nd when he saw me he darted away like an arrow. I
made a long cast and composed myself to wait. Presently a yell from R.
C. electrified me with the hope that he had hooked a fish. But it turned
out that he had only seen one. He moved forward very cautiously in the
water and presently made a cast. He then said that a big bonefish was
right near his hook, and during the next few minutes this fish circled
his bait twice, crossing his line. Then he counted out loud: one, two,
three, four, five bonefish right in front of him, one of which was a
whopper. I stood up myself and saw one over to my right, of about five
pounds, sneaking along with his nose to the bottom. When I made a cast
over in his direction he disappeared as suddenly as if he had dissolved
in the water. Looking out to my left, I saw half a dozen bonefish
swimming toward me, and they came quite close. When I moved they
vanished. Then I made a cast over in this direction. The bonefish came
back and swam all around my bait, apparently not noticing it. They were
on the feed, and the reason they did not take our bait must have been
that they saw us. We fished there for an hour without having a sign of a
bite, and then we gave it up.

To-day about flood-tide I had a little strike. I jerked hard, but failed
to see the fish, and then when I reeled in I found he still had hold of
it. Then I struck him, and in one little jerk he broke the leader.

* * * * *

I just had a talk with a fellow who claims to know a good deal about
bonefishing. He said he had caught a good many ranging up to eight
pounds. His claim was that soldier crabs were the best bait. He said he
had fished with professional boatmen who knew the game thoroughly. They
would pole the skiff alongshore and keep a sharp lookout for what he
called bonefish mud. And I assume that he meant muddy places in the
water that had been stirred up by bonefish. Of course, any place where
these little swirls could be seen was very likely to be a bonefish bank.
He claimed that it was necessary to hold the line near the reel between
the forefingers, and to feel for the very slightest vibration. Bonefish
have a sucker-like mouth. They draw the bait in, and smash it.
Sometimes, of course, they move away, drawing out the line, but that
kind of a bite is exceptional. It is imperative to strike the fish when
this vibration is felt. Not one in five bonefish is hooked.

We have had two northers an