\> .,^'- ./, % %/ ..^^'"-. ^^''^. •K^^' ^-^; ^0C ■^z. v-^ x^^ "^^ % *.sO> .0- ^' ^. ^^ -% ^-. .,^'' ,4 -r ^<^" 0^ -r^ '\* '^> .^" "^. \. -#\ .0^ r "t. V^ •>. 3 N % . V .'^^ c ^, .-^^ ^ ^:;\:,^^ -^ ■x^ >^, :^^ .V •p. .^\^ BASS, PIKE, PERCH AND OTHERS THE BLACK BASS 'Inch for Inch and Pound for Pound THE Gamest Fish that Swims' ' BASS, PIKE, PERCH AND OTHER GAME FISHES OF AMERICA BY JAMES A. HENSHALL, M.D. Author of "Book oj the Black-Bass," ^'Camping and Cruising in Florida," "Ye Gods and Little Fishes," etc. NEW EDITION CINCINNATI STEWART & KIDD COMPANY 1919 5^ A- 0= ^ ^ %> .^:v'^ Coturlehl, ;«»», by Thi Macmiltan Company Copyright, 1919, by STEWART & KIDD COMPANY A II rights reserved Copyright in England INTRODUCTION In this volume are included all the Gamc-Fishcs of the United States inhabiting the fresh water lakes and streams east of the Rocky Mountains, and the marine and brackish waters of the Atlan- tic and Gulf Coasts. As a matter of convenience I have grouped the fishes in families, wherever possible, but in their sequence I have been guided, chiefly, by their importance as game-fishes, and not in accordance with their natural order. The latter feature, however, has been provided for in a systematic list on a subsequent page. In order not to burden the text with matter that might not be of general interest, the tech- nical descriptions of the fishes of each group are given in small type at the head of each chapter; and that they may be readily understood by the lay reader the following explanations seem nec- essary : The length of the head is from the point of the snout to the hindmost point or margin of the gill-cover. V vi Introduction The length of the body is from the point of the snout to the base of the caudal fin, the fin itself not being in- cluded. The depth of the body is from the highest point of the dorsal line to the lowest point of the ventral line, usually from the base of the first dorsal fin to the base of the ventral fin. The expression "head 5" means that the length of the head is contained five times in the length of the body ; the expression "depth 5" means that the depth of the body is contained five times in its length ; "eye 5" means that the diameter of the eye is contained five times in the length of the head. In describing the fins the spiny rays are denoted by Roman numerals, and the soft rays by Arabic numerals, and the fins themselves by initials; thus "D 9" means that the dorsal fin is single and composed of nine soft rays; "D. IX, 10" means that the single dorsal fin has nine spiny rays and ten soft rays; when separated by a hyphen as " D. X-12," it means that there are two dorsal fins, the first composed of ten spiny rays and the second of twelve soft ones; "A. Ill, 11" means that the anal fin has three spiny rays and eleven soft rays. The expression "scales 7-65-18" indicates that there are seven rows of scales between the dorsal fin and the lateral line, sixty-five scales along the lateral line, and eighteen oblique or horizontal rows between the lateral line and the ventral line. The number of rays in the fins and the number of scales along the lateral line, as given, represents the average number, and is subject to slight variation ; thus in some localities the number of rays in a fin may be Introduction vii found to vary one or two, and the number of scales along the lateral line may vary from one to five, more or less, from the number given in the descriptions. I have adhered strictly to the nomenclature of the "Fishes of North and Middle America" (Bulletin U. S. National Museum, No. 47), by Jordan & Evermann, and in the main I have fol- lowed the descriptions as recorded in that ad- mirable work; but in many instances I have de- pended on my own notes. The suggestions as to angling and the tools and tackle recommended may be confidently relied on, as they are in conformity with my own practice, and are based on my personal experience, cover- ing a period of more than sixty years, on many waters, from Canada to the West Indies, and from the Atlantic to the Rocky Mountains. JAMES ALEXANDER HENSHALL. Cincinnati, Ohio. SYSTEMATIC ARRANGEMENT OF THE FISHES DESCRIBED IN THIS VOLUME Family SILURIDiE Ictalurus punctatus (Rafinesque). The Channel Catfish. Family CYPRINIDiE Cyprinus carpio, Linnaeus. The German Carp. Family ELOPIDiE Elops saurus, Linnaeus. The Ten-pounder. Family ALBULID.^ Albula vulpes (Linnaeus). The Lady-Fish. Family SALMONIDiE Coregonus williamsoni, Girard. The Rocky Mountain Whitefish. Argyrosomus artedi sisco, Jordan. The Cisco. Family THYMALLIDiE Thymallus signifer (Richardson). The Arctic Grayling. Thymallus tricolor, Cope. The Michigan Grayling. Thymallus montanus, Milner. The Montana Grayling. / Family ARGENTINID^ Osmerus mordax (Mitchill) . The Smelt. ' Family ESOCID^ Esox americanus, Gmelin. The Banded Pickerel. Esox vermiculatus, Le Sueur. The Western Pickerel. X Systematic Arrangement of Fishes Esox reticulatus, Le Sueur. The Eastern Pickerel. Esox lucius, Linnaeus. The Pike. Esox nobilior, Thompson. The Mascalonge. Family HOLOCENTRIDiE Holocentrus ascensionis (Osbeck) . The Squirrel Fish. Family SCOMBRIDiE Sarda sarda (Bloch). The Bonito. Scomberomorus maculatus (Mitchill). The Spanish Mackerel. Scomberomorus regalis (Bloch). The Cero. Family CARANGID.® Carangus crysos (Mitchill). The Runner. Carangus latus (Agassiz). The Horse-eye Jack. Trachinotus glaucus (Bloch). The Gaff Top-sail Pompano. Trachinotus goodei, Jordan & Evermann. The Permit. Trachinotus carolinus (Linnasus). The Pompano. Family RACHYCENTRIDiE Rachycentron canadus (Linnaeus). The Cobia.> Family CENTRARCHID^ Pomoxis annularis, Rafinesque. The Crappie. Pomoxis sparoides (Lacdp^de). The Calico-bass. Ambloplites rupestris (Rafinesque) . The Rock-bass. Archoplites interruptus (Girard). The Sacramento Perch. Chaenobryttus gulosus (Cuvier & Valenciennes). The Warmouth Perch. Lepomis auritus (Linnaeus). The Red-breast Sunfish. Lepomis megalotis (Rafinesque). The Long-eared Sunfish. Lepomis pallidus (Mitchill). The Blue Sunfish. Eupomotis gibbosus (Linnaeus). The Common Sunfish. Micropterus dolomieu, Lac^p&de. The Small-mouth Black-bass. Micropterus salmoides (Lac^p^de). The Large-mouth Black- bass. Systematic Arrangement of Fishes xi Family PERCID^ Stizostedion vitreum (Mitchill). The Pike-perch. Stizostedion canadense (Smith). The Sauger. Perca flavescens (Mitchill). The Yellow Perch. Family CENTROPOMIDiE Centropomus undecimalis (Bloch). The Snook, or Rovallia. Family SERRANID^ Roccus chrysops (Rafinesque) . The White-bass. Roccus lineatus (Bloch) . The Striped-bass. Morone interrupta, Gill. The Yellow-bass. Morone americana (Gmelin). The White Perch. Petrometopon cruentatus (Lacep^de). The Coney. Bodianus fulvus (Linnaeus). The Nigger Fish. Epinephelus adscensionis (Osbeck) . The Rock Hind. Epinephelus guttatus (Linnaeus). The Red Hind. Mycteroperca venenosa (Linnsus). The Yellow Fin Grouper. Mycteroperca microlepis (Goode & Bean). The Gag. Mycteroperca falcata phenax, Jordan & Swain. The Scamp. Centropristes striatas (Linnaeus). The Sea-bass. Centropristes ocyurus (Jordan & Evermann) . The Gulf Sea-bass. Centropristes philadelphicus (Linnaeus). The Southern Sea-bass. Diplectrum formosum (Linnaeus). The Sand-fish. Family LOBOTID^ Lobotes surinamensis (Bloch) . The Triple Tail. Family LUTIANIDiE Lutianus jocu (Bloch & Schneider). The Dog Snapper. Lutianus apodus (Walbaum). The Schoolmaster. Lutianus aya (Bloch). The Red Snapper. Lutianus synagris (Linnsus). The Lane Snapper. Ocyurus chrysurus (Bloch) . The Yellowtail. xii Systematic Arrangement of Fishes Family ILffiMULIDJE Haemulon album. Curvier & Valenciennes. The Margate-fish. Haemulon macrostomum, Gunther. The Gray Grunt. Haemulon parra (Desmarest). The Sailor's Choice. Haemulon sciurus (Shaw). The Yellow Grunt. Hamulon plumieri (Lact5pi^de). The Black Grunt. Haemulon flavolineatum (Desmarest). The French Grunt. Anisotremus virginicus (Linnaeus). The Pork-fish. Orthopristis chrysopterus (Linnseus). The Pig-fish. Family SPARID^ Stenotomus chrysops (Linnseus). The Scup. Stenotomus aculeatus (Cuvier & Valenciennes). The Southern Porgy. Calamus calamus (Cuvier & Valenciennes). The Saucer-eye Porgy. Calamus proridens, Jordan & Gilbert. The Little Head Porgy. Calamus bajonado (Bloch & Schneider). The Jolt Head Porgy. Calamus arctifrons, Goode & Bean. The Grass Porgy. Lagodon rhomboides (Linnteus). The Pin-fish. Archosargus probatocephalus (Walbaum). The Sheepshead. Family KYPHOSIDJE Kyphosus sectatrix (Linnsus) . The Bermuda Chub. Family SCIiENIDiE Cynoscion nothus (Holbrook). The Bastard Weakfish. Cynoscion regalis (Bloch & Schneider). The Weakfish. Cynoscion thalassinus (Holbrook). The Deep-water Weakfish. Cynoscion nebulosus (Cuvier & Valenciennes). The Spotted Weakfish. Leiostomus xanthurus. Lac(fp^de. The Lafayette, or Spot. Micropogon undulatus (Linmtus). The CroaJcer. Menticirrhus saxatilis (Bloch & Schneider). The Kingfish. Aplodinotus grunniens, Rafinesque. The Fresh-water Drum- fish. Systematic Amingement of Fishes xiii Family LABRID^ Tautogolabrus adspersus (Walbaum). The Cunner. Family EPHIPPID^ Chaetodipterus faber (Broussonet). The Angel-fish. Family BALISTID^ Balistes carolinensis, Gmelin. The Turbot. Family PLEURONECTIDiE Pseudopleuronectes americanus (Walbaum). The Flounder. CONTENTS CHAPTER I The Sunfish Family, Centrarchidce .... The Small-mouth Black-bass, Micropterus dolomieu The Large-mouth Black-bass, Micropterus salrnoides The Rock-bass, Amblopiites rupestris The Sacramento Perch, Archoplites interruptus The Warmouth Perch, Chcenobrytttis gidostis The Blue Sunfish, Lepomis pallidus The Long-eared Sunfish, Lepomis megalotis The Red-breast Sunfish, Lepomis auritus The Common Sunfish, Eupomotis gibbosus The Calico-bass, Pomoxis sparoides The Crappie, Pomoxis atmularis FAGS I 3 30 52 57 58 62 65 67 69 73 79 CHAPTER II The Bass Family, Serranidtz The White-bass, Roccus chrysops . The Yellow-bass, Morone interrupta CHAPTER III The Sea-bass Family, Serranidce (continued) ... 95 The Striped-bass, Roccus lineatus 96 The White-perch, Morone americana . . . .110 The Sea-bass, Centropristes striatus . . . • 115 The Southern Sea-bass, Ceittropristes philadelphicus . 118 The Guli Sea.-h2iss, Ceniroprisfes ocyurus . . .119 xvi Contents CHAPTER IV PAGE 120 122 137 149 153 154 The Pike Family, Esocidce .... The Mascalonge, Esox nobilior The Pike, Esox lucius .... The Eastern Pickerel, Esox reticttlattcs . The Western Pickerel, Esox vermictilatus The Banded Pickerel, Esox americanus . CHAPTER V The Perch Family, Percidce 156 The 'Pi\!iQ--peYc\ Stisostedion vitreum . . . -157 The Sanger, Stizostedion canadense . . . .164 The Yellow-perch, Perca flavescens 165 CHAPTER VI The Grayling Family, Thymallida ..... 173 'Y\iQ hxc\\cCiX2i^\vcig,Thy7nallus signifer . . .176 The Michigan Grayling, 7'/^/;««////i' /rz(:^/<3r . . .178 The Montana Grayling, Thymallus montanus . .181 CHAPTER VII The Salmon Family, Salmonida 203 The Rocky Mountain Whitefish, Coregonus williamsoni . 204 The Cisco, Argyrosof/ius artedi sisco .... 207 CHAPTER VIII The Drum Family, ScicEnidce 213 The Weakfish, Cynoscion regalis . . . . .215 The Bastard Weakfish, Cynoscion twthus . . .221 Contents xvii PAGE The Kingfish, Menticirrhns saxatilis . . . .221 The Croaker, Micropogoti undulatus .... 226 The Lafayette, Leiostomus xanthurus .... 228 CHAPTER IX The Drum Family, Scianida; (continued) .... 232 The Fresh-water Drumfish, Aplodinotus grunniens . . 232 CHAPTER X The Minnow Family, Cyprinidcs 236 The German Carp, Cyprinus carpio .... 236 CHAPTER XI The Catfish Family, SiluridcB 244 The Channel-catfish, Ictalums punctatus . . . 244 CHAPTER XII The Sheepshead Family, Sparidce 251 The Sheepshead, Archosargus probatocephalus . . 252 The Scup, Stenototmis chrysops ..... 259 CHAPTER XIII Miscellaneous Fishes The Cunner, Tmdogolabrtis adspersus ..... 264 The Flounder, Pseudopleuronectes americanus . . . 266 The Smelt, Osmeriis mordax 269 CHAPTER XIV The Mackerel Family, Scombridcs 272 The Spanish Mackerel, Scomberotnorns macidatus . .273 The Cero, Scomberomonis regalis ..... 278 The Bonito, Sarda sarda 282 XVlll Contents CHAPTER XV The Grouper Family, Scrranidce The Gag, Mycteropcrca microlepis . The Scamp, Myctcroperca falcata phcnax The Yellow-finned Grouper, Myderoperca venenosa The Rock Hind, Epinephelus adscensionis The Red Hind, Epinephelus giUtatus The Coney, Petromctopon cruentatus The Nigger-fish, Bodianus fulviis . The Sand-fish, Diplcctrum formosiitn PAGE 287 291 294 29s 297 299 300 303 CHAPTER XVI The Cavalli Family, Cnransidcc The Runner, Carangus chrysos The Horse-eye Jack, Carattfftis latus The Pompano, Trachinotus carolintts 306 307 310 3" CHAPTER XVn The Channel Fishes The Grunt Family, Hcumididce . The Black Grunt, Hcemulon plumieri The Yellow Grunt, Hcamulon sciurus The Margate-fish, Hcrmulon album The Sailor's Choice, Hcrnmlon parra The Pig-fish, Orthopristis chrysopterus The Pork -fish, Anisotremus virginicus The Snapper Family, Lutianidcc The Yellow-tail, Ocyurus chrysun^us The Lane Snapper, Lutianus synagris 321 323 326 328 330 331 334 336 338 339 Contents XIX The Red Snapper, Lutiatius aya The Dog Snapper, Lutianus jocu The Schoolmaster, Lutianus apodus The Porgy Family, Sparidcc The Jolt-head Porgy, Calamus bajonado The Saucer-eye Porgy, Calamus cala?nus The Little-head Porgy, Calatnus proridens The Grass Porgy, Calamus arctifrons FAGS 344 345 347 348 350 352 353 CHAPTER XVIII Miscellaneous Fishes The Lady-fish, Albula vuipes The Ten-pounder, Elops saurus The Snook, Centropotnus undecimalis The Triple-tail, Lobotes surinamensis The Cobia, Kachycentron canadus . The Spotted Weakfish, Cynoscion nebulosus The Deep-sea Weakfish, Cynoscion thalassinus The Bermuda Chub, Kyphosus sectatrix . The Angel-fish, ChcBtodipterus faber The Pinfish, Lagodon rhomboides . The Squirrel-fish, Holocottrus ascensionis The Turbot, Balistes carolinensis . 355 361 366 370 373 376 381 382 384 386 388 390 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Where the Bass bite well .... Frontispiece PAGE Oswego (Large-mouth) Bass 36 The Small-mouth Black-bass. The Large-mouth Black-bass. The Rock-bass 62 Surf-flshing for Bass 96 Catching Sea-bass off Newport 100 The Sea-bass. The Mascalonge. The Pike . .114 The Mascalonge of the Weeds. Trolling with Hand- line 120 The Eastern Pickerel. The Western Pickerel. The Pike-perch. The Yellow-perch . . . .140 The Arctic Grayling. The Michigan Grayling. The Montana Grayling 174 The More Sportsmanly Way of catching Mascalonge 200 The Weakfish. The Kingfish. The German Carp . 226 The Channel-catfish. The Sheepshead. The Cunner 2^4 Fishing for Cunners 250 The Flounder. The Smelt. The Spanish Mackerel 264 The Bonito. The Nigger-fish. The Pompano . . 280 Catching Spanish Mackerel on the Edge of the Gulf Stream 300 The Black Grunt. The Red Snapper . . . .322 The Jolt-head Porgy. The Lady-fish. The Cobia . 348 Taking Bonito by trolling off Block Island . . 350 The Angel-fish. Tuic Turbot 384 xxi BASS, PIKE, AND PERCH CHAPTER I THE SUNFISH FAMILY ( Centrarchidce) The sunfish family is composed entirely of fresh-water fishes. They are characterized by a symmetrically-shaped body, rather short and compressed; mouth terminal; teeth small, with- out canines; scales rather large; cheeks and gill- covers scaly; scales mostly smooth; border of preopercle smooth, or but slightly serrated; opercle ending in two flat points, or in a black flap; a single dorsal fin, composed of both spiny and soft rays; anal fin also having both spines and soft rays; the dorsal spines varying from 6 to 13 in the different species, with from 3 to 9 in the anal fin; sexes similar; coloration mostly greenish. GENUS MICROPTERUS Microptertis dolomieu. Small-mouth Black-bass. Body ovate- oblong; head 3; depth 3; eye 6; D. X, 13; A. HI, 10; scales 11-73-17; mouth large, the maxillary reaching front of eye; scales on cheek minute, in 17 rows ; teeth villiform. 2 Bass, Pike, and Percb Micropterus salmoides. Large-mouth Black-bass. Body ovate- oblong; head 3 ; depth 3 ; eye 5 ; D. X, 13 ; A. Ill, 11 ; scales 8-68-16; scales on cheek large, in 10 rows; mouth very large, maxillary extending beyond the eye ; teeth villiform. GENUS AMBLOPLITES Ambloplites riipestris. Rock-bass. Body oblong, moderately com- pressed ; head 2J; depth 2^; eye 4; D. XI, 10; A. VI, 10; scales 5-40-12, with 6 to 8 rows on cheeks ; mouth large, maxil- lary extending to posterior part of pupil ; teeth small, single patch on tongue; gill-rakers 7 to 10, on lower part of arch; preopercle serrate near its angle ; opercle ends in 2 flat points. GENUS ARCHOPLITES Archoplites interrupt us. Sacramento Perch. Body oblong-ovate, compressed; head 2| ; depth 2\\ eye 4; D. XII, 10; A. VI, 10; scales 7-45-14; 8 rows on checks; mouth very large, maxillary extending beyond pupil; teeth numerous and small, with 2 patches on tongue ; gill-rakers 20 ; opercle emarginate ; most of the membrane bones of head serrate. GENUS CH.ENOBRYTTUS Chcenobrytttis gulosus. Warmouth Perch. Body heavy and deep ; head2i; depth 2I ; eye 4; D. X,9; A. Ill, 8; scales 6-42-1 1 ; 6 to 8 rows on cheeks ; teeth small and numerous ; gill-rakers 9; preopercle entire; mouth very large; opercle ends in a black convex flap. GENUS LEPOMIS Lepomis pallidiis. Blue Sunfish. Body short and deep, com- pressed; head 3; depth 2; eye 3^ ; D. X, 12; A. Ill, 12; scales 7-46-16; 5 rows on cheeks; mouth small, maxillary barely reaching eye; teeth small and sharp; opercular flap without pale edge; gill-rakers ;r-|- 11 to 13. Lepomis megalotis. Long-eared Sunfish. Body short and deep, the back arched ; head 3 ; depth 2 ; eye4 ; D. X, 1 1 ; A. Ill, 9 ; scales 5-40-14 ; 5 rows on cheeks ; mouth small and oblique ; opercular flap long and broad, with red or blue margin ; gill-rakers x-\- 8 or 9. The Sunfish Family 3 Lepomis auritus. Red-breast Sunfish. Body elongate; head 3; depth 3; eye 4; D. X, 11 ; A. Ill, 9; scales 6-45-15; mouth large, oblique ; palatine teeth present ; gill-rakers jf 4- 8 or 9, quite short ; opercular flap very long and narrow ; scales on breast very small ; 7 rows scales on cheeks. GENUS EUPOMOTIS Eupomotis gibbosus. Common Sunfish. Body short and deep, compressed; head 3; depth 2; eye 4; D. X, 11; A. Ill, 10; scales 6-45-13 ; 4 rows on cheeks ; mouth small, oblique, max- illary scarcely reaching front of eye; pharyngeal teeth paved and rounded; gill-rakers soft and small, x-\-\o\ opercular flap rather small, the lower part bright scarlet. GENUS POMOXIS Pomoxis sparoides. Calico-bass. Body oblong, elevated, much compressed ; head 3 ; depth 2 ; D. VII, 15 ; A. VI, 17 ; scales 40 to 45 ; 6 rows on cheeks ; mouth large, maxillary reaching to posterior edge of pupil ; snout projecting ; fins very high, anal higher than dorsal. Pomoxis annularis. Crappie. Body rather elongate ; head 3 ; depth 2\ ; D. VI, 15 ; A. VI, 18 ; scales 36 to 48 ; 4 or 5 rows on cheek ; mouth very wide ; fins very high, but lower than sparoides. THE SMALL-MOUTH BLACK-BASS (^Micropterus dolofnieit) The generic name Micropterus was given to the small-mouth black-bass by the French ich- thyologist Lacepede, in 1802, who was the first to describe it The name Micropterus, which means "small fin," was bestowed on account of the mutilated condition of the dorsal fin of 4 Bass, Pike, and Percb the specimen, a few of the posterior rays of the fin being detached and broken off, giving the appearance of a short and sepa- rate fin. The specimen was sent to Paris from an unknown locality in America, and is still preserved in the Museum of Natural His- tory at Paris, where I personally examined it. It is a line example, about a foot in length, and is remarkably well preserved. As there was no known genus to which the specimen with the curious dorsal fin could be referred, Lacepede created the new genus Microptcnts. He gave it the specific name doloniicu as a compliment to his friend M. Dolomieu, a P'rench mineralo- gist, for whom the mineral dolomite was also named. Originally, the small-mouth black-bass was restricted to the Great Lake region, parts of the Ohio and Mississippi valleys, and along the upper reaches of streams fiowing from the Alleghany Mountains in the Southern states. It has, how- ever, been introduced into all of the New P^ng- land and Middle states, and into many Western states. It has a compressed, rather elliptical body, the dorsal and ventral outlines being nearly equal ; it becomes deeper with age. The Sunfish Family 5 As its range, or distribution, is so great and extensive, and the waters it inhabits arc so differ- ent in hue and character, the coloration of the small-mouth bass varies from almost black to the faintest tinge of green, in different sections of the country. The coloration is so variable that it differs even in fish in the same waters. It is influenced mostly by the hue of the water, char- acter of the bottom, the presence or absence of weeds about the haunts of the bass, and, more- over, the changes in color may occur in a very short time when subject to these various condi- tions. The general color, however, is greenish of various shades, always darker on the back, and paling to white or whitish on the