Bass, Pike, Perch, and Others Part 23

III, 11; soft rays of dorsal and a.n.a.l fins elevated, of nearly equal size, and opposite each other; a.n.a.l spines graduated; branchial rays 6.

The triple-tail belongs to the family _Lobotidae_. It is allied to the snapper family, but differs in having no teeth on the roof of the mouth.

It was first described by Bloch, in 1790, from Surinam. South America.

He named it _surinamensis_, from the name of the locality whence his specimens were procured. There is another species on the Pacific coast, _Lobotes pacificus_, that is quite abundant at Panama, where it is known as berrugate.

The triple-tail is known in all warm seas. Its range on the Atlantic coast extends from South America north to Cape Cod, though it is not abundant. I have taken it on both the east and west coasts of Florida.

At Tampa it is called black snapper, and in South Carolina it is known as black perch. I have never heard it called flasher, which is said to be its name in the markets of New York.

It is a short, thick, robust fish, nearly half as deep as long, with an elevated back, and with the ventral outline corresponding with its dorsal curve. The head is a third of the length of the body, its profile concave, the snout prominent, and the lower jaw projecting; the mouth is of moderate size, with thick lips.

The color of the back is dark, or greenish black, the sides silvery gray, sometimes blotched and tinged with yellow; the fins are dusky gray or yellowish. In life these colors are very bright, but after death they become almost black.

It feeds on small fishes, mussels, and crustaceans and grows to a length of two or three feet, weighing from ten to fifteen pounds, though its usual size is not more than one-half of this length and weight. Its breeding habits are unknown. It is found in northern waters only during the summer months, but from South Carolina to Florida it is common all the year.

It is a strong and vigorous fish, but rather slow and sluggish in its movements, and not remarkable for game qualities, though it pulls steadily and strongly when hooked. It will take shrimp, clam, fiddler, or small fishes as bait.

A light striped-ba.s.s chum rod is very suitable for the triple-tail when of good size. A multiplying reel and fifty yards of braided linen line, hooks No. 1-0 or 2-0, on heavy gut snells, and a bra.s.s box-swivel, make up the rest of the tackle. A sinker will probably not be needed as it is usually found in quiet coves about sandy shoals or gra.s.sy flats. I have taken it on both coasts of Florida, though it is more common on the east coast. I have also caught it in Chesapeake Bay and near Charleston, South Carolina, but never over five pounds in weight, though I have seen it taken in nets up to about ten pounds. Its short and rounded caudal fin, with the soft portions of the dorsal and a.n.a.l fins, together, give the appearance of three tails, hence the name triple-tail, by which it is generally known.

THE COBIA

(_Rachycentron canadus_)

_Rachycentron canadus._ The Cobia. Body elongate, fusiform, subcylindrical, covered with very small, smooth, adherent scales; head 4-1/4; depth 5-2/3; D. VIII-I, 26; A. II, 25; head broad, low, pikelike, the bones above appearing through the thin skin; mouth wide, nearly horizontal, the maxillary reaching front of eye; both jaws, vomer, palatines, and tongue with bands of short, sharp teeth; lower jaw longest; premaxillaries not protractile; preopercle unarmed; two dorsal fins, the spines of the first depressible in a groove; soft dorsal long and low, somewhat falcate, similar to, and nearly opposite, the a.n.a.l; caudal fin strongly forked; no caudal keel; no finlets; gill-rakers short and stout; pectorals broad and falcate.

The cobia, or sergeant-fish, is the only fish of its family, _Rachycentridae_. It was first described by Linnaeus, in 1766, from a specimen sent to him by Dr. Garden from South Carolina; it is allied to the mackerel tribe, and is found in all warm seas in the old and new worlds. On the Atlantic coast it is common from the Chesapeake Bay to Florida, but occasionally strays north to Cape Cod in the summer. It is rather rare on the west coast of Florida, but common on the east coast.

