Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1880-01-15
FISHING In FLORIDA.
Fare sport Of n Veteran Along nara. |
aOlA Nav.

come on deck. He responded promptly,
and excepted my invitation to remain
and spend day or two fishing with me.
We rugged our tackles, and, after
hastily -eaten breakfast, boarded the
Skyiark and sailed ACROSS the bay into
Little Sarasota pass for our first DAYS
fishing As soon ~ we entered the pass
| attached sn artificial minnow to my
line and cast out for troll. | had
scarcely reeled out half of my $50 feet
of line when whiz-z.z it went across the
pass snd back to the other side in less
time than it takes 10 tell 1t. Maurice
lufled up and ran in to shore. / was
using light tackle, and finding that
had game fish to deal with, was COM
PEELED to play him few minutes before
attempting to land him. / soon wore
him out sufficiently to be able to bring
him aboard, when l found him to be a
hadsome specimen of the cavslli, locally
known as the jack fish. He weighed 4
pounds and was II inches long. This
fish closely resembles the pompano, both
IN outward appearance and favor. He
ia one of the most delicious fish in the
gulf waters, is frequently served at
hotels and restaurants in the southern
cities under the name of pompano, and
mono but an experienced palate can
detect the difference. There Ia a
stratum, so to speak, alone either side of
the backbone that is especially rich and
oily, and somewhat resembles the favor
of the sSrdine as We get it, dressed in oil
After contemplating with pride for
few moments this, my first prize, We
pushed off and l cast again. We had
gone but few yards when the alarm
stop in my reel notified me that l had
some more business to attend to. |
landed this catch with as little delay Is
possible, and WAS surprised and delighted
TO find that had a fine Spanish mack
erel, 16 inches long and weighing three
pounds. Irelshed piece of him broiled
for breakfast the next morning rs had
never before relished Spanish msckerel.
We had scarcely gotten under way
again with, perhaps, one third of my
line out, when away she went again. 1
thumbed the line, struck hard, and,
although the drag was on tight, my fish
went down the pass like a bolt of light
ming, until every foot of my $50 feet was
ont. l shuddered as / thought of the
possibility of the line swapping, but at
this juncture gave him the butt of the
rod and succeeded in checking him.
Then what a thrilling sight met my
eager eyel Whisk he went six feet into
the air and shook himaelf like wild colt
striving to break the lsriat with which
he is caught. But no, my mettly little
friend, you are securely hooked. My
line stands firm, and you must abide the
consequences. He comes back into the
water with terrific splash and starts
directly toward me, and with all possible
speed l reel him in. He passes me, and
by the time he comes taut above have
a hundred feet or more of the line in
hand. Then he jumps again, displaying
his rich silvery form in the bright sun.
light, each time increasing 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 all out before he stops and again rises
high il the air. There is no sulking
here, SIS with almost every other variety
of game fish-it is all 60, and that of the
most vigorous quality. He ran con-
stantly for thirty minutes before he
showed any signs of weakening, but
finally was compelled, from sheer ex-
haustion, to give up the fight when l
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 the proper name of
the species, but be that what it may, he
is by far the gamest fish | have ever
caught, and have caught nearly every
variety of fresh wster6sh on the CONT
nent. He mas greater strength and
greater speed than any fish of his size |
ever saw. This one was 18 inches long
and weighed five and one hslf pounds.
| In form, it bears some resemblance u
the pike or muskalonge Of the northern
waters, but is somwhat thicker in pro-
portion to the length. The back is of a
rale. blue color, and the sides and belly
are Of q bright siivery gray. The scales
are as large al those of the mullet. 1t
is not considered eatsble here, on
accoun. of being so full OF small bones,
but am inclined TO think that it would
be very palatable If this difficulty could
be gotten over caught four Of them
during the day, and burned several Bills
tiers on my thumbs, the marks OF which
! expect to wear for several weeks as
relics of this, the finest days fishing |
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