near Key West 

 it is taken along with grunts, porgies, snappers, hogfish, 

 etc., and with the same baits." 



The Jeweish {Promicrops ibaiara).— The guasa of 

 the West Indies, changed into warsaw at Pensacola, and 

 know also as jew fish and black grouper, is the largest 

 scaled fish of Atlantic waters. 



It inhabits both coasts of tropical America, coming 

 north as far as the Savannah banks and the Gulf of Cali- 

 fornia, and extending southward to Brazil, where it is 

 the merou. 



i We know almost nothing about the habits of this spe- 

 cies except that it lives on the bottom in moderate depths 

 and preys on other fishes. When its appetite gets control 

 of its movements the best thing its neighbors can do is to 

 make themselves invisible. 



Dr. Henshall tells us something about his own experi- 

 ence in catching the jewfish, and we will yield the 

 column to him, merely pausing to remark that Prof. 

 Poey records the maximum weight of this leviathan as 

 6001bs. It should be mentioned also that the jewfish is 

 quite distinct from the black grouper (Epinephelus 

 nigritus), and may be at once distinguished from it by 

 comparing the very low spinous dorsal of the first with 

 the high triangular first dorsal of the black grouper: 

 "The jewfish is a fair game fish, and the smaller ones 



can be caught in the deep portions of inlets and passes, 

 where there are holes among the rocks, or on the sides of 

 channels that are being washed a way by the tide, leaving 

 the banks perpendicular and the water deep, especially 

 if the bank or shore is well wooded and the roots are ex- 

 posed by the washing away of the soil. They are taken 

 m such localities from 5 to 201bs., generally with the hand 

 line and mullet or crab bait. Light striped bass tackle 

 answers well for the jewfish of these weights and it gives 

 good sport, being a strong and active fish. 



"The jewfish grows to an enormous size, however, and 

 passes in and out of the inlets with the tide when of great 

 weight. I helped to capture one on a shark line at 

 Jupiter Lighthouse that weighed on the steelyard 3401bs. 

 Col. Matt. S. Quay, of Philadelphia, was a witness to the 

 taking and weighing of this immense fish. During the 

 same winter I helped capture another on a shark line at 

 Little Gasparilla Inlet that weighed fully 300 lbs. These 

 fishes were 7ft. long and of about the same girth at the 

 pectoral fin. 



"One of the best places I know of for jewfish of mode- 

 ate weights is at Gordon's Pass, three miles below Naples, 

 on the south shore of the pass, where the bank is steep 

 and rocky and the water deepest. A similar situation, 

 though on the northern side of the inlet, is at Little 

 Gasparilla, and other good points for jewfish are on the 

 south shores of Bocilia and Stump Passes, where the 

 banks are wooded and steep and the water deep." 



The Striped Bass (Roccus lineat-us).— The striped bass 

 is known on the southern coast of the United States, from 

 New Jersey southward, as rock or rockfish. In New 

 England large individuals found occurring at sea are 

 styled greenhead and squidhound. Streaked bass is one 

 of the old names of the species. 



The striped bass ranges along the entire Atlantic coast 

 from the St. Lawrence to the Gulf of Mexico, everywhere 

 entering rivers. It is now definitely known to occur in 

 the Alabama River in moderate numbers and is repre- 

 sented there by some very large examples. Centers of 

 abundance are the great bays and sounds from southern 

 New England to North Carolina. Large specimens are 

 said to be very abundant in Albemarle Sound. 



Dr. Goode says it is unusual in the St. John's River; he 

 knows of the capture of only two there since 1873. Silas 

 Stearns obtained one or two in the vicinity of Pensacola; 

 he reports them more common about the Mississippi 

 River mouths; only in this region are they taken in 

 seines. In 1850 Capt. John Washington, of Mystic, Conn., 

 stmounded a large school of wild fish, only a few of 

 which were saved, and were striped bass of 15 to 401bs. 

 At New Orleans it is often found in the market. 



The species was introduced into California soon after 

 the successful planting of shad in that State, and is now 

 occasionally found in the San Francisco markets. 



The species lives indifferently at sea, in brackish water 

 and in fresh water, ascending streams unless prevented 

 by obstructions, and may be kept in artificial ponds. It 

 is one of our permanent residents and may be taken 

 under the ice in winter in the rivers and sounds. When 

 ice-bound in shallow water, especially in the northern 

 part of its habitat, it is said to hibernate. The bass is not 

 a lover of warm water. 



The striped bass is carnivorous and predaceous. In the 

 streams it feeds upon small fishes, apparently taking 

 great delight in the alewife or river herring, and the 

 young of other members of the herring family. 



In brackish water it obtains an abundance of killifish, 

 silversides, anchovies, lant and other small species. In 

 the bays and sounds they feed upon crabs and other crus- 

 taceans, and upon squids, clams, mussels and other niol- 

 lusks. 