It is a long and round-bodied fish, quite gracefully formed, with a depth of about one-fifth of its length. The head is broad and flat, something like that of the pike, with a wide mouth, and with jaws, roof of mouth, and tongue armed with bands of short, sharp teeth; the lower jaw projects. The back is olive-brown, or dusky, the sides lighter and silvery, and the belly white; a distinct broad and very dark stripe extends from the upper jaw and through the eye to the caudal fin, with an indistinct one above and below, and parallel with it. Owing to this dark stripe the cobia is sometimes called sergeant-fish, thus confounding it with the snook.

The habits of the cobia are not unlike those of the pike, or mascalonge, of fresh waters, in that it is solitary and lies in wait for its prey, and is almost as rapacious. It lies under the mangroves and cocoa-plum bushes along Indian River and other streams of the east coast of Florida, watching for stray fishes and crabs on which it feeds. It is commonly seen of a length of two or three feet, but grows considerably longer, with a weight of fifteen to twenty pounds. The largest I have seen was at Key West; it was fully five feet long. It is not uncommon in the Chesapeake Bay, and like most of the mackerel tribe it is a fairly good food-fish. It sp.a.w.ns in summer, but its breeding habits are not fully understood.

As might be imagined from its shape and habits, it is a good game-fish, and quite strong and vigorous on the rod. It requires all of the angler's skill to land it safely, especially when it is taken about the mangroves, among whose arching and numerous roots it is sure to take refuge if it can do so. It will take a small fish bait or a crab, going for it with a pikelike rush. I once took one on Indian River with a large red ibis fly, but never succeeded in catching another with the same lure.

A strong, rather heavy rod is necessary for the cobia, which the Key West fishermen call cobi-o. A striped-ba.s.s chum rod of natural bamboo is a good and serviceable tool for the work, with multiplying reel and braided linen line, to which is affixed a Sproat hook, No. 3-0, on gimp snell, by a bra.s.s box-swivel. A sinker should not be used about the mangroves.

A fiddler-crab, a mullet, or other small fish is hooked through the lips, and is cast from a boat to the edge of the mangroves or other bushes, in the same way as in casting for mascalonge in northern waters.

I have never tried casting with a spoon, which might be successful, but a minnow is better by far. The cobia takes the bait with a fierce lunge, and turning quickly endeavors to return to his lair, a proceeding that must be thwarted by the angler at all hazards to his rod or tackle, for once under the arching roots of the mangroves he is as good as gone. The boat must be rowed to open water at once, while a strong strain is maintained by the rod on the fish. With open water the angler can play his fish with leisure, though he will be severely taxed by the struggles of as game a fish as he is likely to meet during a winter's sojourn in Florida.

THE SPOTTED WEAKFISH

(_Cynoscion nebulosus_)

_Cynoscion nebulosus._ The Spotted Weakfish. Body rather elongate, compressed; head 3-1/2; depth 4-1/2; scales 10-70-11; D. X-I, 26; A. II, 10; eye 7; snout long and acute; mouth large, maxillary reaching to posterior edge of eye; lower pharyngeals narrow, each with 7 or 8 series of short teeth, the inner enlarged; maxillary, preorbital, and lower jaw naked; canines in upper jaw strong; lower jaw without canines, other teeth in narrow bands, sharp, but closely set; membrane of preopercle serrate, the bone entire; pseudobranchiae well developed; caudal lunate; soft rays of dorsal and a.n.a.l scaleless; gill-rakers short and thick, 4 + 7.

This fish is closely allied to the northern weakfish, and belongs to the same family, _Sciaenidae_. It is known very generally in Florida as trout, salt-water trout, or sea-trout, owing to its spots. It is, of course, not a trout at all, and these names should be set aside; moreover, the name sea-trout is preoccupied by the sea-run brook-trout of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Its present specific name, _nebulosus_, or "clouded," was bestowed by Cuvier and Valenciennes, in 1830, displacing the earlier and better name _maculatus_, or "spotted," conferred by Dr. S.L. Mitchill, in 1815, for reasons that it is unnecessary to refer to here. It is abundant from Virginia to Florida, and along the Gulf coast to Texas. It occasionally strays as far north as New Jersey.