belly. When markings are present, they form vertical patches or bars, never horizontal. Three bronze streaks extend from the eye across the cheeks. All markings, however, may become obsolete with age. The natural food of both species is crawfish, which might be inferred from the character of their teeth and wide-opening mouth. There is a popular belief that they are essentially and habitually piscivorous ; but this is an error ; they are not so black as they are painted. They feed 6 Bass, Pike, and Perch on minute crustaceans and larval forms of insects when young, and afterward on crawfish, minnows, frogs, insects, etc., as do most fishes that have teeth in the jaws. But the teeth of the black- bass are villiform and closely packed, presenting an even surface as uniform as the surface of a tooth-brush. Such teeth are incapable of wound- ing, and merely form a rough surface for holding their prey securely. All truly piscivorous fishes have fewer, but sharp, conical teeth, of unequal length, like the yellow-perch, pike-perch, masca- longe, and trout, or lancet-shaped teeth like the bluefish. The black-bass is far less destructive to fish life than any of the fishes mentioned; on the contrary, it suffers the most in a mixed com- munity of fishes, and is the first to disappear. There are small lakes in Canada and Michigan where the brook-trout and black-bass have co- existed from time immemorial without jeopardy to the trout. There are small lakes in Wisconsin where black-bass and cisco, with other species, have coexisted for all time ; and while the cisco is as numerous as ever, the black-bass has almost disappeared. It does not follow, however, that black-bass should be introduced in trout waters ; The Sunfisb Family 7 far from it. Brook-trout are being exterminated fast enough, owing to the changed natural condi- tions of the streams and their surroundings, without adding another contestant for the limited supply of food in such waters. Both species of black-bass have been intro- duced into Germany, France, Russia, and the Netherlands. In Germany, especially, they have found a permanent home. It was my privilege materially to assist Herr Max von dem Borne, of Berneuchen, with such advice as enabled him to start on a sure footing in his enterprise, and with such subsequent success in its establishment that he published several brochures on the black- bass to meet the demand for information as to its habits and merits as a game- and food-fish. An effort was made some years ago to introduce the black-bass into English waters, but without suc- cess, owing to a want of knowledge as to the proper species to experiment with. The small- mouth bass was placed in weedy ponds or small lakes in which only the large-mouth bass would live. The small-mouth bass thrives only in compara- tively clear, cool, and rocky or gravelly streams, and in lakes and ponds supplied by such streams 8 Bass, Pike, and Perch or having cold bottom springs. In lakes of the latter character, in northern sections, it coexists with large-mouth bass in many instances. In such cases, however, the small-mouth will be found usually at the inlet, or about the springs, and the large-mouth at the outlet or in sheltered, grassy situations. In winter it undergoes a state of partial or complete torpidity. In ponds that have been drained in the winter season it has been found snugly ensconced in the crevices of rocks, beneath shelving banks, logs, roots, or among masses of vegetation, undergoing its winter sleep. In the spring, when the tempera- ture of the water rises above fifty degrees, the small-mouth bass emerges from its winter quar- ters, about which it lingers until the water be- comes still warmer, when it departs in search of suitable locations for spawning. At this time, owing to a semi-migratory instinct, it ascends streams, and roams about in lakes or ponds, often ascending inlet streams, or in some instances descending outlet streams. When favorable situations are found, the male and female pair off and proceed to fulfil the reproductive instinct. The spawning period extends from May to July, according to the The Simfisb Family g section of the country it inhabits, and when the temperature of the water is suitable. The nests are formed on a bottom of gravel or coarse sand, or on a flat rock in very rocky streams. The male fish does the work of preparation by scour- ing with fins and tail a space about twice his length in diameter, forming a shallow, saucer- shaped depression, in which the female deposits her eggs, which are fertilized by the male, who hovers near by. The eggs are heavy and adhe- sive, being invested with a glutinous matter that enables them to adhere to the pebbles on the bottom. The number of eggs varies from two thousand to twenty-five thousand, according to the size and weight of the female. The nest is carefully guarded by the parents until the eggs hatch, the period of incubation being from one to two weeks, according to the temperature of the water. The resultant fry are then watched and brooded by the male fish for several days or a week, when they seek the shelter of weeds and grasses in shallow water. The young fry feed on minute crustaceans and the larval forms of insects. When a month old they are about an inch long, and continue to grow, if food is plentiful, so that they reach a lo Bass, Pike, and Perch length of from three to six inches in the fall. Thereafter they increase a pound a year under the most favorable conditions, until the maximum weight is attained, which is about five pounds. In some instances, however, they have reached a weight of seven or even ten pounds, where the environment has been unusually favorable; not- ably in Glen Lake, near Glens Falls, New York, where a half-dozen or more have been taken weighing from eight to ten pounds. One of ten pounds was twenty-five and one-half inches long and nineteen inches in girth. As a game-fish the black-bass has come into his inheritance. As the French say, he has ar- rived. With the special tools and tackle now furnished for his capture, he has proved my apho- rism, " Inch for inch, and pound for pound, he is the gamest fish that swims." When I ventured this opinion twenty-five years ago, there were no special articles made for his capture except the Kentucky reel and the McGinnis rod, twelve feet long and fifteen ounces in weight. In awarding the palm as a game-fish to the black-bass, I do so advisedly, in the light of ample experience with all other game-fishes, and without prejudice, for I have an innate love and admiration for all, from The Sunfish Family ii the lovely trout of the mountain brook to the giant tarpon of the sea. In the application of so broad and sweeping an assertion each and every attribute of a game-fish must be well considered : his habitat ; his aptitude to rise to the fly ; his struggle for freedom ; his manner of resistance ; his weight as compared with other game-fishes ; and his excellence as a food-fish, must be separately and collectively con- sidered and duly and impartially weighed. His haunts are amid most charming and varied scenes. Not in the silent and solemn solitudes of the primeval forests, where animated Nature is evidenced mainly in swarms of gnats, black-flies, and mosquitoes ; nor under the shadows of grand and lofty mountains, guarded by serried ranks of pines and firs, but whose sombre depths are void of feathered songsters. However grand, sublime, and impressive such scenes truly are, they do not appeal profoundly to the angler. He must have life, motion, sound. He courts Nature in her more communicative moods, and in the haunts of the black-bass his desires are realized. Wad- ing down the rippling stream, casting his flies hither and yon, alert for the responsive tug, the sunlight is filtered through overhanging trees. 12 Bass, Pike, and Perch while tlie thrusli, blackbird, and cardinal render the air vocal with sweet sounds, and his rival, the kingfisher, greets him with vibrant voice. The summer breeze, laden with the scent of woodland blossoms, whispers among the leaves, the wild bee flits by on droning wing, the squir- rel barks defiantly, and the tinkle of the cow-bell is mellowed in the distance. I know of such streams in the mountain valleys of West Virginia, amid the green rolling hills of Kentucky and Tennessee, and in the hill country where Mis- souri and Arkansas meet. The aptitude of the black-bass to rise to the artificial fly is not questioned by the twentieth- century angler, though it was considered a matter of doubt by many anglers during the last quarter of the nineteenth. The doubt was mainly owing to a lack of experience, for fly-fishing for black- bass was successfully practised in Kentucky as early, certainly, as 1845. I have before me a click reel made in 1S48 by the late Mr. J. L. Sage, of Lexington, Kentucky, especially for fly- fishing. I have also seen his fiy-rod made by him about the same time, and used by him for many years on the famous bass streams of that state. And I might say, in passing, that black- The Sunjisb Family 13 bass bait-fishing, as an art, originated in Ken- tucky a century ago. George Snyder, of Paris, Kentucky, when president of the Bourbon County AngHng Club, made the first multiplying reel for casting the minnow, in 18 10, and as early as 1830 many such reels were used in that state. The rods employed by those pioneers of black- bass fishing were about ten feet long, weighing but several ounces, cut from the small end of a Mississippi cane, with the reel lashed to the butt. They used the smallest Chinese "sea-grass" lines, or home-made lines of three strands of black sew- ing-silk twisted together. Those old disciples of Walton would have been shocked, could they have seen the heavy rods and coarse lines that are still used in some sections, for their own tackle was as light, if not so elegant, as any made at the present day. Another quality in a game-fish is measured by his resistance when hooked and by his efforts to escape. I think no fish of equal weight exhibits so much finesse and stubborn resistance, under such conditions, as the black-bass. Most fishes when hooked attempt to escape by tugging and pulling in one direction, or by boring toward the bottom, and if not successful in breaking away 14 Bass, Pike, and Percb soon give up the unequal contest. But the black- bass exhibits, if not intelligence, something akin to it, in his strategical manoeuvres. Sometimes his first effort is to bound into the air at once and attempt to shake out the hook, as if he knew his misfortune came from above. At other times he dashes furiously, first in one direction, then in another, pulling strongly meanwhile, then leaps into the air several times in quick succession, madly shaking himself with open jaws. I have seen him fall on a slack line, and again by using his tail as a lever and the water as a fulcrum, throw himself over a taut line, evidently with the intent to break it or tear out the hook. Another clever ruse is to wind the line around a root or rock, and still another is to embed himself in a clump of water-weeds if permitted to do so. Or, finding it useless to pull straight away, he re- verses his tactics and swims rapidly toward the angler, shaking himself and working his jaws, meanwhile, as if he knew that with a slack line lie would be more apt to disengage the hook. I have never known a black-bass to sulk like the salmon by lying motionless on the bottom. He is never still unless he succeeds in reaching a bed of weeds. He is wily and adroit, but at the The Stmfisb Family 15 same time he is brave and valiant. He seems to employ all the known tactics of other fishes, and to add a few of his own in his gallant fight for freedom. As a food-fish there is, in my estimation, but one fresh-water fish that is better, the whitefish of the Great Lakes. Its flesh is white, firm, and flaky, with a fine savor, and a juicy, succulent quality that is lacking with most other fresh- water fishes. About the spawning period, espe- cially in fish from weedy ponds, it is somewhat musky or muddy in flavor, like other fishes in similar situations; but by skinning the fish in- stead of scaling it much of that unpleasant feature is removed. BLACK-BASS TACKLE The first consideration for the fly-fisher is suit- able tools and tackle, and the most important article of his outfit is the fly-rod. Fortunately, at the present day, manufacturers turn out such good work that one does not have to seek far to obtain the best. And the best is one made of split bamboo by a first-class maker. Such a rod necessarily commands a good price, but it is the cheapest in the end, for with proper care it will last a lifetime. I have rods of this character that 1 6 Bass, Pike, and Perch I have used for thirty years that arc still as good as new. But the angler should eschew the shoddy split-bamboo rods that arc sold in the department stores for a dollar. A wooden rod at a moderate price is far better than a split- bamboo rod at double its cost. Rods are now made much better, of better material, and con- siderably shorter and lighter than formerly, and withal they are much better in balance and action. If any evidence were needed to prove and establish the superiority of the modern single- handed fly-rod over the old-style rod, it is only necessary to refer to the following facts : At the tournament of the New York State Sportsman's Association, in 1880, a cast of seventy feet won the first prize for distance ; and at that time the longest on record was Seth Green's cast of eighty-six feet. At a contest of the San Francisco Fly-casting Club held on October 11, 1902, at Stow Lake, Golden Gate Park, Mr. H. C. Golcher made the remarkable and wonderful cast of one hundred and forty feet, beating the previous rec- ord cast of one hundred and thirty-four feet, held jointly by Mr. Golcher and Mr. W. D. Mansfield of the same club. A suitable fly-rod for black-bass fishing may The Sunfisb Family 17 be from nine to ten and one-half feet in length, and weigh from six and one-half to eight ounces, according to the preferences of the angler and the waters to be fished. For an all-round rod for all-round work my ideal is ten and a quarter feet long and weighing seven ounces in split bamboo and eight ounces in ash and lancewood, or ash and bethabara. It should be made in three pieces, with a stiffish back- bone, constituting the lower third of its length, and with most of the bend in the upper two- thirds. A rod constructed on this principle will afford just the requisite amount of resiliency for casting, with sufficient pliancy and elasticity for playing a fish, and embody all the power and strength needed. The reel-seat should be simply a shallow groove in the hand-piece, with reel- bands, instead of the solid metal reel-seat, which subserves no good purpose and is only added weight ; moreover, it is now put on the cheapest rods as a trap to catch the unwary. All metal mountings should be German silver or brass. Nickel-plated mountings are cheap and nasty. A light, single-action click reel of German sil- ver or aluminum of fifty or sixty yards' capacity is the best. A plain crank handle is to be pre- 1 8 Bass, Pike, and Percb ferred to a balance handle, but in either case there should be a projecting rim or safety band, within which the handle revolves, in order to prevent fouling of the line. My own preference is for the English pattern, with a knobbed handle affixed to the edge of a revolving disk on the face of the reel. A multiplying reel with an adjustable click may be utilized instead of a click reel for fly-fishing. The enamelled, braided silk line is the only one suitable for casting the fly, and there is no better. A level line will answer, but a tapered one is better adapted for long casts. It may taper toward one end or both ways from the centre, the latter being preferable. From twenty-five to thirty yards is sufficient for all emergencies. It should be thoroughly dried every day it is used. A convenient way is to wind it around the back of a chair. Leaders may be from three to six feet long, accordingly as one or two flies are used in the cast. It should be composed of single, clear, round silkworm-gut fibre, tapering from the reel line to the distal end. It should not be tested to a greater weight than two pounds, as testing silk- worm gut weakens it very materially. It may be The Sunfisb Family 19 stained or not, though there is no advantage in coloring it; I prefer the natural hue. There should be a loop at the small end, and one three feet above it, for attaching the snells of flies. Before using it, it must be soaked in water until soft and pliable. Extra leaders may be carried in a box between layers of damp felt, so as to be ready for emergencies. The best and smallest and most secure knot for tying the lengths of gut together in making the leader is a simple half-hitch, like tying a single knot in a piece of string. When thoroughly soaked, the two ends to be tied are lapped a couple of inches, and a single knot, or half-hitch made in them, pulling the knot tight, and cutting off the loose ends closely. Snells should be three or four inches long, of good single gut, the shorter length for end fly. If the flies are made with a loop at the head, the snells for same should have a loop at each end for attaching to both fly and leader. If flies are made on eyed hooks, the snell should have but one loop for the leader, and a free end for tying to the eye of hook. The best knot for the pur- pose is made by passing the end of snell through the eye of hook, then around the shank just below 20 Bass, Pike, and Perch the eye, and then between the shank and snell and draw tight, forming a jam knot. Where the snell is tied to the fly, it should likewise have a loop for attaching to the leader. It should also be reinforced by a piece of gut an inch long at the head of the fly to strengthen it and prevent chafing. Snells, whether separate or tied to flies, should be carried like leaders between layers of damp felt. Most flies made for black-bass fishing are too large. The largest trout flies tied on hooks Nos. 4 to 6 are big enough. As just mentioned, they are tied directly to the snell on tapered hooks, or made with a small gut loop at the head of the fly, which is much the best way. Since the intro- duction of the eyed hook, or rather a revival of it, for trout flies, they are now utilized for bass flies also. As between the Pennell hook with turned-down eye and the Hall hook with turned- up eye, there is not much choice. Both patterns are based on the old Limerick hook. I prefer the Sproat or O'Shaughnessy to either, with gut loop at the head of the fly. If the black-bass is not color-blind, he seems to have a penchant for brown, gray, black, and yel- low, as flies embodying these colors seem to be The Sunfisb Family 21 more attractive to him than others. One can judge in this matter, however, only from experi- ence. And even then the deduction of one angler is often at variance with the inference of another. The most successful bass flies, like salmon flies, are not made in imitation of natural insects. This is true also of some of the " general " trout flies that have proved particularly pleasing to the black-bass, as the professor, grizzly king, king of the waters, Montreal, coachman, etc. True, the black, gray, red, and yellow hackles, which are supposed to be imitations of caterpillars, are very useful on nearly all waters ; but their resemblance to any known larval forms is very slight. There is a well-known rule in regard to the size and color of flies to be used at particular states and stages of the water, and in accordance with the time and character of the day. It is to use small and dark flies on bright days, with low and clear water ; and larger and brighter flies on dark days with high or turbid water, and at dusk. This rule is hoary with age. It has come down to us through past centuries with the indorsement of thousands of intelligent and observant anglers, and should be respected accordingly. It is in the main reliable and trustworthy. Of course 2 2 Bass, Pike, and Perch there will occur exceptions to prove the rule. And some iconoclastic anglers at this late day, in view of the exceptions, declare that it is entirely valueless as a guide ; but they offer nothing bet- ter. It is true, nevertheless, and a safe rule to follow. FLY-FISHING To be a successful fly-fisher for black-bass the angler must know something of the habits of his quarry, or at least of its haunts and favorite places of resort. On streams these places are in the eddies of rocks or large boulders, in the deeper water above and below riffles, under shelving banks and rocks, among the submerged roots of trees on the bank, near weed patches, driftwood, and logs, and in the vicinity of gravelly bars and shoals. Except in cloudy weather the angler may rest during the noon hours, as the most favorable time is in the morning and late after- noon until dusk. If wading, the angler should fish down-stream, and when the shadows are long, should endeavor to keep the sun in front. He should move