54° 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[April 4, 1908. . 
the Southern bass is greater, the tackle should 
be slightly heavier for the big fellows. 
In going southward, whether by steamer or by 
rail, the tourist naturally drops off at Jackson¬ 
ville, and in checking off some of the good ang¬ 
ling points in Florida, I will take Jacksonville as 
a starting point, and going South, will mention 
in the order of their accessibility, the various 
resorts of both the east and west Florida coasts. 
Jacksonville is not celebrated as a fishing re¬ 
sort. In the St. John’s River, which flows near 
the city, the only game fish is the fresh water 
catfish, and while growing to a larger size than 
the better known catfish of the Mississippi, it is 
not generally considered worth angling for. In 
justice to the fish, I will add that the St. John’s 
catfish is not without a gamy spirit, and in any 
other region the despised catfish would no doubt 
come in for more attention. The Northern ang¬ 
ler who has but limited time will undoubtedly 
be anxious to begin angling for the salt-water 
fishes, for which the waters of Florida are justly 
famous. 
The town of Mayport, which lies some twenty 
odd miles east of Jacksonville, is a pretty village 
of some 300 population situated on the St. John’s 
River near the ocean; and is known and visited 
by anglers principally for its very fine sheepshead 
fishing. The sheepshead caught at this point are 
very much larger than those caught further 
south, and for the angler who is fond of fishing 
for sheepshead, a short stay at Mayport will 
prove very enjoyable. The record fish caught at 
this point is, I believe, in the neighborhood of 16 
pounds, while the sheepshead of the gulf waters 
seldom exceed seven or eight pounds. 
Pablo Beach, an attractive resort on the At¬ 
lantic seaboard, is about seventeen miles—by rail 
—from Jacksonville. The angling at this north¬ 
ern point of Florida is excellent, and channel 
bass, drum, sheepshead, grouper, sea catfish, 
whiting and many other sea fishes are caught 
here. The fishing is good all along the beach. 
St. Augustine, the fashionable winter play¬ 
ground for wealth, does not offer much of an 
attraction for the angley. One of the best fish¬ 
ing points is in the outlet of the Matanzas River, 
and pretty fair bass fishing can be had in the 
surf off Anastasia Island, just south of South 
Beach. 
New Smyrna, Ponce Creek and Mosquito Inlet 
are all reached by rail from Jacksonville, and 
this is really the commencement of Florida fish¬ 
ing. Channel bass, sheepshead, mangrove snap¬ 
pers, groupers, cavalli, sea-trout, lady and bone 
fish are the principal attractions. Very fine 
sheepshead fishing may be had from and near the 
bridge which spans the Hillsboro River. Ponce 
Creek, a few miles distant from New Smyrna, 
and situated on the Halifax River, is a well 
known fishing region. Channel bass (redfish), 
snappers, sheepshead, grouper, cavalli, sea-trout, 
ladyfish and bonefish—called locally skip jack—- 
are to be found here. 
Indian River Inlet is still another fine locality, 
both in the inside reaches and on the reefs which 
lie a short distance off shore; surf casting for 
barracuda, pompano, sea-trout, cavalli, and lady- 
fish being very fine. 
Sewell’s Point, some twenty-nine miles south 
of Indian River Inlet, is a fine bluefish and 
mackerel water and many other varieties of game 
fish, including channel bass, pompano, grouper, 
snapper, mackerel and kingfish are taken. Gil¬ 
bert’s Bar is a good point for bluefish and 
mackerel, either by still fishing in the deep chan¬ 
nel, or by trolling with a small jig* or fly. Snap¬ 
pers and grouper are best taken by bait casting, 
and likely places will be found near the man¬ 
grove trees with which the banks are thickly 
overgrown. A large, gaudy bass fly will fre¬ 
quently prove effective if cast under the trees 
near the bank. In the inside channel pompano 
may be taken. Sand worms, fiddler crabs, hermit 
crabs and red flies are good, and all are killing 
baits throughout the South, but fish baits are a 
bit disappointing. Fort Capron, Jupiter Inlet, St. 
Lucie and Fort Pierce, in this neighborhood, are 
other good fishing points. 
Lake Wqrth, which lies near West Palm Beach, 
has always been a particularly fine fishing region, 
but of late it seems to have fallen off and a 
friend who has fished this water from February 
to August, writes me that the fishing in Lake 
Worth is not to be compared to former years. 
New River, near the station of Fort Lauderdale, 
is usually a good point. 
From New Smyrna to Miami is some 245 
miles, and all along the line of the East Coast 
Railway good fishing may be found, Rockledge, 
Jupiter and St. Lucie Inlets being perhaps the 
best known localities. At Biscayne Bay, south 
of Miami, fine angling can be had and a great 
variety of fish are caught. Jupiter Inlet is an 
especially good pompano locality. 