It is almost the counterpart of the common weakfish in the form of its body, the depth of which is about a fourth of its length, and with a similar head, eye, and mouth, but with somewhat smaller scales, and a few less rays in the second dorsal fin. Its mouth is large, with narrow bands of sharp teeth on the jaws, and two long canine teeth in the upper jaw.

Its color is bluish gray on the back, with steely reflections, the sides are silvery and the belly white. The upper half of the body has numerous black spots, as large as the pupil of the eye, with smaller ones on the soft dorsal and a.n.a.l fins; the other fins are plainer, and the a.n.a.l fin is dusky.

The spotted weakfish is a better food-fish, and also a better game-fish, than its northern cousin. It is abundant in the bays of Florida during the entire year, often ascending the streams to fresh water. Its usual weight is from two to four pounds, often of six to eight, and sometimes of even ten pounds or more. It appears in schools in March and April, often in company with the Spanish mackerel, and runs into brackish water for the purpose of sp.a.w.ning. It sp.a.w.ns in the spring; the eggs are buoyant, quite small, about thirty to the inch, and hatch in two days.

It feeds on small fishes and crustaceans.

All things considered, it is one of the best game-fishes of Florida. It is a surface feeder and takes the artificial fly eagerly, as well as natural bait, or the artificial squid and trolling-spoon. With light tackle it affords good sport, being a strong and determined fighter. It is a great favorite with all anglers who are acquainted with its merits.

When of the usual weight of from two to four pounds, black-ba.s.s tackle is very suitable and serviceable in rod, reel, line, hooks, or flies, though a rather heavy braided linen line is better adapted for salt water than a silk one. To be more explicit, an eight-ounce rod, multiplying reel, line size F, Sproat hooks Nos. 2-0 to 3-0 on gut or gimp snells, will be found to be just about right for bait-fis.h.i.+ng.

For fly-fis.h.i.+ng, a rod of eight ounces, click reel, braided linen line, size E, leader of three or four feet, single gut, and black-ba.s.s flies such as silver-doctor, red ibis, Abbey, soldier, oriole, coachman, etc., on hooks Nos. 1 to 2, will be found to answer in skilful hands. A heavier rod may be used when the fish run larger, and also flies on hooks a size or two larger. Very small phantom minnows, spoons, or squids may be often used with success when the fish are running in schools in the spring.

Fis.h.i.+ng, either with fly or bait, can be practised with good results at flood tide from the end of long piers that extend to deep water, or at the points of inlets during the running season. The piers at Port Tampa and St. Petersburg, on Tampa Bay, also at Mullet Key and Egmont Key, or Pa.s.s-a-Grille, in the same vicinity, are famed fis.h.i.+ng resorts in March and April. I prefer to fish from a boat moored to the pier, rather than from the pier itself, as the fish are not so likely to see one, and they are more conveniently landed.

During the winter the best fis.h.i.+ng will be found in the bays and bayous, or in the streams, in the vicinity of sand-shoals or mud-flats, at almost any stage of the tide, which usually rises but a foot or two in the bays of the west coast. At the inlets and pa.s.ses, at the first of the flood and last of the ebb tide, the fis.h.i.+ng is also good during the winter months.

The spotted weakfish takes its prey at the surface with a snap of its jaws that is quite audible, especially at night when one's yacht is at anchor. It takes the angler's fly or bait in the same way. It will remind him forcibly of the bite of a large brook-trout, and its manner of resistance when hooked is very much the same as with that fish--one reason for the name sea-trout.

The fis.h.i.+ng is especially good in Tampa and Sarasota bays, and the upper portion of Charlotte Harbor, on the west coast; and on the east coast at the mouths of streams entering Halifax River. Mosquito Lagoon, or Indian River.

THE DEEP-SEA WEAKFISH

(_Cynoscion thala.s.sinus_)

This species was first described by Dr. Holbrook, in 1859, from the coast of South Carolina. He named it _thala.s.sinus_, or "pertaining to the sea," from its supposed habit of living in deep water. It is either a rare fish or it has been confounded with the common weakfish. It has been recorded from several places on the South Atlantic and Gulf coasts, in Virginia, South Carolina, Florida, and Mississippi. It is supposed to inhabit the deep water of the sea and Gulf, though this is by no means certain.