slowly and cautiously, making as little noise as possible, casting to the sides and in front over every likely spot. Casts of thirty or forty feet are usually sufficient. The flies should The Stmfisb Family 23 be allowed to float down-stream, with tremulous motions, sidewise, to imitate the struggles of a drowning insect, and then permitted to sink sev- eral inches or a foot at each cast. Whipping the stream is sometimes quite suc- cessful where the bass does not respond to ordi- nary casting. This is done by casting in quick succession and repeatedly over one spot, allowing the flies merely to touch the water, until several such casts are made, when they should be per- mitted to sink, for a few seconds, as before. In making up the cast, two flies should be selected of different combinations of colors, as polka and professor. If necessary, changes should be made until two are selected that seem to meet the fastidious fancy of the fish. If a taut line is maintained, the bass usually hooks himself, but the angler should strike quickly upon feeling the slightest tug, or when seeing the swirl of the fish. One cannot strike too quickly. By striking is meant a simple turning of the hand sidewise, with a perfectly tight line; this is amply sufficient to set the hook. Should the line be slack and lifeless at the moment, a more vigorous movement is required, but even then it is usually too late. When a bass is hooked, the 24 Bass, Pike, and Perch contest should be between rod and fish, rather than between the reel and fish. It is the spring of the rod that conquers him, not the giving and taking of line. If the rod is held firmly, at an angle of forty-five degrees, with the thumb on the spool of the reel, there is no likelihood of a good rod breaking. Line should be given grudgingly, and the fish kept on the surface as much as pos- sible. When exhausted he should be drawn over the landing-net and lifted out quickly, at the same time releasing the thumb from the reel to relieve the strain on the rod. In fishing from the bank in deeper streams, or from a boat on small lakes, whereby the fish is better enabled to see the angler, longer casts are necessary, or the angler must screen himself from observation by trees or bushes on the bank. The boat should be kept in the deeper water and the casts made toward the shallows of bars, shoals, and weed patches. The best time for boat fishing on lakes or ponds is from near sundown until dark. CASTING THE MINNOW The live minnow, shiner preferred, is by far the best bait for the black-bass, as it is more easily seen, and the best way of presenting it is by cast- The Sunfisb Family 25 ing from the reel. For this purpose a rod eight or nine feet long is much better than a shorter or longer one. After a long series of experiments with rods from six to twelve feet, I arrived at the conclusion that the one now known as the Henshall rod, eight and one-fourth feet long and from seven to eight ounces in weight, fulfils all the requirements of casting, hooking, and playing a black-bass. It is light, strong, and of beautiful proportions. In first-class split bamboo it may be as light as six and one-half ounces, but should not exceed seven and one-half ounces. In ash and lancewood, or bethabara, from seven to eight ounces is the correct weight. A multiplying reel is indispensable. It may be two-, three-, or four-ply, but the best work and the most effective casting can only be done with the most perfect reel. It should be as light as possi- ble, in a fifty- or sixty-yard reel. German silver is the best material, though brass is fully as service- able, and costs less. Some very good reels are made of hard rubber and metal. Only braided lines should be used, as twisted ones kink too much in casting. Undressed silk, of the smallest caliber, size H, is best. Braided linen is stronger, but of larger caliber, and not so 26 /iiiss, rikc, ami Penh siiil;il)lo for i^ood (Msting. NcilluT c:\n effective caslini; be done with oil-ilressed or enamelled lines. Sm^lK^d liooks on single-gut snells, si/.e No. i or No. ?, Sproat preferred and O'Shauglinessy next, are (he hesl in any nu'lhod of hail-fisliing for black- bass. 'IMuMv are several other styles of hooks nsed, but, everything (^onsidcMvd, those named are (he most faullless, and for shapi\ slriMigth, and general excellence cannot l)e excelled. No leader is nsed, as the minnow mnst bi' reeled U|) (o within a loot or two of the ti|) of the rod in casting. Ihe snell ol the hook is attached to the reel-line by (hesm.dlest brass box-swivel, or it may be ['\ci\ directly to tin* lini\ I'lu' casts are maile ln)m right oi- left and undiMhand, not overluMd as in casting tlu" lly. Casts oi i(k> feet have* been made in this way. I'he chii'f factor in this style ol casting is the pro|)cr control ol the reel by the thumb — by a gentle but constant and uniform pressure on the levolving spool, to j>rc^vent over- running of {\\v \\\\c during the cast, and a stronger pressure to stop the reel at the encl ol the cast. 'Die thund) nuist be thoroughly educated to this work, and, owcc ac(\\\\\\\\, the rc>st is easy, as but little muscular i^lTort is renuiriul. The novice Tbi' Sun fish I'timilv 27 FTiust bcGjin with sliort casts aiul increase their Iciit;tli as he heciomcs more proficient in the man- agement of the reel. Perfect casting from the reel is more (Uffic iilt than casting the fly, and more artistic. In wading a stream the casts are directed to the same likely i)lacc>s mentioned nnder the head of fly-fishing. The minnow is allowed to sink to half the depth of Ihe water and reeled in slowly, wliich gives a lifelike motion to the bait when hooked through the lips. If there is no res)X)nse, the next cast should he made to another s|)ot, as a bass, if inclined to take flu; lure at all, will usually do so upon its first j)resentati()n. In fly-fishing it is imj)eralivc' to strike as soon as the bass seizes the fly, otiierwise he ejects it at once, if not hooked by a taut line, for he is con- scious of the deception as soon as tlu; fly is taken into his mouth. With natural bait it is different. The bass first seizes the minnow crosswise or tail fir.st, turn.s it in his mouth, and swallows it head hrst. This takes a littK^ time. Usually he holds it in his mouth and bolts away from other fish, or rushes toward a .secure hiding-place ^ — hence the vigorous initial dash and taking of line. If stojjjx-d before being hooked, he gives several tugs in 28 Bass, Pike, and Perch quick succession, when he should be given line slowly. The angler, with ihumb on the spool of the reel, can feel every motion of the fish. When he pulls steadily and strongly and increases his speed, the hook should be driven in by striking in the opposite direction to his course, or upward. A vigorous " yank " is not needed. With the strained line a movement of the tip of the rod a foot or two is sufificient with a sharp hook. If fishing from a boat, where the angler is more apt to be seen, it should be kept in deep water and the casts made toward the haunts of the bass in shallow water. Should the hooked bass break water on a long line, the slight straightening of the bent rod that ensues will tend to keep it taut, and there is nothing more to do. On a short line, however (the bend of the rod being maintained), he should be followed back to the water by a slight lowering of the tip, but it should again be raised as soon as he touches the water. The critical moment is when he is apparently standing on his tail, shaking him- self, with wide-opened jaws. If he is given any slack line at this time, the hook is likely to be thrown out. Lowering the tip to a leaping fish is a good The Sunfisb Family 29 old rule when done understandingly. It has been ridiculed by some anglers who do not seem to have a clear conception of it. They claim that by lowering the tip it gives sufficient slack line to enable the fish to free himself. But if the rod is bent, as it should be, the simple lowering of the tip with a short line merely relieves it somewhat from the weight of the fish ; there is no slack line, nor could there be unless the rod is lowered until it is perfectly straight, which no wide-awake angler would permit. As the fish is in the air but a second or two, the careless angler simply does nothing, which is, perhaps, the best thing that could happen for him. Trolling is practised from a moving boat along the edges of weeds or rushes, or in the neigh- borhood of gravelly shoals and bars or rocky ledges. The bait may be a minnow or a very small trolling-spoon ; if the latter, it should have but a single hook. The revolving spoon is itself the lure, and any addition of a bunch of feathers, a minnow, or a strip of pork-rind does not add to its efficiency in the least, and more- over savors of pot-fishing. A rod and reel should always be used, as trolling with a hand-line is very unsportsmanlike. 30 Bass, Pike, and Percb Still-fishing is practised from the bank or from an anchored boat. If the bait is live minnows, no float is necessary; but if crawfish, helgramites, cut-bait, or worms are employed, a very small float is useful to keep the bait off the bottom. The boat should be anchored in close proximity to the feeding-grounds of the bass, and the angler should keep as still as pos- sible. Contrary to the popular opinion, fish hear sounds, not only those made in the water, but those in the air as well, otherwise they would not be provided with so delicate an auditory appara- tus ; because they do not always notice sounds made in the air is no proof that they do not hear them. The suggestions already made as to the hooking and playing and landing the bass apply to still-fishing as well. The minnow is best hooked through both lips, but if they are very small, they may be hooked just under the dorsal fin. THE LARGE-MOUTH BLACK-BASS {Micropterus salmoides) The large-mouth black-bass was also first de- scribed by the French ichthyologist Lacepede, in 1802, from a drawing and description sent to him from South Carolina by M. Bosc, under the local The Sunfjsh Family 31 name of " trout-perch." Owing to the vernacular name, he gave it the specific name of salmoides, " salmon-like " or " trout-like." Thirty years be- fore, pressed skins of the large-mouth bass had been sent to Linnseus by Dr. Garden from Charles- ton, South Carolina, under the name of "fresh- water trout," but Linnaeus failed to describe or name it. The black-bass is called " trout " to this day in the Southern states. The large-mouth black-bass is very similar in appearance to the small-mouth bass. It is not quite so trimly built, being somewhat more "stocky" and robust. Its mouth is larger, the angle reaching behind the eye. It has larger scales, and those on the cheeks are not much smaller than those on the body, while in the small-mouth bass the cheek scales are very small compared with its body scales. The large-mouth is more muscular, and has a broader and more powerful tail. Its distribution is perhaps wider than that of any other game-fish, its range extending from Canada to Florida and Mexico, and, through transplantation, from the Atlantic to the Pa- cific. It has also been introduced into Germany, France, Russia, and the Netherlands, where it is 32 Bass, Pike, ami Perch greatly esteemed bt)tli as a game-fish and food- fish. The coloration of the large-mouth bass is often of the same hue as the small-mouth bass, though usually it is not so dark, being mostly bronze- green, fading to white on the belly. When mark- ings are present, they tend to form longitudinal streaks of aggregated spots, and not vertical ones, as in the small-mouth. Its habits of feeding, spawning, etc., are very similar to those of the small-mouth. It prefers stiller water, and is more at home in weedy situations, and will thrive in cpiiet, mossy ponds with muddy bottom where the small-mouth would eventually become extinct; on the other hand, the large-mouth can exist wherever it is possible for the small-mouth to do so. It is better able to withstand the vicissitudes of climate and tem- perature, and has a wonderful adaptability that enables it to become reconciled to its environ- ment. The feeding habits of the two black- basses arc much the same, though they differ as to their haunts. The large-mouth favors weedy rather than rocky places, and though its food is also much the same, the large-mouth is j)er- haps more partial to frogs and minnows, in the The Sun fish Family 33 absence of crawfish, which, hkc tlic other species, it prefers. Ill the Northern states it hibernates, and readies a maximum weiglit of six or eight pounds, wliile in the Gulf states, where it is ac- tive the year round, it is taken weighing twenty pounds or more. In Florida I have taken it on the fly up to fourteen pounds, and up to twenty pounds with natural bait. In waters where it coexists with the small-mouth bass there is no difference in their excellence as food-fish. I have often eaten the large-mouth bass from the clear- water lakes of Utah and Washington, that, with the single exception of the whitefish of Lake Superior, were the best of all fresh-water fishes. And I can truly say the same of those from some of the large rivers of Florida, notably the St. Lucie, St. Sebastian, and New rivers. It prefers to spawn on gravel or sand, but if such situations are lacking, it makes its nest on a clay or mud bottom, or on the roots of water- plants; or in ponds of very deep water without shallow shores, it will spawn on the top of masses of weeds, in order to get near enough to sunlight. In other respects its breeding habits are similar to its cousin the small-mouth, the time of incuba- 34 Bass, Pike, and Perch lion and the guarding of the eggs and young being about the same. As to the mueh-mooted subject of the game- ness of the large-mouth bass I have no hesitation in saying, from an experience of nearly forty years, covering all sections of the country, that where the two species coexist there is no differ- ence in their game qualities. The large-mouth is fully the equal of the small -mouth where they are exposed to the same conditions. Many anglers profess to think otherwise, but their deductions are drawn from a comparison of the two species when subject to totally different environment; for it is altogether a matter of environment and not of physical structure or idiosyncrasy that in- fluences their game qualities. A small-mouth bass in a clear, rocky stream, highly aerated as it must be, is, as a matter of course, more active than a large-mouth bass in a quiet, weedy pond. With others the opinion is merely a matter of prejudice or hearsay, a prejudice that is, indeed, difficult to account for. It does not make the small-mouth bass a gamer fish by disparaging the large-mouth. As I have said elsewhere, if the large-mouth bass is just as game as the small- mouth, the angler is just that much better off. The Simfisb Family 35 As prejudice and ignorance go liand in hand, we are not surprised when we hear persons — I do not style them anglers — call the small-mouth the "true" black-bass, implying that the large- mouth is not a black-bass, but is, as they often say, the Oswego bass, which is, of course, absurd. I am glad to add, however, that the prejudice against the large-mouth bass is dying out among observant anglers, who know that a trout in a clear stream is more vigorous than one in a weedy, mucky pond. Vrom my own experience I am pre[)ared to say that the large-mouth bass is more to be relied on in rising to the fly than the small-mouth, which fact should be taken into consideration when the gameness of the two species is compared. The remarks concerning fly-fishing for the small-mouth bass are also ajipli cable to the large-mouth, as both are fished for in the same way, and with the same tackle, except that the rod may be a little heavier. For the large bass of the Gulf states the rod should be fully eight ounces in weight, and the flies a trifle larger, on hooks Nos. 2 to 6; other- wise the tackle should be the same. Minnow-casting for the large-mouth need not differ from that described for the small-mouth 36 Bass, Pike, and Perch bass. The tackle likewise may be the same, though for the heavy bass of Florida the rod may be eight, or even nine ounces, if preferred. Hooks may also be employed of a larger size, say Nos. i to i-o, or even 2-0, as larger minnows arc used for bait. Some anglers of the Middle West have adopted a very short rod of six feet or less for casting the live frog or pork-rind overhead, in the same way as casting a fly. This is a very primitive style of bait-casting, being the same as practised by bu- colic boys and Southern negroes using a sapling pole without a reel. The frog is reeled up to within a few inches of the tip and propelled like a wad of clay from a slender stick as we were wont to do as boys. The frog is projected with great accuracy, but not without a smack and splash on the water. With such a rod most of the pleasure of playing a bass to a finish is lost. Presumably the end justifies the means, but this method does not appeal to the artistic angler. If bait must be used, a small minnow, lightly cast from a suitable rod, is more in accordance with the eternal fit- ness of things and the practice and traditions of the gentle art. In very weedy ponds and lakes, however, where there is not open water enough szz: The Sunfish Family 37 to play a bass, and where it must be landed as soon as possible, this rod and style of casting answer a good purpose. Still-fishing is the same for either species of black-bass, but as it is usually done from an anchored boat on Northern lakes, where the large- mouth bass is of greater size and weight than the small-mouth bass, somewhat heavier tackle may be used than recommended for the small-mouth. Trolling with the live or dead minnow, or a small spoon with a single hook, is a very success- ful method on lakes, ponds, and broad, still rivers. A greater length of line can be utilized in trolling, whereby the fish is not so apt to see the angler. More ground can also be covered than in any other style of fishing. The boat should be pro- pelled slowly along the borders of rushes and weed patches, over shoals and gravelly banks, and near projecting points of the shore. Consid- erable care should be exercised to move as noise- lessly as possible, avoiding splashing with the oars or paddle, or making any undue noise with the feet or otherwise in the boat, as such sounds are conveyed a long distance in so dense a medium as water. In trolling, the line may be lengthened to fifty yards, if necessary, though 38 Bass, Pike, and Perch from twenty to thirty yards will usually be suffi- cient, especially when a good breeze is blowing. Bobbing for the large-mouth bass is much in vogue in the Gulf states, but is more often prac- tised in Florida. The conventional "bob" is formed by tying a strip of deer's tail, with or without a piece of red flannel, around a triangle of hooks, the hairs completely investing the hooks. A single hook, however, answers fully as well or better. The hook is of large size, Nos. 3-0 to 5-0. The method of procedure is as follows : The boat is propelled by a single-bladed paddle, the paddler being seated in the stern. The boat is moved silently and cautiously, skirting the edges of water-lilies and bonnets, which grow thickly along the margin of the channels. The angler is seated in the bow with a very long cane rod, to which is affixed a short line of a few feet, not to exceed six. As the boat advances, the angler dances the bob as far ahead as possible. It is held a few inches or a foot above the water, into which it is " bobbed " at short intervals. Some- times the bass leaps from the water to seize it. When hooked, the fish is landed without any cere- mony and as soon as possible, keeping it mean- while on the surface, to prevent its taking to the The Sunfisb Family 39 weeds. Bartram described bobbing as practised in Florida, for black-bass, nearly a century and a half ago. Although bass fishing dates back to the middle of the eighteenth century, when bobbing, skitter- ing, and still-fishing were common methods in the extreme Southern states for the large-mouth bass, and though the dawn of the nineteenth century saw bait-fishing and fly-fishing for the small- mouth bass in Kentucky, it is surprising how little was known in the Northern and Eastern states about the black-bass and bass fishing a century after Bartram described bobbing for that game- fish in the narrative of his travels. Even so late as 187 1, when the Forest and Stream was estab- lished, very little appeared in its pages anent bass fishing. Indeed, a few years later, a discussion lasting a year or more appeared in its columns from week to week, as to whether the black-bass would rise to the fly. Previous to the publication of the writer's " Book of the Black-bass " in 1881, no work on angling gave any but the most mea- gre account of black-bass or bass fishing. The "American Angler's Guide," published in 1849 by John J. Brown, states that the black-bass has rows of small teeth, two dorsal fins, and a swallow- 