About Key West there is splendid fishing and 
nearly every variety of fish that visits Florida 
may be caught there. From Key West to Tampa, 
on the gulf coast, there is a long stretch of 
splendid fishing water, and a stop at Ten Thou¬ 
sand-Islands and at Marco will prove highly 
satisfactory. Marco furnishes good accommo¬ 
dations for the visitor and is, to my mind, the 
prettiest place in Florida. Tarpdn are found in 
the river just north of the town and the mile- 
long beach offers good inducements for the surf 
caster who has a liking for channel bass, snap¬ 
pers and grouper. 
In the vicinity of Fort Myers, Punta Rassa and 
Punta Gorda, is found the very best of sea¬ 
angling, and in Sarasota Bay—some eighty miles 
south of Tampa—the fly-caster can hardly wish 
for better conditions. The creeks known as Billy 
Bowlegs and Phillippi, are conveniently reached 
by sail or motor-boat, and as the water is quite 
shoal, the fisherman can often wade as he casts 
the fly. Ravalli (locally known as snook), ladyfish 
and sea-trout in the lower parts of the streams, 
while excellent black bass angling may be en¬ 
joyed further up. Homosassa, Tarpon Springs, 
Isola Bella, Pensacola and Cedar Keys are good 
points, as are also Nigger Head, Estero Island, 
Redfish Point, Big Piiae Island and La Costa and 
Captivi Islands and many other which lie in the 
neighborhood of Charlotte Flarbor. The best tar¬ 
pon fishing in the world is obtainable at and near 
Captivi Island. 
For the angler who loves tarpon fishing—and 
desires to fight it out with the silver king in its 
own element, I would suggest trolling at Boca 
Grande Pass, an inlet a mile or so wide and hav¬ 
ing a fifty-foot channel running through it, with 
a tide running some ten miles an hour. The best 
fishing is generally upon the north side of the 
pass, and if the boat is anchored on the edge of 
the bar in the channel, you will, if the tide is at 
flood, seldom fail to get a strike. Surface trolling 
is unquestionably the most exciting as well as 
the most sportsmanlike of the several methods 
now practiced for tarpon angling, and when one 
has tried this method no one will be content with 
the easier but much less exciting still-fishing. 
In concluding I will add that the State of 
Florida offers every comfort for the tourist, and 
no difficulty is likely to be experienced to secure 
suitable board and lodgings at a very moderate 
rate. Hotels and boarding houses are abundant 
in all sections of Florida, and almost every town 
and village has a hotel as well as numerous pri¬ 
vate families who are glad to accommodate the 
traveler. Good board and room may be had as 
low as three dollars a week, and the necessary 
expenses for a two or three month’s stay need 
not exceed an average cost of ten dollars a week. 
The months of April and May are the best fish¬ 
ing months, but in every month in the year will 
be found sufficient sport to more than repay a 
journey from the North. 
Charles Stillman. 
Three Fine Specimens. 
Meadvilie, Pa., March 14.- — Editor Forest and 
Stream: Iflerewith I inclose photograph of three 
muskallonge, mounted, which were taken within 
fifteen miles of each other and within fifteen 
days last summer. The thirty-five pounder was 
caught in Edinboro Lake, Erie county, Pa., by 
Mr. W. A. Miller of Stewart’s Station, on Au¬ 
gust 4. The forty-one pounder was caught in 
Conneaut Lake, Crawford county, Pa., by W. 
W. Stevenson and A. Bright, of Greenville, on 
August 6. The twenty-five pounder was taken 
from French Creek, at Cambridge Springs, 
Crawford county, by George W. Eberhart, of 
Pittsburg, on July 25. 
These were the three largest I heard of taken 
in this vicinity, but a large number were,taken 
from these same waters weighing between fif¬ 
teen and twenty-five pounds. Of these specimens 
Harry C. Kirkpatrick of Meadvilie, writes me 
as follows : 
“The muskallonge inhabiting these waters sc 
far as I have been able to determine from a 
number of specimens that have passed through 
my hands, have the sides of the body immacu¬ 
late—that is free from spots or cross bars. In 
this respect they differ from those inhabiting the 
Great Lakes and the upper St. Lawrence River 
which have many round or squarish, blackish 
spots on the sides. While they are regarded b> 
Jordan and Evermann in ‘American Food and 
Game Fishes’ to be of the same species as those 
inhabiting Chautauqua Lake, New York, and 
also the rest of the Ohio basin, the sides lac! 
the vertical bars found on the Chautauqua fish 
From their description the cross bars numbei 
about twenty-five, and extend somewhat below 
the lateral line. I will state, however, that som< 
little time elapsed before these specimens reachec 
my hands, but do not think that it was long 
enough for any marks on the sides to entirel} 
fade away.” 
These fish which we have hitherto called pik< 
in this vicinity, have increased in numbers it 
these small lakes in the past few years, and to 
day to one who understands fishing for this par 
ticular variety of fish, as good sport can be hat 
in this region as in probably any part of th< 
country. John E. Reynolds. 
