The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1880-02-12
EXHILARATING SPORT.
How the Finny Beauties are Caught
In Florida,

l arose ut daylight the next
morning. and called Capt. Maurice
Lancaster to come on deck. He re-
sponded promptly, and accepted my
invitation to remain and spend a
day or two fishing with me. We
rugged our tackles, and, after a has
tily eaten breakfast, boarded the
Skylark and sailed across the bay
into Little Sarasota pass for our
first DAVIS fishing. AS soon as we
entered the pass, l attached an arti-
fetal minnoS to my line and cast
out for a troll. 70 had scarcely
reeled out half of my $50 feet of
line when whiziz z. it went across
the pass and back to the other si0e
in less time than it takes to tell it.
Maurice luffed up and RAJ into
shore. l was using light tackle,
and finding that had game fish
to deaf with, was compelled To
play with him few minutes before
attempting to land BIN. / soon
wore him out sufficiently to oe able
to bring him aboard, when / found
him to be handsome specimen of
the cavalli, locally known as the
jack fish He weighed four pounds
and was seventeen inches long.
This fish closely resembles the
pompano, both in outward appear
ance and flavor. He is one of the
most delicious fish in the gulf wa
tiers, Is frequently served at hotels
and restaurants in the southern cit
les under the name of pompano,
and none but an experienced palate
can detect the difference There is
a stratum, so to speak, along either
side of the back bone that is espec-
tally rich and oily, and somewhat
resembles the flavor OF the sardine
as we get it, dressed in oil.
| After contemplating with pride
for a few moments this, my first
prize, we pushed of and / cast
again. We had gone but a few
yards when the alarm stop in my
reel notified me that l some more
business to attend to. l landed
this catch with as little delay as
possible, and was surprised and de-
lighted to find that l had a fine
Spanish mackerel, sixteen inches
long and weighing three pounds, i
relished a piece of him brOiled for
breakfast the next morning as had
never before relished Spanish mack
erel.
We had scarcely gotten under
way again, with, perhaps, one third
Ut my line out. when away she went
again. l thumbed the line, struck
hard, and, although the drag was on
tight, my fish went down the pass
like bolt of lightning. until every
foot of my $50 was out shud
dered as thought of the possibility
of the line swapping, but at this
Ijuncture gave him the butt of the
rod and succeeded fl checking
him. Then what thrilling sight
met my eyel Whiskl he went six
feet into the air and shook himself
like a wild colt striving to break
the lariat with which he is caught
But No, my mettly little friend, you
are securely hooked. My line
stands firm, and you must abide the
consequence. He comes back into
the water with terrific splash aid
starts directly toward me, and
with all possible speed / reel him
in. He passes me, and by the time
he comes taut above / have a han-
dred feet or more of the line in
hand. Then he jumps again, dis
playing his rich silvery form in the
bright sunlight, each time increas
ing my anxiety to make sure of my
prize. AS he starts down the pass
again with the speed of the wind, /
thumb the line again, but, in spite
of all that and the drag, he takes it
al out before he stops and again
rises high in the air. There is no
sulking here. as with almost every
other variety of game fish--it is all
go, and that Of the most vigorous
quality. He ran constantly for
thirty minutes before he showed
any signs OF weakening, but finally
was compelled, from sheer exhaus
tion to give up the fight, when /
landed HIM on shore. He proved
to be what the natives call the
Ebony fish," and what the Bahama
Islanders call the ''ten FOUNDER.
have been unable thus far TO learn
the name of the species, but be that
what it may, he is by far the gam
est fish 1 have ever caught, and
l have caught nearly every variety
of fresh water fish on the continent
He has greater strength and greater
speed than any fish OF his size ever
saw. This one was eighteen inches
long and weighed five and one half
pounds. In form, it bears some re
sem blance to the pike or muska-
longe of the Dothern waters, but is
somewhat thicker in proportion to
the length. The back is of a pale
blue color, and the sides and belly
are of bright silvery gray. The
scales are as large as those OF the
mu!let. 1t is not considered eatable
here, on account of being so full OF
bones, but | am inclined to think
that it would be very palatable if
this difficulty could be gotten over.
l caught four of them during the day,
and burned several blisters on my
thumbs, the marks OF which ! ex
pect to wear for several weeks as
relics of this, the finest days fish
ing | ever enjoyed.
/ We trolled through the entire
length of the pass, distance OF
three miles, and caught fish just as
fast as we could handle them. At
the mouth of the pass we pulled up
to high bank, where the water was
about six feet deep, and saw large
schools of maDgrove snappers "a
fish resembling in shape our black
bass J, sporting along the bank. but
we had no live minnows with us,
and no other bait that would tempt
them, so we were compelled TO
pass them until another day.
We then pulled across to the OPP
posite side of the pass, where The
surf was running, and tshed an
hour for reddish. For these we
used cut bait (mullet is the best, J
with heavy leads, cast out as far as
possible, and let the hook lie on the
ground. We caught a number of
4 -,n-, &C. onao Boi,fhinn from fCnr