40 Bass, Pike, and Perch tail. In the same work the large-mouth bass of the Southern states is classified under the head of " brook trout," the author being misled appar- ently by its Southern name of " trout," and goes on to say that they "grow much larger than Northern trout," and that they "are fished for with the same arrangement of tackle as the striped bass or salmon." A contributor to the work, however, from Buffalo, New York, treats briefly and vaguely of still-fishing with minnows and crawfish. Brief notes also from Southern and Western anglers give fair descriptions of the ap- pearance and habits of both species of black-bass. Frank Forester (Henry W. Herbert) knew no more of the black-bass than Mr. Brown, and acknowledges that he never caught one. That old Nestor of angling, Uncle Thad Norris, in his "American Angler's Book," 1864, gives the de- scriptions of Louis Agassiz and Dr. Holbrook for the black-bass, and then relates his only ex- perience as follows, " I have taken this bass in the vicinity of St. Louis, on a moonshiny night, by skittering a light spoon over the surface of the water, while standing on the shore." Genio C. Scott in his " Fishing in American Waters," 1869, has less to say, and evidently knew less of The Stmfish Family 41 the black-bass than any of the earlier writers. He gives just three lines concerning black-bass fishing, saying, "This fish is taken by casting the artificial fly, or by trolling with the feathered spoon, with a minnow impaled on a gang of hooks, and forming spinning tackle." Of all the angling authors prior to 1870, Robert B. Roosevelt is the only one who knew anything about black-bass or black-bass fishmg, having fished for it in the St. Lawrence basin. He says, " They will take minnows, shiners, grasshoppers, frogs, worms, or almost anything else that can be called a bait." Also, " They may be captured by casting the fly as for salmon or trout, and this is by far the most sportsmanlike way, but the most destructive and usually resorted to is trolling." The only per- sonal experience he gives of black-bass fishing, unfortunately, is by trolling with large flies. In his "Game Fish of the North," 1862, he devotes five pages to the black-bass, but apparently does not discriminate between the two species. In "Superior Fishing," 1865, he devotes two pages to the black-bass of Canada and the Great Lakes, in a general way, but gives two instances of fishing as follows, " Pedro soon hooked a splendid black- bass, and landed him after a vigorous struggle 42 Bass, Pike, and Percb of half an hour; he weighed three pounds and three-quarters, and was thoroughly game." And again, " That evening was again devoted to the black-bass, which took both the fly and spoon greedily." During the period covered by the authors named, from 1849 to 1869, the anglers of the South and Middle West were using light cane rods, Kentucky reels, and the smallest sea-grass lines for bait-fishing, and trout fly-rods and trout- tackle for fly-fishing, rods and tackle as light, to say the least, as those in use to-day. In 1866 I removed to Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, where there were thirty lakes within ten miles abounding in black-bass of both species, with pike, rock-bass, crappies, perch, etc. On my home grounds was a large shallow pond fed from Fowler Lake. Becoming much interested in the black-bass, and finding but little informa- tion available in the books of that day concerning their habits, I determined to give some study to the subject. Accordingly I cut a ditch from the pond to the lake, with suitable screens, and stocked it with black-bass of both species. Dur- ing their spawning period in the summer I watched them faithfully and constantly from a The Sunfish Family 43 blind of bushes on the bank. This I did for several years, turning the adult bass into the lake when the fry were large enough to look out for themselves, and turning the fry out also in the fall. I extended my observations of the bass during their breeding season to the many lakes near by. I found a difference of several weeks in the time of their spawning in these lakes, owing to the difference in temperature, caused by their vary- ing depth. The appearance of the bass also dif- fered slightly in the various lakes, so that it was possible, from a close study of their variations in color, size, and contour, to determine in what par- ticular lake any string of bass was taken. About the same time, from 1868 to 1870, Mr. Cyrus Mann and Mr. H. D. Dousman established their trout hatchery and ponds not far from Oco- nomowoc, and Colonel George Shears, of Beaver Lake, a few miles away, also began hatching trout on a smaller scale. These establishments pre- sented an opportunity to study the artificial propa- gation of brook-trout, and I soon became familiar with the modus operandi. This was before the institution of the United States Fish Commission, though the state of Wisconsin already had an able 44 Bass, Pike, and Perch and efficient Fish Commission, Mr. H. D. Dous- man being one of the commissioners. Colonel Shears also experimented with black-bass culture, and between us we reared many thousands to the asje of three months, before turnins: them out. Near my pond was a shallow, marshy cove to which the pike resorted in early spring to spawn, giving me an opportunity to study their breeding habits, also. There being so many lakes and ponds in the vicinity, and their being so well supplied with fishes of various kinds, my oppor- tunities for the observation of fish life were as great as fortunate. The differences of opinion among anglers, of all men, pertaining to the practice of their art, has become axiomatic. Some will differ even to the estimation of a hair in the legs of an artificial fly, while it is averred others will go so far as to "divide a hair 'twixt south and southwest side," as Butler has it. But, seriously, there are several moot points which I have endeavored to discuss in the following piscatorial polemic. Two friends went fishing. Both were famous black-bass anglers, with the enthusiasm born of a genuine love and an inherent appreciation of the gentle art so common among Kentucky gentle- The Sunfish Family 45 men. One was a fly-fisher, the other a bait-fisher. Each was a devotee to his especial mode of ang- Hng, though generously tolerant of the other's method. They had fished together for years when the dogwood and redbud blossomed in the spring, and when the autumnal tints clothed the hillsides with scarlet and gold. They differed in their methods of fishing from choice, or from some peculiar, personal idiosyn- crasy, for each was an adept with both bait and fly. But this difference in their piscatorial prac- tices, like the diversity of nature, produced per- fect harmony instead of discord. Each extolled the advantages and sportsmanship of his own method, but always in a brotherly and kindly manner; never dictatorial or opinionated in ar- gument, or vainglorious and boastful as to his skill, for both were possessed of the generous impulses of gentlemen and the kindly influences of the gentle art. Moreover, they were innately conscious of a common aim, and differed only as to the ways and means of best attaining that end, which, while dissimilar, were not inharmonious. And so the Silver Doctor and the Golden Shiner, as they dubbed each other, went trudging along the bank of the merry stream together. 46 Bass, Piki\ and Prnb The Doctor, lightly cciuii^potl with only rod, tly- book, and creel, sometimes relieved the Shiner by toting his minnow bucket or miniunv net. They were fishino a rocky, gently flowing river, cliaracteristic of the Blue Grass section. They stop[>etl at a broad, lakelike exj^ansion of the stream, caustxl by a mill-dam, and, in a quiet cove at the entrance of a clear brook, Golden Shiner proceeded to fill his minnow bucket with li\(.l\' minnows, using for the i)ur- pose an umbrella-like folding net. This he attached to a long, stcnit pole, and, after baiting it with crushed biscuit, Knvered it into the water. In a short time he iiad all the bait necessary — chubs, shiners, and steelbacks. " The golden shiner is the best of all," said he, " especially for roily or milky water; but the chub and steelback are stronger and livelier on the hook, and for very clear water are good enough." They then proceeded below the mill-dam, where there was a strong rifitle, with likely-looking pools and eddies. " The proper way to hook a minnow is through the lips," continued Golden Shiner, " esj)ecially for casting. One can give a more natural mt)- tion to the minnow on drawimr it through the The Sunfish Family 47 water. For still-fishing, hooking through the tail or under the back fin will answer; but even then I prefer my method, unless the minnow is less than tw(j inches in length." And he made a long cast toward the eddy of a large boulder. " For the same reason," acquiesced Silver Doc- tor, "artificial flies are tied with the head next the snell," — industriously casting to right and left over the riffle. " Hut some flies are tied with the tail next to the snell," ventured Shiner. "That is true, but it is unnatural. I never saw an insect swim tail first up-stream. Nature is the best teacher, and one should endeavor to follow her lead." Just then the Doctor snapped off his point fly. Upon examination he found that the snell was dry and brittle next to the head of the fly, though he had previously soaked it well in a glass of water. He discovered that a drop of shellac varnish had encroached beyond the head of the fly for perhaps the sixteenth of an inch on the snell. This portion, being water- proof, remained dry and brittle — a very common fault with cheap flies. "This fly," said the Doctor, " was given to me for trial by Judge Hackle. He tied it himself. 48 Bass, Pike, and Perch The broken end of the snell still shows a portion of shellac coating." " I never thought of that before," remarked Shiner. " No doubt many flies are cracked off from the same cause." " Without a doubt, as you say. I know a lady," continued the Doctor, " who, as Walton says, 'has a fine hand,' and who superintends an ex- tensive artificial fly establishment — and who has written the best book ever published on the sub- ject of artificial flies — who personally inspects every fly turned out by her tyers. And, more- over, she varnishes the head of every fly herself, in order that not the least particle of shellac may touch the snell. Such careful supervision and honest work, to quote Walton again, ' like virtue, bring their own reward,' " and the Doctor resumed his casting with another fly. " Well, Doctor, I sympathize with you ; but my snells are clear-quill and no varnish. I may throw off a minnow once in a while by a very long cast, but it is soon replaced, and costs nothing. And, speaking of casting, I observed that you made half a dozen casts to reach yonder rock but sixty feet away, while I placed my minnow, by a single cast, a hundred feet in the other direc- The Stmfish Family 49 tion. Moreover, I reel my line toward me through undisturbed water, while you whipped the entire distance by several preliminary casts." " That is necessarily true," answered the Doc- tor ; " but while you must recover all of your line for a new cast, I can cast repeatedly with the extreme length of my line in any direction ; so I think honors are easy on the question of casting." " But," persisted Shiner, " with my quadruple multiplying reel, it is only a matter of a few seconds to prepare for a new cast. Then again, I have better control of a hooked fish, and can give and take line much faster than you with your single-action click reel." " While I grant your reel has a great advantage in speed, I hold that a single-action click reel is all-sufficient to play and land a hooked fish. Your reel is intended particularly to make long initial casts, and it is admirably adapted for that especial purpose ; but in playing a bass it has no advan- tage over a click reel ; in fact, I prefer the latter for that purpose. Really, the engine of destruc- tion to the hooked fish is the rod. Its constant strain and yielding resistance, even without a reel of any kind, will soon place him hors de combat^ Golden Shiner was not slow to perceive the 50 Bass, Pike, ami Perch force of the Doctor's arguments and held his peace. In the meantime both anglers had suc- ceeded in killing some half-dozen bass, the larg- est ones falling to the rod of the bait fisher, as is usually the case. The sun was now climbing toward the zenith, and the Doctor's flies seemed to have lost their attractiveness for the wary bass, while the Shiner, seeking deeper water, was still successful in his efforts. The day, however, was becoming uncomfortably warm. " You will admit, Doctor, that you must cast your flies early in the day or late in the afternoon to insure much success, while I can fish during the middle of the day in deeper water and still have a measure of reward, which I consider quite an advantage of bait over fly." "Granted. Fish rise to the fly only in com- paratively shallow water, and are found in such situations in bright weather only early and late in the day. But I prefer to fish at just those times. I do not care to fish during the middle portion of the day in summer." And the Doctor proceeded to reel in his final cast. Just then his friend hooked the largest fish of the morning's outing. It was an unusually gamy bass, and leaped several times in rapid succession The Sunfish Family 51 from the water, shaking itself violently each time. But the Shiner was equal to " his tricks and his manners," and soon had him in the landing-net. " Doctor, why does a hooked bass break water and shake his head ? Is it through fear or rage ? " " It is to rid his jaws of the hook. He can neither pick his teeth with a fin, nor remove a foreign substance from his mouth with his tail. His mouth is his prehensile organ. A horse, cow, dog, or fowl will shake the head violently to rid its mouth of an offending object. But a fish, having no neck to speak of, can only shake his head by shaking his body, and that only in a lateral direction. As a bass cannot shake him- self energetically enough beneath the water to dislodge the hook, owing to the resistance of the denser medium, he naturally leaps into the air for that purpose; and he always does so with widely extended jaws, as you have seen time and again this morning. He probably also fortifies himself at the same time by taking in oxygen from the air. He does so, at all events, willy- nilly." " How high can a black-bass leap from the water, do you think?" " A foot or two at most, as you well know," 52 Bass, Pike, and Perch replied the Doctor. " In rocky streams like this, one has a good gauge for measuring the leap. I never saw a bass leap as high as yonder boulder, which is about three feet above the water; and as you have taken several fish in its eddy, you might have ])roved it by your own observation, as I did myself." " I distinctly remember, now," affirmed Shiner, "that my last catch — the big fellow — leaped several times very near that same rock, and he did not go half as high." The two friends then repaired to a cool spring beneath a spreading beech, to enjoy a luncheon and a quiet pipe, — well satisfied with their morn- ing's sport, — and to continue the argunicntiim ad hominem anent fly and bait, with the usual result that " A man convinced against his will, Is of the same opinion still." THE ROCK-BASS {^Amhloplitcs iiipcstris) In the same family with the black-bass are a number of other sunfishes that will next be con- sidered, merely as a matter of sequence, and not on account of their importance as game-fishes. The Stmfisb Family 53 The rock-bass was first described by the F"rench naturalist, Rafinesque, in 1817, while travelling in America. His specimens were from New York and Vermont, which he named rupcstris, " living among rocks." In the Northern states it is gener- ally known as the rock-bass, but in Kentucky and other states of the Middle West it is called red-eye, goggle-eye, etc. Its original liabitat was from Canada and Lake Champlain southward along the MississipjH Valley to Louisiana and Texas, but its range has been extended to many other states east and west by transi)lantation. In its general apj)earance it resembles some- what the black-bass, but it is a dee|)er fish and is more compressed. Its dorsal and anal fins are comparatively larger and stronger. It lias a large eye and a capacious mouth well filled with small teeth, some on the roof of the mouth being rather sharp. The color is of various shades of oHve-green, with brassy or coppery reflection, more or less mottled with black, forming broken and indistinct lines along the sides. The iris of the eye is scarlet, hence " red-eye " ; there is a black spot on the angle of the gill-cover and dark mottlings on 54 Biiss. Pike, and Pcrcb the soft dorsal, anal, and caudal fins. It prefers clear streams and lakes, and congregates in small schools about rocky situations, gravelly bars, about mill-dams, and in the vicinity of weed patches in ponds. It spawns in the spring and early sum- mer, making and guarding its nest like the black- bass, and feeds on crawfish, small minnows, and insect larva?. In size it usually runs from a half- pound to a pound in streams, though reaching two pounds or more in lakes. It is a good pan- fish for the table, and is well thought of in the Mississippi Valley, though held in lighter esteem in the St. Lawrence basin, where it coexists with larger and better fishes. The rock-bass is an attractive-looking fish, and for its size is very pugnacious. It will take the artificial fly, or natural or artificial bait. It bites freely at small minnows, grubs, grasshoppers, cut- bait, or angle-worms. It is capable of affording considerable sport with light tackle, owing to its large and strong fins, and its habit of curling its sides in opposition to the strain of the rod. With a light fly-rod of four or five ounces, and corresponding tackle, and trout flies on hooks Nos. 5 to 7, the rock-bass is not a mean adver- sary. It rises to the various hackles, and to such The Sunfisb Family 55 flies as coachman, brown drake, gray drake, and stone fly, especially toward evening. The flies must be allowed to sink with every cast after fluttering them awhile on the surface. For bait- fishing a trout bait-rod of the weight just men- tioned, with a reel of small caliber and the smallest braided silk line, will be about right. Sproat hooks Nos. 3 to 4 on light gut snells tied with red silk are the best. Live minnows about two inches long, carefully hooked through the lips, are to be lightly cast and allowed to sink nearly to the bottom and slowly reeled in again. Or if a float is used, the minnow may be hooked just under the dorsal fin. A small float is necessary when white grubs, crawfish, cut-bait, or worms are used as bait. On lakes it is readily taken by trolling with a very small spoon, about the size of a nickel, with a single Sproat or O'Shaughnessy hook No. I attached. A rod nine or ten feet long cut from the small end of a native cane pole, weighing but a few ounces, with a line of sea-grass or raw silk about the length of the rod, will answer very well for bait-fishing. This is the tackle mostly used by boys in the Middle West, and it might be profit- ably employed by boys of larger growth. 