THE CAVALLI FAMILY
(_Carangidæ_)
The members of this family differ from the true mackerels by a less
number of spines in the first dorsal fin, and in having but two spines
in the anal fin, and no detached finlets; also in having smaller teeth.
Some of the species are described in another volume of this series, to
which the reader is referred.
_Carangus chrysos._ The Runner. Body oblong, moderately
elevated, the dorsal and ventral outlines about equally arched;
head 3-3/4; depth 3-1/4; eye 3-1/2; lateral line with 50
scutes; D. VIII-I, 24; A. II-I, 19; profile forms a uniform
curve; snout rather sharp; mouth moderate, slightly oblique,
maxillary reaching middle of orbit; teeth comparatively large;
a single series in lower jaw; upper jaw with an inner series of
smaller teeth; no canines; teeth on vomer, palatines, and
tongue; gill-rakers long and numerous; pectoral fin not longer
than head; scales moderate; cheeks and breast scaly; black
opercular spot.
_Carangus latus._ The Horse-eye Jack. Moderately deep; head
3-3/4; depth 2-1/2; scutes 30; D. VIII-I, 20; A. II-I, 17; head
bluntish; profile curved; mouth moderate; lower jaw prominent;
villiform teeth on upper jaw, vomer, palatines, and tongue;
weak canines in lower jaw; breast scaly; maxillary reaching
posterior edge of pupil; pectoral fin about as long as head;
cheeks and upper part of opercles scaly; gill-rakers rather long,
about 12 below the angle.
_Trachinotus carolinus._ The Pompano. Body oblong,
comparatively robust; head 4; depth 2-1/3; eye 4-1/2; scales
small and smooth; D. VI-I, 25; A. II-I, 23; profile of head
evenly convex; snout bluntly rounded; mouth small, maxillary
reaching middle of eye; jaws without teeth in the adult;
maxillary without supplemental bone; dorsal and anal fins
falcate, anterior rays nearly reaching middle of fins when
depressed; dorsal lobe 4-1/2 in body; anal 5-1/2; dorsal lobe
pale.
THE RUNNER
(_Carangus chrysos_)
The runner was first described by Dr. S.L. Mitchill, in 1815, from the
vicinity of New York. He named it _chrysos_, meaning "gold," from the
golden sheen of its sides. It inhabits the Atlantic coast from Cape Cod
to Brazil, but is most abundant on southern shores and in the Gulf of
Mexico.
It has an oblong body, its depth a little less than a third of its
length, with the dorsal and ventral curves about equal. The head is
shorter than the depth of the body, with a uniformly curved profile and
rather sharp snout. The mouth is moderate in size and low, with a single
series of teeth in the lower jaw, and two in the upper one, but no
canines; there are also small teeth on the roof of the mouth and tongue.
Its colour is greenish olive on the back, and golden yellow or silvery
below; there is a black blotch on the border of the gill-cover; the fins
are all plain.
The runner, as its name indicates, is a great forager, and is the
swiftest and most graceful of all the jacks or cavallies. It ranges
farther northward than the other species of the genus. It frequents the
reefs and the shores of the keys and mainland of Florida in search of
food, which consists of small fishes, as sardines, anchovies, mullets,
etc., crustaceans, and other small organisms. It is the best of the
jacks as a food-fish, and is in great favor at Key West. For its size it
is also the gamest, but as it rarely exceeds a foot in length it is not
so much sought, generally, as the larger jacks. It is, however, a great
favorite with the juvenile anglers at Key West, as it can be taken from
the wharves with almost any kind of bait. On account of its activity and
gameness it furnishes fine sport on light tackle, and under these
conditions is worthy the attention of the angler. A light black-bass
rod, braided linen line, size G, hooks No. 1 or 1-0 on gimp snells, a
light multiplying reel and sinker adapted to the tidal current, comprise
a good outfit for the runner, which is also known as hard-tail and
jurel in some localities. About Key West and the neighboring keys the
best bait is the little whirligig mullet (_Querimana gyrans_), which
whirls on the surface in large schools, or cut bait or shrimps may be
used to advantage.
The author of a recently published book on the fishes of Florida makes
the following queer statement, "It seems to me the runners are hybrids
from the crevalle and bluefish species or families, as they certainly
resemble both of those fishes." It would be strange did they not
resemble the fishes named, as all are of the mackerel tribe, and all are
distinguished by having falcate anal and dorsal fins of about the same
relative size, and placed about opposite each other, and also have
swallow-shaped caudal fins with slender caudal pedicle; but there the
greatest resemblance ends. I have never seen a hybrid among fishes in
the natural state. They can be produced by the fishculturist between
kindred species, but there is no especial benefit to be derived from
such experiments. Hybrids, or so-called mules, are infertile, and
incapable of reproducing their kind.
THE HORSE-EYE JACK
(_Carangus latus_)
The horse-eye jack was first described by Louis Agassiz, in 1829, from
Brazil, who named it _latus_, or "broad," owing to its short and deep
form. It differs from the runner mostly in being deeper in body, and in
its large eye. It has a few less soft rays in the dorsal and anal fins,
and but thirty-five bony scutes along the lateral line; otherwise it is
very similar. Its color is bluish above and golden or silvery below, and
it has a black spot on the margin of the gill-cover, but of less size
than that of the runner. While it is similar in habits to the runner, it
has a more extended range, inhabiting all warm seas.
