The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1880-01-16
flSHING IN FLORIDA.
Hare sport Of . !. Veteran s...r Along sar.

Rare sport 81 q Veteran Along s.r..
sofa Hay.
Sarasota tFia Corr. Louisville Courier. Jouyn.,.
l arose at daylight the next morning
and called Capt. Maurice Lancsster 20
cone ON deck. He responded promply.
and excepted my invitation to remain
and spend day or two fishing with me.
We rugged our tackles, and, after n
hastily-eaten breakfast, bnarded thu
Skylark and sailed across tho bay into
Little Sarasota pass for our first DAVIS
tishing: IA soon IN we entered the PASS
! attached an artificial minnow 10 INV
line aud cast out for a troll. I had
scatcely rcei,d out half of my 900 feet
vi line when whix.zE IL went across the
pass and back 10 the other aide In less
time than IL tatcs 90 tell Il. Maurice
lutled mp and ran In Ia shore. 1 WAS
using light tackle, and finding that |
bsd game fish to deal with, / was com.
PEELED to play him few minutea before
attempting 10 land him. soun wore
him out sufficiently 10 be able TO bring
him aboard, when ] foand him 10 be a
hadsome specimen of the cavalli, locally
known ~ the jack fish. Hc weighed 4
pounds and was IL inches long. This
fish closely resembles the po,npano, both
Ia outward appearance and flavor. He
Is one OF the most delicious fish In the
gulf waters, IL frequently served mt
hotels and restaurants in the southern
cities under the name of pompsno, and
none but an experienced palate can
detect the difference. There IL
stratum, NJ Ia speak, alone either side of
the backbone that is especially rich and
oily, and somewhat resembles the favor
OF the sardine ~ we get it, dressed In oil.
Alter contemplating with pride for
Few moments this, my first prize, we
pushed of and ! cast again. We had
gone but Il few yards when the alarm
stop in my reel notified me that had
some more bushes, TO attend t0. |
landed this catch with ~ little delay m
possible, and WAS surprised and delighted
TO find that had fine Spanish mack.
erel, l6 inches long and weighing three
pounds. relished piece Of him broiled
Tor breakfast the next morning m 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. I
thumbed the line, struck hard, and,
although the drag was on tight, my fish
went down the pass like bolt Of light.
ming, until every foot of my $50 feet was
out. / shuddered r. | thought of the
possibility VI the line swapping, but at
this juncture gave him the butt of the
rod and succeeded In checking him.
Then what q thrilling sight met my
eager eye' Whisk! he went six feet into
the air and shook himself like wild colt
striving ~ 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
consequences. He comes back into the
water with n terrific splash and starts
directly toward me, and with all possible
speed | reel him In. He passes me, and
by the time he comes taut above have
n hundred feet or more of tho line in
hand. Then he jumps again, displaying
his rich silvery form In the bright sun
light, each time increasing my anxiety
u 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
IL all out before he stops and again rises
high in the air. There IL no sulking
here, m with almost every other variety
Of game iish--it isall 20, and that of the
mos, vigorous qualify. 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
landed him on shore. He proved 10 be
what the natives call the ebony fish,"
and what the Bahama Islanders call the
"ten.pounder." / have been unable
thus far to learn the the proper name Of
the species, but be that what Il may, he
Is by far the gamest fish have ever
caught, and ! have csuRht nearly every
variety Of fresh watertish on the CONT.
nent. He has greater strength aud
greater speed than any fish of his size |
ever saw. This one was Is inches long
aud weighed five and one half pounds.
la form, IL bears some resemblance u
the pike or muskalonge Of the northern
waters, but Is somwhat thicker In pro-
portion to the length. The back Ia of a
pale blue color, and the sides and belly
are OF bright silvery gray. The scales
are rs large rs those Of the mullet. II
IL not considered eatable here, on
account Of being TO full of small bones,
but ] am inclined to think that IL would
he very palatRble IL this difficulty could
be gotten over. caught four Of them
during the day, and burned several Bills.
ters on my thumbs, the marks of which
] expect 10 wear for several weeks "a
relics Of this, the finest days fishing l
ever enjoyed.
We trolled through the entire length
Of the pass, distance of three miles, and
caught fish just as fast rs we could
handle them. At the mouth of the pass
we pulled up to high bank, where the
water was about xix feet deep, and saw
largo schools OF mangrove snappers "a
fish resembling In shape our black basa,)
sporting along the bank, but we had no
live minnows with us, and no other bait
would tempt them, no we were compelled
to pass them until another day.
We then pulled across to the opposite
side of the pass, where the surf WAS run.
ming, and tished an hour for reddish.
For these we used cut bait, (mullet IL the
best, with heavy leads, cast out M far ~
possible, and let the hook lie on the
ground. We caught number of very
fine ones, weighing from four 10 six
pounds, and about three o'clock We pull.
ed up and went home, well satisfied with
our days work. We had over hun.
dred pounds of fish, including, besides
those mentioned above, drum, sleeps.
head, grunter, and sea.trout. ! shall
never forget this days sport, no matter
what other rich or varied sports may
enjoy In the future, 30 great was the
variety of fish caught and 30 exciting
the nature of the fishing. For instance,
| WAS trolling for sea.trout, but when
hooked a fish l never knew what il was
until ! got him up TO the boat. The
same state Of affairs existed when fishing
with cut bait for red fish.