56 Bass, Pike, and Percb A dozen "red-eyes," gleaming with green and gold, on the string of the boy angler, is something to be proud of. He gazes with fond admiration on the wide-open crimson eyes, which to him seem more precious than rubies. He admires the bristling fins, the gracefully sloping sides, the gaping mouth and forked tail, with boyish enthu- siasm and appreciation. Although hot and tired, and with many a scratch and bruise on hands and feet, such trifles are lighter than air, and do not admit of a moment's consideration. Seated on a rock at the margin of the stream, with the string of fish in the water, he feasts his eyes on the finny beauties with the conscious pride of well-earned success and the happy culmination of his outing. In imagination the battles are all fought over and over again. He knows just where and under what condition and circum- stance each fish was caught, as, with bare toes, he separates and indicates the individual on the string. That largest one was hooked under the dam beside the big rock. The next in size was taken among the roots of the old sycamore at the bend of the creek. Another and still another from the deep hole under the rocky cliff. Oh, the joyous days of youth and going a-fishing in the The Sunfisb Family 57 glad springtime of life ! And then, having laved his swollen feet in the cooling stream, he washes the blood and scales from his hands, scrapes the mud and slime from his well-worn clothes, shoul- ders his lance of elm, and starts for home, bearing his trophies with as proud a mien as a warrior of old returning with the spoils of war. THE SACRAMENTO PERCH (^Archoplites interrupt us) The Sacramento perch is closely allied in struc- ture to the rock-bass, and is the only perchlike fish in fresh water west of the Rocky Mountains. It was collected by the Pacific Railroad Survey and described and named interruptus by Girard, in 1854, owing to the interrupted character of the vertical markings. It inhabits the Sacramento and Joaquin rivers in California, and is much esteemed as a food-fish, but unfortunately it is being rapidly exterminated by the carp and cat- fish that arc said to infest its spawning grounds. In its conformation it is almost identical with the rock-bass, but differs in having more teeth on the tongue and more gill-rakers. In coloration, however, it differs very much, being sometimes uniformly blackish or brassy, but usually the 58 Bass, Pike, and Perch black coloration is disposed in several vertical bars or markings of an irregular shape. It has a black spot on the angle of the gill-cover. I have had no experience in angling for the Sacramento perch, which is said to be taken with the hook in large quantities for the market. I have no doubt but the tackle recommended for the rock-bass would be just as effective for this fish, with similar baits. THE WARMOUTH PERCH {Chcenobryttus gjtlosus) The warmouth perch, also known as the black sunfish in the North, was first described by the French naturalists, Cuvier and Valenciennes, in 1829, from specimens from Lake Pontchartrain, Louisiana. They named it gulosus, " large- mouthed," owing to its big mouth. There is a slight variation between the Northern and South- ern forms. It abounds in all coastwise streams from North Carolina to Florida and Texas, and sparingly in Lake Michigan and the upper Mis- sissippi Valley. In its general shape and appear- ance it is not unlike the rock-bass, though in the radial formula of its fins and in its large mouth it approaches nearer the black-bass than any The Sunfisb Family 59 other species of the family. It has a large head and deep body, almost as deep as long, and is nearly symmetrical in outline. Its teeth are in brushlike bands on the jaws, with patches on the tongue. The Southern form has one or two less soft rays in the dorsal and anal fins. It is dark olive on the back, lighter on the sides, with blotches of blue and coppery red, and the belly brassy or yellowish. Iris red, ear-flap black, bordered with pale red, with three dusky red bars radiating from the eye across the cheeks. Fins mottled with a darker color, and a black blotch on the last rays of the soft portion of the dorsal fin. It is not so gregarious as the rock-bass, but otherwise is similar in its habits, though not so partial to rocky situations, rather loving deep pools and quiet water. It feeds on minnows, tadpoles, frogs, insects, and their larvae. It spawns in the spring. It is a good pan-fish, and grows to eight or ten inches in length and a weight of nearly a pound. For its size, it is the gamest member of the family except the black- bass, and is more like that fish than the others. It is a favorite game-fish in the South, rising well to the fly, and is a free biter at natural bait. 6o Bass, Pike, and Percb In angling for the warmouth, the same rods and tackle mentioned under the head of rock- bass are well suited. In the Southern states a light native cane rod, ten or twelve feet long, and a line of the smallest caliber, sea-grass or twisted silk, is the favorite style of tackle, with hooks Nos. 2 to 3 tied on light gut, and a quill float and split-shot sinker. The usual bait is the black cricket, or the catalpa worm or caterpillar. The white grub found in decayed stumps, and other larvae, crawfish and small minnows, are all useful. Of these the minnow is the best. On streams a small float is necessary to keep the bait from the roots of overhanging trees. In the stillness of Southern streams, under the moss- draped trees, I have idled away many a dreamy hour in the pleasure of fishing for the warmouth, but at the same time fully alive to the weird sur- roundings. Occasionally the splashing of a hooked fish on the surface entices an alligator from his lair in expectation of a fishy morsel. The echoes are awakened time and again by the pumping of the bittern, the hoarse cry of the crarue, or the hooting of an owl in the dark re- cesses of the cypress swamp. The solitudes of those waters are very fascinating to the lone The Sunfisb Family 6i fisher. The novelty of the situation appeals very strongly to the angler-naturalist whose experi- ences have been on the clear, sparkling, tumbling streams of the North. There Nature is ever bright and joyous ; here she is quiet and sombre and subdued. But the fishes know no north or south or east or west, — always the same crea- tures of interest and beauty, and ever responding to the wiles of the angler. I was once fishing on St. Francis River, in Arkansas, where the warmouths were both large and gamy. One day I went through the woods and cane-brakes to the banks of Mud Lake, situ- ated in the midst of a cypress swamp. The lake was much smaller than it had been formerly, as was apparent from the wide margins of the shores, which were of considerable extent be- tween the timber and the water. On this mar- gin was a group of four cypress trees that in size exceeded any that I had ever seen, and I think worthy of mention. They were from twenty to twenty-five feet in diameter, or sixty to sixty- five feet in circumference, three feet above the ground. They were buttressed like the wall of a mediaeval stronghold. In comparing notes with many naturalists and travellers, they have de- 62 Bass, Pike, and Perch clared the size of those cypress trees to be both unique and wonderful. THE BLUE SUNFISH (Lepowi's pallidiis) The blue sunfish was first described by Dr. Mitchill from the waters of New York in 1815. He named \i pallidus, meaning "pale," as it was more sober in hue than the other brilliantly colored sunfishes. It is the largest of the sun- fishes, so-called, as the black-bass, warmouth, and crappies are not popularly regarded as " sunfishes." The blue sunfish has a wider distribution than any other member of its family except the black- bass. Its range extends from the Great Lakes through the Mississippi Valley to Texas, and along the South Atlantic states to Florida. In the Middle West it is known as blue gill and in the South as blue bream and copper-nosed bream. It has a medium-sized head and very deep body, its depth varying from one-half its length to almost as deep as long, in which case, barring head and tail, it is almost round in outline. It is much compressed. The ear-flap is quite black, without the pale or red border usual in the other sunfishes. THE SMALL-MOUTH BLACK-BASS Micropterus dolomieu THE LARGE-MOUTH BLACK-BASS Micropterus salmoides THE ROCK-BASS AmblopUtes rupestris The Sunfisb Family 63 As might be inferred from its extensive range, its coloration varies greatly. In large and old examples it is sometimes of a uniform slaty hue with j)urj)lish reflections. In others it is olive- green or bluish green, darker above, with the breast and belly coj)pery red. Young specimens arc more brilliantly colored, with silvery reflec- tions and various chainlike markings. It thrives alike in stream, pond, or lake, adaj)ting itself to almost any environment. It feeds on insects and their larvic, very small minnows, and other small aquatic organisms. It spawns in the spring and early summer, and its manner of nesting and guarding its young is similar to that of the other members of the family. It grows to six or eight inches in length usually, but often to a foot, especially in large waters, it is quite a favorite game-fish in most localities, and with such tackle as recommended for the rock-bass it gives considerable sport, especially in localities that are lacking in larger and better game-fishes. It rises well to the fly, and will take any of the baits recommended for the other sun- fishes. In those states of the Middle West, where the brook-trout does not exist, the "blue gill " is 64 Bass, Pike, and Perch greatly esteemed and much sought after, as it furnishes the opportunity to employ light trout tackle in its capture, and with such gear it affords fine sport. I have taken the blue sun- fish in all waters from Wisconsin to Florida. In the latter state many years ago I fished a fresh-water lake on Point Pinellas, near St. Petersburg, Florida, though there were but two houses there at that time. I was using a very light rod, and the fish were as large and round as a breakfast plate, and moreover the gamcst and most beautiful in coloration of any blue gill I had ever met. The characteristic blue was replaced by a deep, intense, and brilliant purple, shot with silvery and golden reflections. While playing one on the surface, an osprey sat on a dead pine watching with apparent concern and eagerness. The fish made a stubborn resistance, with much splashing. Then a strange thing happened. The fish-hawk swooped down and seized the fish and attempted to fly away with it. Perhaps the hook became fast to his claw, but at any rate he circled around and around the pond, tethered to my line. It was the first, last, and only time that I did the aerial act of playing a bird on the wing. After a few seconds The Sunfisb Family 65 of this exciting and novel sport the osprey broke away, carrying both fish and hook. THE LONG-EARED SUNFISH (^Lepomis wegalotis) This Species was first described by Rafinesque in 1820 from streams in Kentucky. He named it vtcgalotis, meaning " large ear," owing to its large and conspicuous ear-flap. It is one of the handsomest sunfishes in its brilliant coloration, and a great favorite with the youthful Waltonians of the Mississippi Valley. It inhabits small streams in Michigan and the Mississippi Valley, and the Atlantic slope from South Carolina to Florida and Mexico, and is very abundant in Ken- tucky, where it is sometimes called " tobacco- box," owing to its " lid-like " opercle. Its body is short and deep, with quite a hump or arch anteriorly, making the profile of the face quite steep in old specimens. The ear-flap is very long and wide, blackish in color, with a border usually of pale bluish or a reddish hue ; its back is blue, with chestnut or orange belly ; sides with red spots and bluish lines ; iris of eye red; lips blue. The soft rays of the dorsal fin are blue, with orange between. Ventral and F 66 Bass, Pike, and Perch anal fins are dusky blue. The top of the head and nape is dark. The coloration is very brilliant and varies in different localities. Its habits of feeding and spawning are similar to those of the blue sunfish, though it usually inhabits smaller streams ; it grows to a length of from six to eight inches, and is regarded as a good pan-fish by many. It is an eager biter at angle-worms, which is the bait par excellejicc of juvenile anglers, who greatly enjoy fishing for " sunnies." The only tackle needed is a light cane rod very fine line, and small hooks, Nos. 6 or 8, split-shot sinker, and, of course, a float, for no boy would care to fish without a " bob " or " cork." Half of the pleasure of the young angler is in watching the float. But the fly-fisher may also obtain sport to his liking with a rod of a few ounces' weight and midge flies on No. lo hooks, for at the close of the day the long-eared sunfish rises well. In the absence of better fishing this is not to be despised. I once saw a boy fishing for " tobacco-boxes " from a rock beneath a mill-dam on a Kentucky stream. He hooked one of good size, and in The Sunfisb Family 67 his eagerness to secure it tumbled into the pool, which was quite deep, much over his head. After some little delay we got him out, almost drowned, and in a very limp and exhausted con- dition. When finally he was restored and capable of speech he exclaimed, " I saved my tobacco- box, anyhow ! " During all the struggle he held on to his rod, and still clutched it when " landed." Whether he did so from the desperation with which drowning men are said to cling to straws, or from an inherent sporting instinct, deponent sayeth not. A clergyman, who knew nothing of fish, but who was attracted to the scene, said to the dripping boy, " My lad, let this be a solemn warning to you : throw away the tobacco- box you have saved and give up chewing; it may drown you yet." THE RED-BREAST SUNFISH (^Lepomis aiiritus) This handsome sunfish was the first of its family to receive the recognition of a naturalist, being described by Linnaeus in 1758. He named it aiiritus, or " eared," from its conspicuous ear- flap. His specimen was credited to Philadelphia, and was, presumably, from some ncighboriiif'. 68 Bass, Pike, and Perch water. It is a fish of the Atlantic slope, with a range extending from Maine to Florida, and is also found in Louisiana. It is very abundant in the South Atlantic states. Its form is similar to the long-eared sunfish, but with a more prominent snout and a depres- sion in front of the eye. Its ear-flap is as long but not so broad; its color olive or bluish above; sides bluish with reddish spots ; breast and belly orange or red; blue stripes on the front of the head. The southern form has a dusky blotch on the last rays of the dorsal fin, which is lacking in those of northern waters. Its habits are similar to those of the other sun- fishes proper, as to food, spawning, etc. It grows to a length of from eight to ten inches. It is a favorite food- and game-fish in the South, where it is known as red-breast bream and red-bellied perch. The same remarks as to angling men- tioned under the head of warmouth perch will apply to this fish as well. My angling career really began with the cap- ture of " silversides " with a paste of bread crumbs, but was inaugurated with taking this "sunny" and the " punkin-seed " on the artificial fly. An old English gamekeeper, in the employ of our The Sunfisb Family 69 family as gardener and hostler, taught me to tie a fly and cast it with a willow wand when but five years of age. At the feet of that Gamaliel in corduroy I imbibed a love of angling that has constantly grown with the lapse of years. But increased knowledge of fishes and a wider experi- ence in angling have not lessened my affection for my first love — the "sunny." This acknowledg- ment is due one of the humblest and least im- portant, but also one of the prettiest species of the finny tribe. THE COMMON SUNFISH {Eupomotis gibbosus) This is the pumpkin-seed or "sunny" of fra- grant memory. It is enshrined in the heart of many an American angler as his first love, when with pin hook, thread line, and willow wand he essayed its capture in the nearest brook or mill- pond. Looking backward over an angling career of half a century, the gamesome "sunny" with its coat of many colors shines out as a bright par- ticular star among those of greater magnitude. It is here set down, then, mainly as a matter of sentiment and to keep its memory green. yo Bass, Pike, and Percb The little " sunny " was christened by the greatest naturalist that ever lived, Linnaeus, who in 1758 named it '' gibbosus^' owing to the gib- bous outline of its little body. His specimens were from South Carolina. It inhabits the Great Lake region, and the Atlantic seaboard from Maine to Florida, and the northern portion of the Mississippi Valley. In outline it is not unlike a pumpkin-seed, hence one of its popular names. This is well expressed in its specific name gibbosus. It has quite a small mouth, but large eye. In coloration it rivals the gayly-tinted fishes of the coral reefs in tropical seas. The predominating colors are yellow and blue, being bluish on the back, paling on the sides to a lighter shade, with yellow blotches and coppery reflections, and belly bright orange-yellow; the cheeks are yellow with blue streaks; rays of dorsal fin blue, the connecting membrane yellow ; ear-flap black, ending in a scarlet border; lips blue; iris of eye scarlet. Its habits of spawning, nest-making, and care of eggs and fry are similar to those of the other sun- fishes mentioned. It is partial to clear water, with sandy or gravelly bottom, in the vicinity of weed patches. It feeds on insects and their larvae and The Sunflsb Family 71 minute crustaceans, and is especially fond of the eggs and fry of other species. It grows to a size of eight inches, though usually from three to six inches. Like all the sunfishes, it is an eager biter, and with very light tackle much real pleasure can be enjoyed by the angler who is not too particular as to his preferences. It rises readily to small dark flies, as the several hackles, black gnat, etc., on hooks Nos. 10 to 12. For bait-fishing nothing is quite so good as earthworms on hooks Nos. 8 to 10. There are quite a number of other sunfishes belonging to this family, but those named are the most important. In the Southern states, where the sunfishes are known generically as " bream " or " brim " and " perch," they are more appreciated than in the Northern states, where the brook-trout is the favorite among the smaller species. If fished for with very light and suitable tackle, there is a great measure of enjoyment to be derived from bream-fishing, north or south. Certainly for beauty of coloration they are not excelled, and as pan-fish they are preferred by many to the dainty brook-trout. There is a certain fascination in fishing with 72 Bass, Pike, and Percb a float, or " cork," or " bob," as the boys have it. And among us " old boys " there is a certain undefined feeling, it may be a reminiscent affec- tion, connected with the float, much the same as that with which we regard the powder-flask and shot-pouch of the days of yore. And I am not sure but that the old things and old ways were best, or at least more enjoyable. One can heartily agree with Alonzo of Aragon in his preferences for old wood to burn, old wine to drink, old friends to trust, and old authors to read. What old angler does not remember the eager- ness and expectancy with which he watched the " cork " in days gone by ? How well he knew and understood every motion of it, responsive to the nibbling " sunny " : first a gentle spinning, then a preliminary bobble, then a premonitory start away an inch or two, and then — O joy ! — its swift and sudden disappearance beneath the sur- face. The lapse of time cannot wither nor modern custom stale the pleasures of youthful fishing. To be sure, it was not all piscatorial cakes and ale ; there were a few thorns with the roses; there were the bruised fingers and toes, the wet and torn clothes, and the impending and dreaded " dressing down " when home was The Sunfisb Family 73 reached ; but these disagreeable concomitants were soon forgotten, and are now scarcely re- membered, while the pleasures are laid up in the lavender of sweet recollection. The old-time zest of fishing with a float can still be gratified; we can renew our youth by fishing for "sunnies" in the old-fashioned way. In the wooded streams of the Southern states the float is a sine qua non for bream-fishing, owing to the many tangled roots of trees on the banks, and the mosses, grasses, and other aquatic plants that grow so luxuriantly in the sluggish waters. Then here's to the float and the sunny and the bream ! THE CALICO-BASS {Pomoxis sparoides) The calico-bass was first described by Lacepede from specimens sent to France from South Caro- lina. He named it sparoides from a fancied resemblance, either in its scales or compressed body, to those features in fishes belonging to the family Sparidcs. Owing to its wide distribution it has received many names, more or less descriptive. In the Northern states it is variously called crappie, croppie, strawberry-bass, grass-bass, bank lick 74 Bass, Pike, and Perch bass, silver-bass, big-fin bass, Lake Erie bass, razor back, bitter-head, lamplighter, etc., while in the Southern states it is known as speckled perch, goggle-eyed perch, chincapin perch, bridge perch, etc. As the calico-bass and the next fish to be described, the crappie, belong to the same genus of the sunfish family, and resemble each other very much, the vernacular nomenclature is much confused, and in some instances is interchangeable. Some years ago I proposed to call them northern and southern crappie ; but as the name calico-bass has obtained considerable currency, it is best to adopt that name for the northern species, leaving the name crappie for the southern form. The calico-bass is found in the Great Lake region and the upper Mississippi Valley, and along the Atlantic slope from New Jersey to Florida and Texas. Its range has been con- siderably extended by transplantation, even to France, where it thrives well as a pond fish. It is a handsome fish, resembling in its general features and shape the sunfishes, but with a thinner body and larger fins. It has a long head and a large mouth, with thin lips and projecting lower jaw. The eye is large with a dark, bluish The Sunfisb Family 75 iris. Its fins are large and strong. It grows usually to eight or ten inches in length, weighing from half a pound to a pound, but occasionally reaches a foot in length and two or three pounds in weight. Its color is bright olive-green, with silvery reflections, darker on the back, and