Denizens of the Deep by Philip Wylie

Author:Philip Wylie [Wylie, Philip]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781634502481
Publisher: Skyhorse
Published: 1953-04-15T05:00:00+00:00

Some fishermen and fishing spots

Miami invites you to fish

Among the highest of high spots possible to a great many men—ladies too!—is one which occurs when the fresh-water fisherman first casts a fly, or a plug, or trolls a spoon, or drops a bait, in tropical salt water. All anglers are hereby invited, if in Miami, to take a fling at what might well turn out to be one of their greatest adventures. This invitation is also extended to that benighted group of persons who never fished—for, in Miami, anything can happen to anybody. I saw one gent, who had never wet a fish line in his life, come in from half a day on the Gulf Stream with the only broadbill swordfish taken that year! It weighed more than two hundred and fifty pounds!

What is said in the discussion that follows will be addressed to salt-water novices. There are two reasons for this. Men who have already fished in the sea and who propose to visit Miami sometime will undoubtedly plan a spell of angling—and they will know what kind they want to try. But those who have not fished there at all, unaware of the true circumstances, and lacking suitable information, may miss the kind of fishing they would most enjoy. In some cases, the legends of the prowess required for salt-water angling may scare them off altogether. That would be an unmitigated disaster. For, while it is entirely true that certain anglers get themselves into peak condition so as to be able to struggle for hours with various marine giants, it is equally true that barefoot boys go down to the sea with cane poles and come home with eye-popping strings of this and that.

So, at the outset, one common, false impression must be corrected. Any kind of fresh-water fishing that you have enjoyed has a salt-water parallel. Note that I do not say “equivalent”; later on, you will see why. Let us suppose that you are a shore fisherman. You like to sit with a long pole or a hand fine, on which is a sinker and a hook and some bait. In this fashion, you have taken bullheads, rock bass, sunnies, an occasional black bass, and the like. You need no different tackle—and only such a different bait as shrimp—to catch not one kind of fish but any of hundreds of sorts, from banks, the sides of brackish canals, bridges, beaches, and other points where land meets water.

Among these may well be grunts and porgies and snappers—which may be compared with sunnies and perch, though they may run up to so many pounds in weight as to astonish you, and break your line! Among these may also be salt-water catfish, trout, jacks, grouper, and the whole gaudy repertoire (especially if you use very small hooks) of “tropical” fish—the angelfishes, butterfly fish, triggers, parrots, and so on.

That begins to give you an idea. And summertime, contrary to the fears of some, is the best time for fishing in south Florida.

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