The movements of the striped bass while feeding are 

 governed largely by the tides; favorite feeding localities 

 are at the mouths of small creeks and in tideways where 

 an abundance of living prey is constantly brought within 

 their reach. 



At Avoca, North Carolina, fish weighing 951bs. are re- 

 corded by Dr. Capehart. The limit of the weight of this 

 species is about lialbs. In Northern waters the large fish 

 appear to be getting scarcer, and fish markets show for 

 their principal supply great quantities of small fish, some 

 of which weigh only a few ounces. 



The striped bass spawns in May and June, either in the 

 rivers or in the brackish waters of the bays and sounds. 

 Eggs have been artificially hatched on Albemarle Sound 

 in May, In the Delaware River Dr. Abbott has found 

 young an inch long in the second week in June, which 

 grew to a length of 4|in. by the middle of October. 



By reference to Forest and Stream of March 14, 1889, 

 it will be found that striped bass kept in a pool 10ft. in 

 diameter and 3ft. deep, and fed on crabs and oysters, in- 

 creased in about eleven months from 6in. in length to 

 20in. 



It is said that bass weighing from ^lb. to lib., placed in 

 a Rhode Island pond in June, weighed 6lbs. in the fol- 

 lowing October. 



In fresh water salted eel tail is a favorite bait, and the 

 spoon or spinner is effective. Live minnows are pre- 

 ferred, however, to all other baits. For surf fishing 

 shedder crab well secured to the hook is especially suc- 

 cessful. 



"The methods of fishing for the striped bass vary with 

 its size. The "Jumbos" of from 20 to 601bs. are taken on 

 the New England coast from Gay Head to Montauk Point 

 with menhaden bait. This is the top notch of striped 

 bass fishing, requiring strong and excellent tools. The 

 rod should be 8 or 9ft. long, of ash and lancewood, natural 

 bamboo or split-bamboo, and should weigh .from 10 to 

 16oz., according to the material of construction. The 

 reel should be a multiplyer of large size and excellent 

 workmanship; the best, in fact, that can be purchased, 

 capable of holding 600ft. of 12 to 15-thread line. The 

 best hook is the knobbed Sproat or knobbed O'Shaugh- 

 nessy, from 6-0 to 8-0. The hook is affixed to the line "by 

 two or three halt- hitches. The bait is cut from the pos- 

 terior half of a menhaden and doubled around the shank 

 of the hook, fleshy side out, with a half-hitch or two of 

 the line around its upper portion to retain it in place. 

 The portions of the menhaden left, after cutting off the 

 baits, are chopped up and thrown into the water to 

 'chum' the bass by the oily 'slick' it occasions on the sur- 

 face of the water, which is quite attractive to the fish. 



"The bait is then cast from the shore or 'stands' from 

 50 to 100yds. out into the surf, which procedure can be 

 followed exactly in Florida, wherever the bass may be 

 found in sufficient numbers, except that mullet bait can 

 be substituted for menhaden. 



"Striped bass weighing from 2 to lOlbs. are taken in the 

 estuaries and lower parts of streams with such baits as 

 shrimps, sand worms, shedder or 'peeler 5 crabs, squids, 

 soft clams, young eels, etc., and much lighter rods and 

 tackle can be employed. The bass will also rise to a 

 gaudy fly in such situations." 



The Bluefish (Pomatomus saltatrix). Popular names 

 of this widespread species are horse mackerel, mackerel, 

 snap-mackerel, snapping mackerel, snapper, blue snap- 

 per, skip mackerel, whitefish, tailor, greenfish, skip-jack, 

 salt-water jack and bluefish. 



On our coast the range of this fish extends from Maine 

 to the Gulf of Mexico. The bluefish is found in varying 

 abundance, and sometimes disappears for a long term of 

 years. Omitting certain localities where it would be ex- 

 pected to occur, the species frequents warm seas of both 

 continents. The young are scarcely known until they 

 have reached a length of li or 2in. Smaller ones have 

 been taken occasionally at sea. The young often af.eend 

 rivers into entirely fresh water. 



The bluefish is one of the' most destructive in existence 

 to other fishes; its delight in life is to gorge itself almost 

 to the point of bursting and then maim and destroy its 

 helpless victims for the mere love of killing. It follow.*, 

 within certain limits, the vast shoals of menhaden and 

 alewives that migrate along our coast in summer, and 

 the young and half grown crowd fiercely into our bays 

 and sounds in pursuit of anchovies, silversides. young 

 herring and any other fish of suitable size that may be 

 found. 



In Florida the species is best known by small examples, 

 but schools of adults occur at certain seasons. Two or 

 three pounds is a fair average weight. Further north 

 large individuals are common: specimens weighing 40 

 or 501bs. and measuring 5ft. are recorded, but the average 

 weight now is under lOlbs. The young fish are very 

 thin, but the old increase greatly in plumpness. 