The horse-eye jack grows to a larger size than the runner, but is not
nearly so good a food-fish, though nearly its equal as a game-fish. Its
flesh is reputed to be poisonous at certain seasons in the tropics, and
whether true or not, it is not held in much favor, though it is caught
by boys at the wharves of Key West, and I presume is eaten. The same
tackle and baits recommended for the runner can be utilized for the
horse-eye jack.
THE POMPANO
(_Trachinotus carolinus_)
The pompano was first described by Linnæus, in 1766, from Dr. Garden's
specimens from South Carolina, which accounts for its specific name. It
is abundant on the South Atlantic and Gulf coasts, to which it is mostly
confined, though it occasionally strays north to Cape Cod in summer, and
rarely to the West Indies.
It has a short, deep body, being nearly half as deep as long, oblong and
robust. Its head is short, about half as long as the depth of the body,
with a small, low mouth, and with few or no teeth in the jaws; the snout
is blunt, the profile from end of snout to the eye about vertical, and
from thence to the dorsal fin is regularly arched. The color is bluish
above and golden or silvery below; the pectoral and anal fins are
yellow, shaded with blue; caudal fin with bluish reflections.
The pompano frequents the sandy beaches of the keys and islands of the
Gulf coast, mostly the outside shores, where it feeds on beach-fleas and
the beautiful little mollusks known as "pompano-shells," also on small
shrimps and other shore-loving organisms. I consider the pompano to be
the best food-fish in either salt or fresh water--the prince of
food-fishes, it is incomparable. It is caught principally in haul seines
by the fishermen on the flood tide. On the Atlantic coast it is abundant
at Jupiter inlet and at Lake Worth, but not so plentiful as about the
outside and inside beaches of the islands about Charlotte Harbor on the
Gulf coast. In the summer it strays northward to the Carolina coasts.
Its usual weight is a pound or two, rarely exceeding eighteen inches in
length or four pounds in weight. It is often confounded with several
other species, as the permit (_Trachinotus goodei_), which reaches three
feet in length and twenty-five or thirty pounds in weight; also with the
gaff top-sail pompano (_Trachinotus glaucus_), and the round pompano
(_Trachinotus falcatus_), both of which grow larger than the true
pompano and are often sold for the genuine article by dealers; but no
one who has eaten a true pompano can be deceived by these other species.
It spawns in the summer.
It is difficult to take the pompano with the hook except on the flood
tide, when it is running in schools, feeding along the shores, though it
is occasionally caught by still-fishing in the bays with bait of
beach-fleas or cut clam. The tackle should be very light and the hook
small, Nos. 6 or 8, on fine gut snells. When hooked it is a game-fish of
more than ordinary cunning and cleverness, and one of two pounds will
tax the angler's skill on a six-ounce rod. They can be taken in the surf
of the outside beaches of the islands, on the flood tide, with
beach-flea bait, by casting it into the schools with a fly-rod; and this
is the best form of fishing for this grand fish.
The hooked pompano frequently breaks water among its other manoeuvres to
escape the angler, and as a leaper at other times has quite a
reputation. I have often had them leap into my boat, both when anchored
and moving, but usually when sailing near a school. The name pompano is
probably derived from the Spanish word _pampana_, a "vine leaf," owing
to its shape resembling somewhat a leaf of some kind of vine; the books
say a "grape leaf," to which the pompano has a remote resemblance if the
extended fins are taken into account. There is another Spanish word
_pampano_, more nearly resembling pompano in sound and spelling. It
means "a young vine branch or tendril," and if the aquatic capers and
aerial saltations of the pompano when hooked are to be brought into the
comparison, they cannot be exceeded by that most intricate dance, the
"grape-vine twist," even when performed by the most agile plantation
negro. But seriously, when its size is considered, one would have to go
far afield, or rather search the waters under the earth, for a better
fish for the angler or the epicure.
I have seen more pompano about the beaches of Big and Little Gasparilla
Keys of Charlotte Harbor, on the Gulf coast, than elsewhere in Florida.
On their outside beaches, during the flood tide, the beach-fleas and
pompano-shells come rolling in on every wave. The little mollusks
disappear beneath the sand in the twinkling of an eye, but the
crustaceans are again carried out by the receding wave. And this
continues during the first half of the flood tide, during which time
schools of pompano are feeding on them. On one such occasion myself and
a friend were "flea-fishing" for pompano; that is, we were using
fly-rods and very small hooks baited with beach-fleas, which we cast in
the same manner as artificial flies. My friend, fishing at the water's
edge, often forgot in his eagerness to step back to avoid each "ninth
wave," which would wet him to his knees. However, in that warm, sunny
clime the involuntary bath did him no harm, and he had his compensation
in a basket of fine pompano, which were duly planked for dinner and
eaten, bones and all,--for their bones are very soft and
semi-cartilaginous. The head of a broiled or planked pompano is a
_bonne-bouche_ that once eaten will ever be held in grateful and
gratified remembrance.