paling to the belly. In some localities it is of a much darker and purplish hue with brassy lustre. It is profusely covered with dark spots or blotches, as large as the finger-tips or " chincapins." The fins are mottled with pale spots on a darker or olive ground. It is gregarious, being usually found in schools, and prefers clear water. It is especially adapted to pond culture, and spawns in spring or early summer, according to locality ; it prepares its nest in sand, gravel, or on a flat rock in the same way as the sunfishes. Its food is the same, also, though it is more partial to young fish. It is an excellent pan-fish but does not excel as a game-fish, for though a very free biter, it does not offer much resistance when hooked. However, with very light tackle it affords considerable sport, as it does not cease biting, usually, until most of the school are taken. The usual method of angling for this fish is 76 Bass, Pike, and Perch from an anchored boat on ponds or small lakes, or from the bank. At times it rises pretty well to the fly, and trolling with a very small spoon is also successful on lakes. The lightest rods and tackle should be employed, with hooks Nos. 3 to 5 on gut snells. A small quill float is useful in very weedy ponds with mossy bottom. The best bait is a small minnow, though grasshoppers, crickets, crawfish, cut-bait, or worms are all greedily taken. Fly-fishing is more successful during the late afternoon hours until dusk. The flies should be trout patterns of coachman, gray drake, black gnat, Henshall, or any of the hackles on hooks Nos. 4 to 5. I first became acquainted with the calico-bass during my residence in Wisconsin, many years ago. In the vicinity of Oconomowoc it was known as the silver-bass, though summer visitors from St. Louis, confusing it with the kindred species, the crappie, called it " croppie," as the real crappie is known at Murdoch Lake near that city. Owing to its greedy, free-biting habits it was a prime favorite with youthful anglers and the fair sex; for once a school was located, the contest was free, fast, and furious until, perhaps, the entire school was captured. It was frequently The Stmfisb Family yj taken by black-bass fishers when casting the minnow or trolling, much to their disgust. Of course it is always the unexpected that happens, in fishing as in other affairs of life, and the angler who was casting a fine minnow for a black-bass, viewed with disdain if not anger the unlucky "pickerel," rock-bass, perch, or calico bass that appropriated — or, as the English angler has it, "hypothecated" — the said choice shiner. I was once fishing with General Phil Sheridan and General Anson Stager for black-bass on a lake near Oconomowoc. When the great teleg- rapher, after a beautiful cast near" a bed of rushes, hooked a calico-bass, and was anathe- matizing the " measly silver-bass " with all the dots and dashes of the Morse alphabet, Sheridan quietly remarked, " Oh, let up, Stager, it is one of the fortunes of war; better luck next time!" Stager smiled, gently unhooked the offending fish, and returned it to the water, saying, " Good- by, croppie, my regards to the rest of the family ; but don't monkey with my minnow again." When cruising on the St. Johns, or camping on some of the fresh-water lakes of Florida, I have greatly enjoyed both the fishing with light tackle and the eating of this fine pan-fish. It is 78 Bass, Pike, and Percb there known as the perch, silver perch, or speckled perch. It may not be out of place to say that the generic term " bass " is connected only with salt-water fishes in the Southern states. Fishes that are known in the Northern states as bass of some kind become, generically, " perch " in the South ; and the black-bass becomes a " trout " or jumping-perch. If bait-fishing, one is never at a loss for bait on the lakes of Florida. The black- bass and calico-bass lie in open water, adjacent to the patches of lily-pads or bonnets. Among the latter frequent the minnows and small fry. To catch your minnow the bait is also handy. In the stems of the lilies and bonnets there lies concealed a small worm, which is readily seen by splitting the stems. With the worm first catch your minnow, which is transferred to your bass hook, which is next cast into clear, deeper water, to be taken by a black-bass or "speckled perch." What a simple and admirable arrange- ment for the lazy fisherman ! My old friend. Dr. Thcodatus Garlick, who with I^r. M. A. Ackley were the fathers of fish- culture in America, having succeeded in hatch- ing brook-trout as early as 1853, relates the following instance of the remarkable tenacity of The Sunfish Family 79 life in the calico-bass: "A specimen from which a drawing was made, was wrapped in a piece of paper when taken from the water, and carried in my coat pocket for over four hours, and when placed in a bucket of water soon revived, and seems at the present time to enjoy excellent health. In warm weather, however, it would not, in all probability, survive so severe a test of its vital powers." I imagine that this circumstance happened in winter, and that the fish became frozen before or after being placed in his pocket ; otherwise I doubt if the fish could have survived vSO long, unless the piece of paper was very large and very wet. I know of many instances occur- ring with myself and others where freshly caught fish have been revived after being frozen for several hours. THE CRAPPIE {Poinoxis atimdaris) The crappie was first described by Rafinesque in 18 18 from specimens collected at the Falls of the Ohio, near Louisville, Kentucky. He named it annularis, "having rings," as it was said to have " a golden ring at the base of the tail," but I have never seen it; it does have a gold So Bass, Pike, and Percb ring, however, around the iris of the eye, and this was probably the occasion of the name. Like the calico-bass, the crappie has received a great many local names. In the northern region of its range it is variously known as white croppie, crappie, barfish, bachelor, etc., and in Kentucky as newlight, Campbellite, and tin- mouth, while farther south it is called silver perch, speckled perch, goggle-eye, sac-a-lait, shad, etc. It inhabits the Ohio and Mississippi river basins from Kansas to Louisiana and Texas, and is more abundant in Kentucky and other Southern states than farther north. Its range, however, has been extended by transplantation to many states. In general features it resembles the calico-bass very much, though to the trained eye the differences are very apparent. It is not quite so deep nor so robust as the calico-bass. The mouth is somewhat larger, and the snout more prominent or projecting on account of a depres- sion or indentation in front of the eye. The eye is a little larger, and the membrane of the jaws is quite thin and transparent, hence one of its names, — " tin-mouth." The crappie has but six spines in the dorsal fin, whereas the calico-bass has seven, whereby they may be readily distinguished. The Sunfisb Family 8i It grows to about the same size and weight as the calico-bass, ten or twelve inches, though under favorable conditions it grows larger, reach- ing a weight of three pounds. I have frequently taken it as heavy, or a little heavier, in Kentucky, where many ponds and streams seem peculiarly fitted for it. In coloration it is much paler than the calico-bass, and the markings are not so dark or in such large spots or blotches. It is silvery olive-green, much mottled with a darker shade of same color, especially on the back, the lower sides and belly being more silvery and seemingly translucent. The dorsal and caudal fins are much mottled with shades of green, though the anal fin is almost plain. The iris of the eye is dark, with a silvery or golden border. It is found in clear streams and likewise in still, weedy ponds and bayous, or in all situations adapted to the large-mouth black-bass, with which fish it is nearly always associated. It is admirably suited for pond culture. It is quite gregarious and loves to congregate about the submerged top of a fallen tree or sunken brush, and about mill- dams. It feeds on all small aquatic organisms and insects and their larvae, and the fry of other fishes, tadpoles, etc. 82 Bass, Pike, and Percb While a very free-biting fish, its game qualities, when hooked, are not remarkable. It is pulled out with scarcely a struggle. It is rather a shy fish, withal, and must be fished for cautiously, and with little noise or confusion. When these precautions are observed, and with very small minnows for bait, nearly the entire school can be captured in a short time. It is an excellent pan- fish, and on this account is a prime favorite. For still-fishing, a light rod of a few ounces in weight, and a line of the smallest caliber, size H, should be used. Hooks for bait-fishing should be about No. 3, as the crappie has a large mouth ; they should be tied on gut snells. A quill float is useful in weedy places, or about brush and logs. The best bait is a very small minnow, hooked under the dorsal fin, care being taken not to injure the spinal cord. Soft crawfish, cut-bait, or earthworms may be substituted where minnows are scarce. A reel is not necessary for bait-fish- ing, but a short leader should always be used, and where required a split-shot sinker is heavy enough. For fly-fishing, the lightest trout fly-rod and the smallest click reel should be employed, with a braided, enamelled silk line of the smallest The Sunfish Family 83 caliber, and dark or grayish flies of small size, on hooks No. 4, on gut snells, with a fine leader. The most useful flies are gray, red, and black hackles, black gnat, blue dun, gray and brown drake, and stone fly ; but far the best fly that I have ever used is the Henshall of a small size. It has a body of green peacock had, hackle of white hairs from a deer's tail, gray wings, and tail of a fibre or two from the tail feather of a peacock ; they will rise to this fly when no other will tempt them to the surface. Toward sunset, with the tackle named, on a breezy summer day, the angler will be amply rewarded, for under these conditions fly-fishing for the crappie is a sport not to be despised. It has been alleged that the name " Campbell- ite," by which the crappie is sometimes known in Kentucky, was bestowed because the fish first appeared in Kentucky streams about the same time that the religious sect founded by Alexander Campbell became established in that state. This may have been the origin of the name, but I am inclined to doubt it from the fact that the crappie has probably always inhabited Kentucky streams, inasmuch as it was first described by Rafinesque in 1820 from Kentucky waters. He gave gold 84 Bass, Pike, and Perch ring and silver perch as the common names then in vogue for it at Louisville. I think it more likely the name originated in this wise : among the many names given to this fish is " newlight," probably owing to its bright and apparently translucent appearance ; and as this name was also bestowed by some on the religious sect referred to, the names newlight and Campbellite became interchangeable for both fish and sect. It is, however, seldom called Campbellite, while newlight is the most universal name for it in central Kentucky. The name crappie, or croppie, has an unknown derivation ; perhaps it comes from the French crepe, a "pan-cake," from its shape or delicious- ness when fried, for it was always a great favorite with the French of St. Louis and the Creoles of Louisiana. In the latter state it is also known as sac-a-lait, " bag for milk " (?). Great numbers of crappies are annually seined from the shallow bayous and sloughs bordering the Illinois and Mississippi rivers by the United States Fish Commission, and planted in suit- able waters. If allowed to remain in the sloughs, which dry up in the summer and fall, they would eventually perish. CHAPTER II THE BASS FAMILY {SerranidcE) The bass family is composed mostly of marine fishes, nearly all of which are good game- and food-fishes. These will be described among the fishes of the East Coast and Florida in subse- quent pages. It is the most typical group among the percoid (perchlike) fishes. Only two species of the family inhabit fresh water, — the white-bass and the yellow-bass. The fishes of this family are characterized by an oblong body, large mouth, brushlike or bristle- like teeth, sometimes with canines ; one or two dorsal fins, the first always composed of spiny rays ; the anal fin, always with three spines ; scales adherent and rough (ctenoid) ; preopercle usually serrate ; opercle with flat points or spines ; cheeks and opercles always scaly; premaxillary protractile ; dorsal and ventral outlines do not always correspond ; caudal fin not deeply forked ; its peduncle stout. 85 86 Bass, Pike, and Percb THE WHITE-BASS {Roccus chrysops) Roccus chrysops. The White-bass. Body oblong, deep, and com- pressed ; head 3^; depth 2| ; eye 5; D. IX-I, 14; A. Ill, 12; scales 10-60-15; mouth moderate, maxillary reaching middle of pupil ; a patch of teeth at base of tongue, and a patch on each side ; preopercle serrate ; subopercle with a deep notch; lower jaw somewhat projecting; dorsal fins sepa- rate ; gill-rakers long and slender, ;r + 14. Morone inter rtipta. The Yellow-bass. Body oblong, ovate, the back arched; head 3; depth 2|; eye 4| ; D. IX-I, 12; A. Ill, 9; scales 7-50-1 1 ; dorsal fins slightly joined ; jaws subequal ; no teeth on base of tongue ; gill-rakers moderate, x -\- 13 to 16 ; preorbital and suprascapula serrate. The white-bass was first described by Rafi- nesque in 1820 from the falls of the Ohio River, near Louisville, Kentucky. He named it chrys- ops, or "gold eye," owing to the golden hue of the iris. It is known also as white lake-bass and fresh-water striped-bass. It is abundant in Lake Erie, Lake Michigan, and upper Mississippi River, especially in Lake Pepin, and in Lake Winnebago, Wisconsin. It was formerly not uncommon in the Ohio River, but is now rare. Its body is compressed and rather deep, with the back arched ; its head is rather small, but the mouth is large, with the lower jaw protrud- ing ; the eye is large ; teeth brushlike, without The Bass Family 87 canines. The color is silvery white, greenish above, golden below, with six or more narrow dusky lines along the body, most conspicuous above the lateral line ; those below broken, or not continuous. The white-bass is found in water of moderate depth, preferring those that are clear and cool, as it does not resort to weedy situations. It is essentially a lake fish, except in spring, when it undergoes a semi-migration, entering the tribu- taries of lakes in large schools. It spawns usually in May. It feeds on small fishes, crawfish, in- sects, and their larvae, etc. Its usual size is a pound or a little less, but occasionally it grows to three pounds. It is a food-fish of much excellence, its flesh firm, white, flaky, and of good flavor. It is one of the best fresh-water game-fishes, being a bold biter, and on light and suitable tackle affords much sport to the appreciative angler. For fly-fishing, the best season is during the spring, when it enters the tributary streams of lakes. At this time the fly-fisher will be successful at any hour of the day. He may fish from the bank or from an anchored boat, the latter plan being the best. As the fish are swimming in schools, either headed up or down 88 Bass, Pike, and Perch stream, no particular place need be selected, though off the points at the edge of the channel, or in the narrowest portions of the streams, are perhaps the best. In the summer and fall the fish are in the lakes or deeper water, when the fishing will be more successful during the late afternoon hours until sundown, and the angler may be guided by the conditions followed in black-bass fly-fishing, as mentioned in a previous chapter. A trout fly-rod of six or seven ounces, with the usual trout click reel and corresponding tackle, will subserve a good purpose. When the fish are running in the streams the most useful flies are gray drake, green drake, stone fly, brown hackle, gray hackle, Henshall, and Montreal, of the usual trout patterns, on hooks Nos. 5 to 7. For bait-fishing, a light black-bass or trout rod, with multiplying reel, braided silk line of the smallest caliber, a leader of small gut three feet long, and hooks Nos. 3 or 4 tied on gut snells, will answer well. The best and in fact the only bait that can be successfully used is ■a small minnow, hooked through the lips. The fishing is done from an anchored boat on lakes or the deep pools of streams, either by casting or still-fishing. The Bass Family 89 No fish will rise to the artificial fly except in comparatively shallow water, or when near the surface, and this is especially true of the white- bass when it resorts to the depths after the spring run is over. I remember a striking in- stance of this that once occurred in Wisconsin. I was fishing for black-bass in the Neenah chan- nel of Lake Winnebago during the May-fly season, when the black-bass were taking the artificial fly right along, being near the surface feeding on the natural flies, though the water was quite deep, with a rocky bottom. A party of bait-fishers anchored near my boat, and began fishing with heavy sinkers, as the water was very swift, and with small minnows for bait. The white-bass were not slow in taking the proffered minnows, and they caught a goodly number, but not a single black-bass ; nor did I take a single white-bass during several hours of fishing, for they were lying among the rocks at the bottom. In the rocky coves about the Bass Islands of Put-in-Bay, on Lake Erie, I have had really good sport, in the summer months, bait-fishing for white-bass, with light tackle, the fish running about two pounds ; but with the fly my success was generally nil, as they were in deep water, 90 Bass, Pike, and Percb and nothing but minnows would attract them. But in the upper Mississippi, notably on Lake Pepin, the case was different. About the rocky- points of that beautiful lake, and in the clear water of the river below, I have enjoyed royal sport fly-fishing for white-bass. This was years ago. Afterward I made a trip in a steam yacht from Cincinnati to St. Paul, traversing the Mississippi from Cairo to the head of navi- gation, and also going up the St. Croix River to Taylor's Falls. On this trip the white-bass fish- ing was not so good as in former years, though the black-bass seemed to have held their own pretty well. I might remark, in passing, that the upper Mississippi is one of the most beautiful and scenic rivers in the world, and is unsurpassed for black-bass fly-fishing. At one time the islands of that river furnished superb woodcock shooting in summer, which could be varied with fine fishing. THE YELLOW-BASS (^Morone interrnptd) The yellow-bass was first described by Dr. Theodore Gill in i860. His type specimens were from the lower Mississippi River in the vicinity of St. Louis and New Orleans. He The Bass Family 91 named it interrupta, in allusion to the broken or " interrupted " lines along its sides. It is also known as brassy-bass. It belongs to the same genus as the white-perch of the East Coast. It is found only in the lower Mississippi River and its tributaries, sometimes extending its range a short distance up the Ohio River. The yellow-bass might be called a cousin of the white-bass, though it belongs to a different genus. It takes the place of that fish in the lower Mississippi Valley. Compared with the white-bass it has a somewhat longer head, with a body not quite so deep ; otherwise the general shape is much the same. The mouth is a little larger, though the snout does not project quite so much, and the profile of the head is straighter, and it has a larger eye. The posterior border of the cheek-bone is finely serrated. The general color is brassy or yellowish, darker on the back and lighter on the belly. There are about half a dozen very distinct and black longitudinal lines along the sides, the lower ones broken or " interrupted," the posterior por- tions dropping below the anterior, like a " fault " in a stratum of rocks. It is fond of the deeper pools in the rivers and 92 Bass, Pike, and Perch clear-water bayous, and the foot of rapids and riffles. It is partial to the same character of food as the white-bass, small minnows constituting the greater part. It likewise spawns in the spring, and grows to a pound or two in weight, some- times reaching three pounds. It is an excellent food-fish. I have had good sport with the yellow-bass on St. Francis River in Arkansas, and at the head of the Yazoo Pass, in Mississippi, with the same tackle and by similar methods as recom- mended for the white-bass on a prior page. As with the two black-basses and the two crappies, the white-bass and yellow-bass having similar habits and kindred tastes, the same tackle and the same modes of angling are as well suited for one as for the other. This will apply to both fly- fishing and bait-fishing. I was once, one autumn, with a party on a river steam yacht on the lower