The spawning grounds are undiscovered. It is proba- 

 ble that the bluefish, like many other marine species, has 

 floating eggs and the young are developed at the surface, 

 ready to begin their piratical career. The Fish Commis- 

 sion steamer Albatross and the schooner Grampus have 

 taken specimens under an inch long off shore, and Dr. 

 Bean seined examples from l|toliin. long at Ocean City 

 N. J., on the last of August. In the same month indi- 

 viduals of 8in. to lit. were obtained in Great Egg Harbor 

 Bay. The rate of growth is very rapid, as it appears that 

 the fish doubles its weight in the course of a summer. 



The best known method of taking bluefish is by troll- 

 ing at the surface with a squid of metal or bone, to which 

 is attached a piece of white rag or part of an eel skin. In 

 tide rips with a moderate breeze, this is very effective 

 land full of excitement. Heaving and hauling in the 

 surf, particularly near the mouths of small streams, into 

 which alewives are passing, is a favorite pastime. At 

 Indian River Inlet, according to Dr. Ken worthy, "small 

 bluefish congregate in numbers during the winter months 

 and at times will not refuse a fly." Artificial minnows 

 are used with a light rod where schools of the young are 

 seen feeding near the surface, and shrimp make a good 

 bait under similar conditions. 



"The bluefish is abundant on the east coast of Florida, 

 though not so common on the Gulf coast. Last winter I 

 took the young of 2in. in length on the southwest coast. 

 At Jupiter Inlet and Lake Worth I have had fine sport 

 bluefishing. The usual way of fishing for them is by 

 trolling with the hand-line from a sailboat with a pearl, 

 bone or metal squid, trolling spoon, or even a bit of pork 

 rind or a white rag affixed to a hook. They are taken in 

 this manner up to lOlbs. weight, though they usually run 

 from 3 to 61bs. 



"The hand-line for trolling should be 50yds. of No. 1 

 braided linen or cotton line, or even a larger size, to pre- 

 vent cutting the hands. The hook should be a Sproat or 

 O'Shaughnessy — 4-0 to 6-0 is large enough. 



"But the preferable and sportsmanlike method of 

 angling for the bluefish, or for any other fish for that 

 matter, is with rod and reel. A light striped bass rod or 

 a heavy black bass rod can be utilized, but a rod that I 

 have recently devised for the black bass fishing of Lake 

 Erie (where a very heavy sinker is used) is just the tool 

 for bait-fishing for bluefish and most of the coast fishes 

 that run up to 10 or 151bs. in weight- and where a heavy 

 bait or sinker is cast from the reel. 



"This rod is in two pieces (one joint), is 74ft. long and 

 weighs about 9oz., and is made of ash and lancewood or 

 split-bamboo. It will be described in a future number 

 of Forest and Stream as the 'Little Giant' black bass 

 rod. 



"A good multiplying reel of medium size and a braided 

 linen or silk line No. 3 or size E and Sproat hook 4-0 to 

 5-0, with gimp snell to withstand the lancet-shaped 

 teeth, are the other necessary articles of tackle for blue- 

 fishing, 



"For bait, a small mullet or other small fish, 3 to 6in. 

 long, is best, which is to be cast from the reel as in striped 

 bass or black bass fishing. A sinker should not be used, 

 except a small brass swivel. The fishing should be prac- 

 ticed from an anchored boat in the tideways, though in 

 Florida the shores of some of the narrow inlets answer 

 as well. The sport of the angler will be more assured if 

 he will employ 'chumming' as for striped bass by chop- 

 ping up the mullet and throwing on the surface of the 

 water to attract the fish. The bluefish is very gamy on 

 the rod, frequently leaping from the water when hooked 

 like the black bass, and will do his best to smash the 

 angler's tackle." 



The Cobia (Elacate Canada).— This striking fish has 

 received many local names, among them crab-eater, 

 bonito, coalfish, sergeant fish, snooks and ling. One of 

 the largest and most predaceous of the salt-water inhab- 

 itants, resembling an overgrown pike in appearance and 

 manners, it is a conspicuous objecs of the angler's search, 

 and is capable of satisfying completely his ambition for 

 a trial of skill. 



The cobia is found in the West Indies, the Gulf of 

 Mexico and northward on our coast, rapidly decreasing 

 in numbers above Cape Charles, and occui-ring only occa- 

 sionally as far up as Cape Cod. The British Museum has 

 specimens from Indian seas and the North Pacific which 

 are referred to our species. 



In the Indian River Clarke has seen it lurking under 

 mangrove roots waiting for its prey. Holbrook describes 

 it as a solitary fish, frequenting clear deep water. On 

 the Carolina coast it is found from May to September. 



The cobia feeds on crustaceans and fishes. In confine- 

 ment it will destroy its fellow captives without remorse, 