Its form is very similar to the spotted weakfish, with a more pointed snout and somewhat larger eye; otherwise it is much the same. Its color is brownish above, lighter below; the middle of the sides is marked with many dark dots; there is a dark blotch on the upper part of the cheek; the first dorsal fin is black, the second dorsal and a.n.a.l fins are dusky, and the other fins pale. The same remarks as to fis.h.i.+ng for the spotted weakfish will apply as well to this species, if the opportunity should occur to the angler. It is a doubtful species at best, and may eventually prove to be an aberrant form of the spotted weakfish.

THE BERMUDA CHUB

(_Kyphosus sectatrix_)

_Kyphosus sectatrix._ The Bermuda Chub. Body ovate, somewhat compressed; head 3-3/4; depth 2-1/8; scales 10-55-16; D. XI, 12; A. III, 11; head short, with blunt snout; mouth small, maxillary reaching front of eye; each jaw with a series of narrow incisors, implanted with compressed conspicuous roots posteriorly; behind these a narrow band of villiform teeth; fine teeth on vomer, palatines, and tongue; teeth 35 to 40 on each side; preopercle weakly serrate; top and sides of head finely scaled; interorbital region gibbous, below which point snout is truncate; soft dorsal and a.n.a.l very low; second a.n.a.l spine highest; caudal well forked, the lower lobe longest; gill-rakers long; dorsal spines depressible in a groove of scales; small ctenoid scales entirely covering the soft portions of the vertical fins, and extending up on the paired fins.

The chub belongs to the family of rudder-fishes, _Kyphosidae_. It was noticed as _sectatrix_ by Catesby in his "History of the Carolinas," in 1738, and was so named by Linnaeus in 1758. _Sectatrix_ is the feminine of _sectator_, meaning "one who follows," in allusion to its habit of following vessels. Its range is along the South Atlantic coast to the West Indies, sometimes straying as far north as Cape Cod in the summer.

It is common on the west coast of Florida.

It has an oblong, elliptical body, its depth being more than a third of its length. The head is short, with a blunt snout and small mouth, and a curved profile. There are well-developed incisor teeth in each jaw, with peculiar horizontal bases. Its color is bluish-gray, with steely l.u.s.tre; the sides have numerous narrow, indistinct, yellowish or bra.s.sy stripes, alternating with bluish ones; there is a pale stripe below the eye, and a yellowish one above and below it; the fins are dull grayish.

The chub feeds on barnacles and other small mollusks, and is found wherever they abound, sometimes in rather deep water. Its usual size is six to ten inches, weighing from one to three or four pounds, but it occasionally grows to fifteen or eighteen inches in length in favorable locations. Its sp.a.w.ning habits have not been studied. It is an excellent pan-fish. Light tackle is needed for the chub and pin-fish, both being usually found together. The hook should be small but strong, with gimp snell; Sproat hooks, No. 1 or 2, are very suitable. The best bait is fiddler-crab or hermit-crab. It is quite a game little fish.

I was once staying for a few days' fis.h.i.+ng at the Quarantine Station on Mullet Key, in Tampa Bay. The station is built on piles in water twenty feet deep. There was a trap-door in the floor of one of the rooms, through which many kinds of fish could be seen swimming about in the very clear water. These fishes could be readily taken with the hook or the spear, as they were unable to see any one in the dark room above. I was much interested watching the chub and sheepshead pinching off the barnacles from the piles with their chisel-like teeth. A dozen could be easily taken in as many minutes with fiddler bait, and the table was kept well supplied with chub, which was the favorite food-fish during my sojourn.

THE ANGEL-FISH

(_Chaetodipterus faber_)

_Chaetodipterus faber._ The Angel-fish. Body much elevated and compressed, its outline nearly orbicular, the anterior profile nearly vertical; head 3; depth 1 to 1-1/2; scales 60; D.