Mississippi when geese, ducks, deer, and turkeys were more plentiful than they are now. Up the St. Francis River, in the " sunk lands " of Arkansas, the yacht was moored at Cow Bayou, near a steep clay bluff, on the top of which was a dilapidated tent occupied by a young man and his wife, who were building a The Bass Family 93 shanty boat in which to float down to sunnier cHmes for the winter, as the man was " nigh gone " with consumption. One morning I was out early fishing for yellow-bass after a rainy night. As I was landing a fish I saw the woman at the top of the bluff, looking for a way down to the yacht. She was quite a fresh and comely- looking woman, too. She started down very carefully, for the wet clay was quite slippery. I became interested to see how she would succeed. Suddenly her bare feet slipped from under her, and she came down with a rush, her one garment, as I soon discovered, an old calico gown, slipping back over her head, disclosing her nude form, which appeared very white in contrast to the red clay. Then I looked the other way just as she flopped over from a prone to a supine position. When she reached the river side she looked like a sculptor's model in clay. She quietly adjusted her gown as if nothing unusual had occurred, and asked : " Has you-uns got any matches ? We-uns' matches all j^ot wet in the drizzle last night, and I want to cook my old man's break- fus." I pulled ashore and handed her my match- box, and scarcely knowing what to say, I remarked, " You had better change your dress before you 94 Bass, Pike, and Perch cook breakfast." She replied, " I hain't got an- other one." While the boys were eating their breakfast of fried fish, deer steak, and broiled duck, I related the " toboggan " episode, and mentioned the " one frock." When the meal was concluded the boys overhauled their belongings and chipped in several pairs of slippers, long woollen stockings, under- clothing, and blankets, and the " skipper" threw in some calico and muslin from the yacht's stores. These were made into bundles and carried to the top of the bluff by a more circuitous route. Pro- ceeding to the tent they deposited their offerings, together with some ducks and venison. The man and woman were overcome with gratitude, but the boys said they were glad to get rid of the stuff. The skipper had taken his camera along to get a snap-shot at the tent and its occupants, which being made known to them the woman said, " Wait a minnit ! " She went into the tent, but immediately reappeared wearing a large sun- bonnet, in which she was " took " with her " old man." I have often wondered since why she put on that sun-bonnet. My excuse for this digression may be found in the memorable words of George Dawson, " It is not all of fishing to fish." CHAPTER III THE BASS FAMILY {CONTINUED) {Serrafiidce) In addition to the fresh-water species of this family and those of the East Coast are the group- ers, cabrillas, etc., of Florida waters, to be noticed later. The family name is founded on Cuvier's genus Serranus, from the Latin serra, or " saw," in allusion to the serrated edge of the cheek-bones, common to all fishes of this family. Roccus Imeatus. The Striped-bass. Body rather elongate, little compressed; head 3J ; depth 3J ; eye 6; D. IX-I, 12; A. Ill, II ; scales 8-67-1 1 ; back little arched ; head subconical; mouth large, maxillary reaching middle of orbit ; lower jaw projecting ; teeth on base of tongue in two parallel patches ; preorbital entire ; preopercle weakly serrate ; margin of subopercle entire ; suprascapula entire ; gill-rakers long and slender, 4 + 15 ; dor- sal fins separate ; caudal fin forked. Morone americana. The White-perch. Body oblong, ovate, the back moderately elevated; head 3; depth z\\ eye 4; D. IX-I, 12; A. Ill, 8; scales 8-50-12; head depressed above eyes; snout rather pointed ; mouth small, maxillary not reaching middle of orbit ; preorbital entire ; base of tongue without teeth ; head scaled ; dorsal fins connected at base ; gill-rakers 4+ 16. 95 96 Bass, Pike, and Perch Centropristes striatus. The Sea-bass. 15ody robust, elevated an- teriorly, somewhat compressed ; head z\ ; depth 2.\ ; eye 5 ; D. X, 11 ; A. HI, 7; scales 5-55-17; head large and thick, naked on top ; mouth rather large, lower jaw projecting ; teeth in broad bands, the canines small ; preopercle serrate; gill-rakers long, about r -t- 18; scales on cheeks in 11 rows; caudal fin double concave or three-lobed. THE STRIPED-BASS {Koccus li neat us) The specific name liiicattcs, or " striped," was bestowed by Bloch in 1792. North of the Dela- ware River it is universally called striped-bass, but in more southern waters it is known as rock or rockfish, from its habit of foraging on rocky shores in search of crustaceans and small fishes. From this vernacular name comes the generic name Rocciis. It is found from the Gulf of St. Lawrence to Florida, but is most abundant from Buzzards Bay to Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. It has been successfully transplanted to the Pacific coast, where it is now common near San Fran- cisco. The form of the striped-bass varies considerably with age. Young specimens are rather slender and symmetrical in outline, the depth being about a fourth of the length. The depth increases with the weight of the fish, while the back be- SURF-FlSHlNG FOR BASS The Bass Family 97 comes more arched, and the belly more pendu- lous. The head equals in length the depth of the body usually. The mouth is large, opening ob- liquely ; the snout is rather sharp, and the lower jaw projects. The color is olivaceous, often bluish on the back, sides with silveiy lustre, fad- ing to white on the belly. There are six to eight horizontal rows of dark spots, forming interrupted stripes, four or five running from head to caudal fm, with three shorter ones below; the fins are pale and usually unmarked. It is found within the range given during the entire year, though it frecjuents certain situations at different seasons. The largest fish resort to the rocky shores of the bays and indentations of the coast between the shores and outer reefs, those of smaller size fre- quent the estuaries and tideways, and still smaller ones seek the shallower and cpiieter waters. It spawns in the spring, usually in May, in both fresh and brackish water. Large schools ascend rivers for long distances in the spring, more i)articularly those rivers resorted to by the shad, which they seem to follow, perhaps for the purpose of feeding on shad spawn, as they are said to do. Others follow the smelt up cer- tain rivers farther north. A large female will 98 Bass, Pike, and Perch deposit from a million to two million eggs, which are about one-seventh of an inch in diameter, are free, transparent, and semi-buoyant, and hatch in a few days. Owing to a large oil-drop in the front part of the yolk-sac, the young fry at first swim with the head toward the surface of the water, and not in the horizontal position usual with the fry of most fishes. Its food consists of small fishes, crabs, lobsters, shrimps, squids, sandworms, and other marine invertebrates. It grows to a very large size, being frequently taken by anglers from thirty to sixty pounds, and in the nets of fishermen as heavy as one hundred pounds or more. In the city of Baltimore, in boyhood days, I often went to the fish markets on Saturdays to see and ad- mire the various kinds of fishes. On one occa- sion there were several large rockfish being weighed on the old-time balance, consisting of a beam and two large, flat, wooden scales sup- ported by chains. The largest fish did not weigh quite two fifty-six-pound weights. A man then asked me how much I weighed, and I replied one hundred and three pounds. I was then placed on the scale instead of the weights, with the result that the fish outweighed me perhaps The Bass Family 99 a pound or two. At all events it weighed be- tween one hundred and three and one hundred and twelve pounds — probably one hundred and five pounds. It was as long as an average man. The striped-bass is a food-fish of fine quality, and the markets of the eastern cities are well supplied with it during summer and fall, and to a certain extent during the winter. It is very active from early spring until late in the fall, when it resorts to the back-waters and bayous of tidal rivers for the winter. It is said by some to hibernate, but this is doubtful. The opinion is probably due to the fact that it is more sluggish and listless while in winter quarters, and refuses to respond to the wiles of the angler. That the striped-bass is a game-fish of high degree goes without saying. It is rated by some enthusiastic anglers as being superior even to the salmon in game qualities. This opinion, how- ever, is hardly correct when the two are com- pared weight for weight. In surf-fishing the first rush of a large fish, upon feeling the hook, is something to be remembered. It is probably longer and stronger than that of a salmon of equal weight, for the reason that while the latter fish is leaping from the water in its efforts to loo Bass, Pike, and Perch escape, tlie bass is making his furious clash for liberty beneath the surface, and exerting every ounce of his muscular fibre in tlie effort. But tliis immense strain cannot long be continued, and as he seldom breaks water like the salmon, and does not sulk, he resorts to strategy and fmesse to free himself. After making several desperate but ineffectual rushes to escape, he may endeavor to chafe or part the line against sharp rocks, or to foul it among the kelp or sea-weeds. Sometimes, but not often, he dives toward the angler to obtain slack line, which is a dangerous move if the reel does not respond quickly in taking up the loose line. When it is considered that all of these manoeuvres of a monster bass to free himself occur amidst the rolling and tumbling of the surf, or in the dashing of foam-crested combers, while the angler often has but a precarious foot- ing on a slippery rock, and perhaps with a half gale of wind blowing, some idea may be formed of the skill and good judgment required to sub- due and land so valorous a fish. And under such conditions it is very natural for the angler to rank his noble quarry with the salmon. When a Baltimore boy I thought there was no The Bass Family loi better sport than still-fishing for rockfish running from a half to a pound or two, on the flats off Fort McHenry, the Lazaretto, or up the Patapsco River near the Long Bridge. It was good sport, too, for the fish were plentiful in those days, and from an anchored boat, with light cane rod and shrimp bait, I was often on the ground to catch the young flood tide at sunrise, or before, on summer mornings, and seldom failed to be re- warded with a full basket of small striped-bass. Still-fishing in summer is best practised in comparatively shallow water in the estuaries, at the edge of the tideways, near the mouths of rivers, or up streams of good size as far as the tide reaches. In some cases the fishing may be done from bridges, piers, wharves, or from the bank, but usually from an anchored boat. In the estuaries and at the mouths of rivers the first of the flood and the last of the ebb are usu- ally the best stages of the tide. In the shallow bays and lagoons, or far up the rivers, the full tide is the most favorable time. For this fishing the rod should be light, pliable, and not more than nine feet in length. A black-bass rod can be utilized to good advantage. The best rod for the purpose, however, is the " Little Giant," a I02 Bass, Pike, and Perch modification of the Henshall black-bass rod. It is in two pieces, seven and one-half feet long, and weighs eight ounces in ash and lancewood, or seven ounces in split bamboo. It is stiffer than the Henshall rod, so that a two- or four-ounce sinker can be used with it whenever necessary. A good multiplying reel must be employed with black-bass rods. The line should be fifty yards of braided linen, smallest size, with a three-foot leader of single gut; Sproat or O'Shaughnessy hooks Nos. I or i on gut snells are large enough for bass up to two or three pounds. A small float is useful on grassy bottom with shrimp or crab bait, and sinkers of weights in accordance with the strength of the tidal current must be employed, also a landing-net. Shrimps, soft or shedder crabs, soft-shelled clams, sandworms, small minnows, silversides, spearing or killifishes, are all good baits in their season. Shrimp is perhaps the best all-round lure. It should be hooked under the back plates, and a single shrimp is sufificient for small bass. Shedder or soft crab should be cut in small pieces. The scallop is likewise an attractive bait, especially in the fall, when clam bait may also be used to advantage. Early in the spring The Bass Family 103 shad roe may be used in quiet waters, or at slack tide, but it is a difficult and unpleasant bait to handle. The bait should be from one to three feet above the bottom, and should be kept in motion. Even crab bait should not be allowed to lie on the bottom, as some anglers advise. To main- tain the proper position and depth of the bait the angler may employ a float, with or without a sinker, as the exigencies or conditions demand. Very often hand-lines or stiff cane poles are used in estuary fishing, and the bass, even when of several pounds in weight, are yanked out of the water into the boat at once. But with the tackle recommended above the pleasure of the angler is enhanced, and the fish given a chance for his life in the brief struggle that follows. In trolling for fish of from three to ten pounds a natural bamboo rod, eight or nine feet long, answers well with one hundred yards of braided linen line, size E or F, and Sproat hooks No. 2-0 to 3-0 on gut snells. Where the bass run larger, two hundred feet of line, size E, with hooks Nos. 5-0 to 6-0 may be required, also a heavier rod. The baits for trolling are blood- worms of large size, a minnow hooked through I04 Hdss, Piki\ and Penh {\\c lips, the iiatunil s(|iii(l or an ccl-lail ; also the arlilicial s(|iii(l ol hone or hloik tin, or a troUing-sjJoon or spiniuT with a single hook. When the s|)oon or artificial s(|iii(l is used it is not ni'eessary or advisable to add sandvvornis or other naluial hail, as is often done. I'jnploy one or the other, hut never both in eonihina- tion. The arliheial baits are sulheiently attrac- tive' in tlu'nisi'lves, and the additions mentioned do not enhance tlu-ir eliectiviMU'Ss. The boat should be rowed aIonL;siH)re, or over rocky reefs or shoals, and about tlu* eddies of rock pools. As the hsh always hooks itsell in troll- in/>ris/t-s philaticlpliiius) This species was described by Linna?us in 1758, and named pJiiladclphiais, under the impression that his specimen was from the vicinity of that city. Afterward he received specimens from the South Carolina coast, which, in 1766, he named trifurca, meaning "three- forked," in allusion to its *' triple-tail." The older name, unfortunately, must stand. The Bass Family 119 Its color is olive-gray, darkest on the back, whitish below, with seven oblique dusky and diffuse bars along the upper portion of the sides. The three-forked appearance of the cau- dal fin is more pronounced than in the northern sea-bass; otherwise there is no structural differ- ence, except in coloration. Its habits are simi- lar. The same remarks apply equally to the following species, except that it has a few less gill-rakers than the northern species. They may eventually all prove to be the same species, or geographical varieties. The directions as to fishing apply as well to both these southern forms as to the northern sea-bass. THE GULF SEA-BASS {Centropristes ocyurus) This species was described from the "snapper banks," off Pensacola, by Jordan and Evermann in 1886, who named it ocyurus, or "swift tail." It has not been recorded from any other locality. It agrees with the northern sea-bass, except as mentioned, and in its coloration, which is grayish or pale olive, darker on the back, with three longi- tudinal rows of black blotches along the sides. It is called " tally-wag " by the snapper fisherman. CHAPTER IV THE PIKE FAMILY (^EsocidcE) The fishes of this family have a long body, not much compressed, and not elevated. The head is long, with a flattened and prolonged snout ; a very large mouth filled with long and very sharp, cardlike teeth on the jaws and roof of the mouth, and with smaller teeth on the tongue. They have a single dorsal fin composed entirely of soft rays, and situated very far back and opposite to the anal fin, which is likewise com- posed of soft rays. The scales are small ; the cheeks and gill-covers are more or less scaly; the head is naked above. All are greedy, vora- cious fishes, marauding tyrants, living almost en- tirely on other fishes. There is but one genus, Esox. Esox nobilior. The Mascalonge. Body elongate ; head 3| ; depth 6; eye 5; B. 17 to 19; D. 17; A. 15; scales 150 along the lateral line ; cheeks and opercles naked below, scaly above ; in about 8 rows. THE MASCALONGE OF THE WEEDS. TROLLING WITH HAND-LINE The Pike Family 121 Esox lucius. The Pike. Body elongate ; head 3I ; depth 5 ; eye 6 ; B. 14 to 16; D. 16 or 17; A. 13 or 14; scales 125; cheeks entirely covered with scales ; lower half of opercles naked, upper half with scales. Elsox reticulatus. Eastern Pickerel. Body elongate; head 3^; depth 6 ; eye 8 ; B. 14 to 16 ; D. 14 ; A. 13 ; scales 125 ; cheeks and opercles entirely covered with scales. Esox vermiculatus. The Western Pickerel. Body elongate ; head 3^; depth 5 to 6; eye 6; B. 12; D. 11 or 12; A. 11 or 12; scales 105 along the lateral line; cheeks and opercles entirely covered with scales. Esox afnericanus . The Banded Pickerel. Body elongate; head 3J ; depth 5I; eye 5 ; B. 12 or 13; D. 11 or 12; A. 11 or 12; scales 105 ; cheeks and opercles entirely covered with scales. As some anglers find it difficult to distinguish a large pike from a mascalonge, or a pike from a pickerel, owing to the similar shape and appear- ance, the several species can be easily identified by means of the following artificial key : The mascalonge {Esox nobilior) has the upper part of both the cheeks and gill-covers scaly, while the lower half of both cheeks and gill-covers is naked; it has from 17 to 19 branchiostegal rays (the branchiostegals are the rays on the under side of the gill-cover, that, like the ribs of an umbrella, assist in opening and closing it during breathing). Its coloration is of a uniform grayish hue, or when marked with spots or bars they are always of a much darker color or shade than the ground color. The pike {Esox lucius) has the cheeks entirely scaly, but only the upper part of the gill-cover, the lower half being naked ; it has from 14 to 16 branchiostegal rays; its coloration is a bluish or greenish gray, with elongated or bean-shaped spots covering the sides, and which are always of a lighter hue than the ground color. 122 Bass, Pike, and Percb The eastern or reticulated pickerel {Esox reticulatus) has both the cheeks and the gill-covers entirely covered with scales ; it has from 14 to 16 branchiostegal rays; its coloration is shades of green, with sides of golden lustre, and marked with dark retic- ulations, mostly horizontal. It is rarely or never found west of the Alleghanies. The little western pickerel (^Esox vermiculatus) has both cheeks and gill-covers entirely scaly, as have all the pickerels ; it has from 1 1 to 13, usually 12, branchiostegal rays; its coloration is greenish or grayish, with curved streaks on the sides forming bars or reticulations ; the color is quite variable, sometimes plain olive. It is found only west of the Alleghanies. The banded or American pickerel {Esox amerkanus') has, like the other true pickerels, both the cheeks and the gill-covers entirely covered with scales ; it has 12 or 13 branchiostegal rays ; colora- tion dark green, sides with many distinct black curved trans- verse bars ; a black bar below the eye, and one from the snout through the eye to the gill-cover. It is found only east of the Alleghanies. THE MASCALONGE {^Esox nobilior) The specific name nobilior, long current for the mascalonge, and the one based on its earH- est accurate description, was conferred by Rev. Zadoc Thompson in 1849 in "Notes on Certain Vermont Fishes," in the Proceedings of the Bos- ton Society of Natural History, Vol. Ill, pub- lished July 1 8, 1849, and later he described it fully in the " History of Vermont," 1853, Part I. It is an excellent and appropriate name, and one that has become familiar to anglers. I have re- The Pike Family 123 lained it, inasmuch as it was discarded, I think, for a very insufficient reason. The specific name masquinongy, which has re- cently been given to this species in the books, is supposed to have been given to the mascalonge by Dr. Mitchill in 1824. His description, how- ever, cannot now be found. It is alluded to by De Kay in his " Fishes of New York," in 1842, who gives its reference as " Mirror, 1824, page 297"; but I have searched for it in vain, as have others. De Kay merely says : " According to Mitchill, who describes a specimen 47.0 long and weighing thirty pounds, the fin rays are as follows : 'D. 21; P. 14; V. 11; A. 17; C. 26.' But this radial formula is just as applicable to Richard- son's E. lucius : 'D. 20; P. 16; A. 18,' also given by De Kay. The size and weight of the alleged specimen of Mitchill would vSeem to indicate the mascalonge, but the great northern pickerel, Esox lucius, occasionally reaches a like size and weight. I once caught one weighing twenty-five pounds in northern Wisconsin, and saw several a little heavier, one of fully twenty- eight pounds. Dr. Kirtland, in 1838, had, previous to De Kay, applied Mitchill's name masquinongy to a speci- 124 Bass, Pike, and Percb men from Lake Erie, and it is upon this evidence, principally, that this name has been adopted as the specific title of the mascalonge. But afterward Dr. Kirtland used Thompson's name nobilis (meaning nobilior) and Le Sueur's name estor for the mascalonge. He also subse- quently described the mascalonge from Lake Erie as atromaculatus, and one from the Mahoning River, Ohio, as ohiensis. From this it would ap- pear that Dr. Kirtland, although a good naturalist in his day, was not at all clear in his estimation of the mascalonge. There has been considerable controversy con- cerning the common or vernacular name of the mascalonge. Some claim it is from the French, and derived from the words " masque " and " al- longe," which virtually mean "long face," and which is certainly nearer to the common pronun- ciation of mascalonge or muscalunge. Others claim it is an Indian name from the Ojibwa lan- guage, as " mash," meaning " strong," and " kinoje," meaning " pike." " Mash " is also said to mean " spotted " and " deformed." From mash and kinoje come " maskinonge," as it appears in the statutes of Canada. The name has been spelled in numerous ways, as evidenced in the Century The Pike Family 125 Dictionary, which gives the following variations : maskalonge, mascalonge, maskalunge, maskal- longe, masquallonge, masq'allonge, mascallonge, muscalonge, muskalonge, muskalinge, muskel- lunge, moskalonge, moscononge, maskinonge, maskanonge, maskenonge, maskenozha, maski- noje, and maskenonge, to which might be added muscalinga, mascalinga, etc. There is no author- ity or precedent for the name " muskellunge " as used by some writers and anglers, as neither the original French or Indian words have the letter " u " in either the first or last syllable. Moreover, the term " lunge " is in some sections applied to the lake trout. I am aware, of course, that the name has obtained considerable currency, but in much the same way that the black-bass is called " trout " in the South, and the pike-perch is de- nominated " salmon " in certain localities. Rev. Zadoc Thompson, who was the first to call attention to the scaling of the cheeks as a diagnos- tic character, gives the vernacular name "masqual- longe," and attributes it to French derivation, to which opinion I am inclined. As the most prom- inent writers on fish and fishing give it as " mas- calonge," that name should be universally adopted, no matter what its origin, or whether derived 126 Bass, Pike, and Perch from the French Canadians or the Chippeway Indians; that question is more interesting to philologists than to anglers. As an instance of inconsistency, or of the irony of fate, the books give the scientific name of the subgenus as 7}ias- calongtis, from the French, and the specific name as masquiuivigy, from the Ojibwa. The mascalonge is common in the St. Law- rence basin and the Great Lakes, more abundant in the lakes of northern Wisconsin, less common in the upper Mississippi River, Chautauqua Lake, New York, and Conneaut Lake, Pennsylvania, and rare in the upper Ohio River and tribu- taries. It has a long body, somewhat com- pressed, its depth being about one-fifth of its length; the head is large, about a fourth of the length of the body, and flattened, with the lower jaw projecting. It has a terrible array of teeth of assorted sizes. On the edge of each side of the lower jaw are several long, bayonet- shaped teeth, from one-half to an inch apart; in the front part of the tip of the projecting lower jaw are a few short but sharp teeth, recurved ; in the front part of the upper jaw are three clusters of long, fanglike teeth, standing out amidst the smaller, cardlike teeth; on the edge of the for- The Pike Family 127 ward half of the upper lip is a row of small, but very sharp, recurved teeth ; back of these on the roof of the mouth (vomer and palatines), and ex- tending back from the fangs in front to the throat, are three rows of cardlike teeth, recurved and very sharp. The coloration and markings vary so much that several varieties have been needlessly estab- lished, as the variations are found in every local- ity, and do not seem to depend on habitat or en- vironment. The usual color is dark gray, green- ish or brownish, always darker on the back, lighter on the sides, and belly white or whitish. The fins usually have dusky or slate-colored spots or blotches; the lower fins and caudal fin are often reddish. The markings of the body vary a great deal. In the young the upper half of the body is covered with small, round black spots, which usually disappear or change their shape as they grow old. In mature fish the spots are more diffuse, sometimes enlarging to an inch or more in diameter, or by coalescing form vertical broad bands, while in others there are no distinct dark markings. And while all of these various mark- ings are found in fish from the same locality there is no apparent structural difference. I2S Bass, Pike, and Pcnb I have oxaminod and compared specimens from the St. Lawrence and Indian rivers, New York, Lake Krie, the Wisconsin lakes, Lake Pepin, Chau- tauqua and Conneaut lakes, Scioto and Mahoning rivers, in Ohio, and have seen preserved heads of large ones from Ohio, Kentucky, and Tennessee, and found that they all agree so well in the num- ber of branchiostegals, squamation of cheeks and opercles, in dentition, fins, and in measurements, that they must all be considered as one and the same species. At the Chicago Columbian Expo- sition there were sonie twenty very large speci- mens of mounted skins from Canadian waters, in the exhibit of the Ottawa Museum, which showed well the variation in markings. Some still showed the dark spots on a gray ground ; others were more or less distinctly barred with broad or narrow bands; others showed both bars and diffuse spots ; and still others were of a uniform slate or gray- ish coloration, without markings of any kind. In the museum of the Cuvier Club, in Cincinnati, there are quite a number of mounted skins of mascalonge from the Wisconsin lakes, mostly large ones, that also show all of the various markings, as well as those of a uniform colora- tion. The Pike Family 129 About 1890 I donated to the Cincinnati Society of Natural History a specimen from Lake Erie; and in 1S92 I donated to the United States Na- tional Museum two specimens from Lake Erie, and one from a tributary of the Muskingum River, in Ohio. All of these Ohio fish were from eighteen inches to two feet long, and all showed similar markings, being profusely covered with round black spots from an eighth to a quarter of an inch in diameter. Where the spots become dif- fused, and the bands are inclined to spread and coalesce, they are always more distinct toward the tail. In a mascalonge of less than a foot in length the spots are very black, very round, and quite small, not exceeding a sixth or an eighth of an inch in diameter. Various appellations have been bestowed on the mascalonge to denote its rapacity, as the shark, wolf, or tiger of the waters, all of which are well merited by that fierce marauder. It subsists entirely on fish, frogs, snakes, and even the young of aquatic mammals and water fowl. Nothing in the shape of food comes amiss to him. He is solitary in his habits, lying concealed among the water plants and rushes at the edges of the streams or channels and along the shores, or I30 Bass, Pike, and Perch beside shelving rocks or banks in clear lakes, from whence he darts open-mouthed upon the luckless fish that approaches his lair. The num- ber of fishes swallowed by a mascalonge during a single summer is almost incredible; and they are not minnows and small fry alone, such as are devoured by other predaceous fishes, but such as are old and large enough to reproduce their kind. It is fortunate that the mascalonge is compara- tively a rare fish. As it is now being artificially propagated in some states, great care and judgment should be exercised as to the waters planted, so as not to jeopardize other and better game-fishes. It spawns early in the spring and in very shal- low water, where most of the eggs are devoured by frogs, turtles, fishes, and water fowl — a wise provision of nature when it is considered that the female deposits from one hundred thousand to three hundred thousand eggs. The eggs are quite small, about ten or twelve to an inch, and hatch in about two weeks. The mascalonge is the most valuable food-fish of its family, and is pronounced by some as being really excellent; but I consider it much inferior to the whitefish, lake-trout, pike-perch, black-bass, or brook-trout. While possessing no especial flavor, its flesh is The Pike Family 131 firm and flaky, more so than that of the pike or pickerel, and it commands a ready sale in the markets. It grows occasionally to an enormous size. I have taken it up to forty pounds, good weight. The late Judge Potter, of Toledo, Ohio, an angler of the old school, informed me that he had seen, in early days, many that weighed from fifty to seventy-five pounds. Mr. L. H. McCormick, for- merly of Oberlin College, Ohio, saw one taken in a pound net that weighed seventy-two pounds. The late Dr. Elisha Sterling, formerly of Cleve- land, Ohio, a contemporary of Judge Potter and the late Dr. Garlick, the father of artificial fish- culture in America, told me of one he once speared in Lake Erie that weighed eighty pounds, and said that those of fifty to sixty pounds were common in the forties. The mascalonge is the best game-fish of its family. When of large size, from twenty to thirty pounds, it exhibits a bull-like ferocity when hooked, making furious dashes for liberty, and if not stopped in time will eventually take to the weeds. It exhibits great powers of endurance, but little finesse or cunning in its efforts to escape. It depends on main strength alone. 132 Bass, Pike, and Perch swimming swiftly in straight lines, as might be inferred from its shape. Its long body does not admit of the quick doublings of the black-bass or brook-trout. If kept on the surface with a taut line it sometimes leaps into the air ; but if allowed its own sweet will it bores toward the bottom, or endeavors to reach the refuge of weeds or rushes. One of less weight than twelve pounds, when hooked, can scarcely be distinguished from the pike or pickerel in its manner of resistance, and exhibits but little more gameness. A black-bass rod of eight or nine ounces is suf- ficient for the largest mascalonge one is likely to encounter in these days. I caught one on the St. Lawrence, many years ago, that weighed thirty-two pounds, on an eight-ounce Henshall rod, and gaffed it in twenty minutes. Others have done the same even with a lighter rod. But it must be remembered that the weight of the fish, added to his fierce lunges, is very trying to a light rod, and I should not recommend one of less weight than eight ounces, which will answer for all emergencies in skilled hands. A good multi- plying reel, a braided silk or linen line, size E or F, and Sproat or O'Shaughnessy hooks Nos. 3-0 to 5-0 on gimp snells, with brass box-swivel for The Pike Family 133 connecting snell and line, constitute the rest of the tackle. The best season for mascalonge fishing is in May or June, and in September and October, the latter months preferable. The most favorable hours are in the early morning and late after- noon. The middle of the day may be fished with a better prospect of success on cloudy, lowering days, with a brisk wind. The best bait is a large minnow, either alive or dead, though a frog answers very well ; and in the absence of either, a trolling-spoon, No. 4, with a single hook, may be utilized for casting. Rowing along in water from five to ten feet deep, the bait should be cast as far as possible to the edge of weed patches, reeling it again very slowly, or if the bait is alive it may be allowed to swim outside of the water-plants for a short time. By moving along continuously, and making frequent casts, this method is much more successful than still-fishing. When the wind is just right, or when the current is strong enough and the wind not contrary, it is a good plan to allow the boat to drift while casting. As soon as a fish is struck and hooked the boat should be moved to deeper and open water 134 Bass, Pike, and Perch at once, in order to give free play to the fish and lessen the probability of its taking to the weeds. In open water the angler has a better chance successfully to play and land his quarry, which should be kept on the surface as much as pos- sible. He can be aided very much in his efforts by the careful and judicious management of the boat by a skilful oarsman. When the mascalonge shows signs of weakness and can be drawn alongside, it should be gaffed at once. Not by striking at it with quick and violent motions, which serve only to frighten the fish and endanger the angler's tackle, but the gaff should be kept below the fish until it can be drawn over it, and then by raising it slowly and cautiously, until near enough, when, by a quick upward and drawing motion, the point of the hook should be driven into the throat or breast of the fish, and by the same motion the fish should be lifted into the boat. It should then be killed by a smart stroke on the head, as a wound from its sharp teeth is no trifling matter. In the absence of a gaff-hook the fish should be more thoroughly exhausted before bringing it alongside the boat, when it should be struck a stunning blow on the head before being taken in. The Pike Family 135 The bait or spoon may be trolled along the edges of the channel, just outside of the weed patches, from a moving boat, with a line of thirty to fifty yards. In trolling, the revolving spoon, glistening and shining, is the attractive lure, and any addition of a minnow, or strip of fish or pork- rind, or other bait, as is often resorted to by some, is entirely unnecessary. It adds nothing to the chances of hooking a fish, and should never be practised by the consistent angler. He may use pork-rind if he wishes, but let it be used alone, on its own merits. A spoon is bad enough in any case, but it only makes it more repre- hensible and repulsive, to the angler at least, to handicap it with bait of any kind ; even the bunch of feathers that usually adorns the spoon should be discarded, as it is of no practical use. Most mascalonge are taken, I am sorry to say, by trolling with a hand-line of heavy braided linen, size B or C, and a spoon of very large size, as large as No. 8, which seems to be the favorite size with hand-trollers. In this method of fishing the mascalonge hooks himself when he strikes the spoon. It is then drawn in, hand over hand, as the sailors say, with might and muscle. And as might be supposed, those who 136 Bass, Pike, and Percb practise this method arc loudest in their praise of the mascalonge as the " king of all game- fishes." A quick pull, a strong pull, and a pull all together, with the hauling aboard as soon as possible of the struggling fish, amidst much splashing and floundering, seems to be their estimation of gameness in a fish. The foregoing remarks apply to fishing on lakes and quiet, weedy streams of the Northern states. In the clear and swifter waters of the upper Ohio, and its tributaries, the mascalonge lies in the deep pools during summer and fall, where it is taken by still-fishing. A large sucker, weighing from half a pound to a pound, is the favorite bait, with suitable rod and reel. The fish is given plenty of time to gorge the bait before striking, and this is quite important with so large a bait. Many large mascalonge, there called "pike," have been taken in this manner in those waters, events to be long remembered and talked about, while the head is carefully pre- served for the admiration and envy of future generations of anglers. Once when returning from a fishing trip to northern Wisconsin when mascalonge were much more in evidence than at the present day, I was The Pike Family 137 carrying the head of a forty-pounder that just filled an ordinary tin bucket. At Appleton, while waiting for the train to Green Bay, the big head was the centre of an admiring group of anglers. Then came the natural and inevitable query, "Where did you catch it.?" In order to avoid a long recital, which only could have done justice to the subject, and expecting the train at any moment, I replied, " An Indian speared it on Lake St. Germain." They looked at me as if I had seven heads ; then one said : " Well ! well ! It requires an awful lot of moral courage to make such an admission." But I killed it, all the same, on a nine-ounce rod, and my Indian canoe- man gaffed it. THE PIKE (Esox lucins) The pike is more generally known in the United States as "pickerel," and sometimes as the great northern pickerel to distinguish it from the pickerel, properly so-called. In England the young pike is a pickerel, an older one a jack, and the mature fish a pike. In England and continental Europe the pike {E. lucius) is the only species of the family inhabiting their waters, while there are five species of the family 138 Bass, Pike, and Percb in America, which makes it all the more confus- ing when the name "pickerel" is applied indis- criminately to all, — even the mascalonge being sometimes alluded to as an " overgrown pickerel." The range of the pike in America is from Lake Cham plain, the Great Lake region, and the upper Mississippi River, north to Alaska; it is rare in the Ohio Valley. Next to the mascalonge the pike is the most important and largest member of the pike family. It has a long body, somewhat com- pressed, its length being a little more than five times its depth. The head is large, some- what more than a fourth of the length of the body, with a long, flattened, and projecting snout; the teeth are similar, but not quite so large or numerous as in the mascalonge. The coloration and markings of the pike are quite constant, not varying so much as in others of the family, and is very different from those of the mascalonge or any of the pickerels. The ground color is grayish or greenish gray, darker on the back and fading to silvery white on the belly; the sides, from head to tail, are profusely covered with irregular, oblong, or bean-shaped whitish spots or blotches, much lighter than the The Pike Family 139 ground color; the dorsal, anal, and caudal fins are marked with dark spots or blotches. It is somewhat more gregarious, and is more of a rover than the mascalonge; otherwise its habits are very similar, and it coexists with that fish in many waters, especially in the region of the Great Lakes. It feeds on fish, frogs, and water- snakes. Its usual weight reaches fifteen pounds, though it occasionally grows to four feet in length and a weight of twenty-five or thirty pounds. As a food-fish it is variously estimated. Some consider it to be very good, and it sells well in the markets, — which, however, is not always a fair criterion. It is much better in the fall and winter than in summer. Most people who know it best, and I agree with them, think it inferior to any fresh-water fish for the table except the carp and sucker. Its flesh is soft and dry, and unless of large size is not flaky, and it is, moreover, very full of small bones. One of ten pounds, stuffed with a savory dress- ing and baked, is not unpalatable, but cannot be compared favorably with the whitefish, black- bass, or trout. The pike when of large size is a good game- I40 Bass, Pike, and Perch fish. Its weight and strength, added to its bold rushes when hooked, are very trying to light tackle. One of fifteen pounds is worthy of the angler's most serious attention on an eight-ounce rod. Its manner of fighting is simi- lar to that of the mascalonge, though in a lesser degree, and it does not continue its resistance so long. After a few frantic rushes it weakens very materially, and if kept away from weeds soon gives up the struggle for freedom. In England, where game-fishes are much scarcer than in this country, the pike is con- sidered a fine game-fish and is much sought after by bait-fishers, and with a wonderful array of murderous traces, minnow-gangs, and spinning tackle. In the United States, where there are so many better game-fishes, it is not often made the object of special pursuit. Most pike are caught by anglers in northern waters when fishing for black-bass. Ordinary black-bass rods and tackle are very suitable for pike fishing, though where they run large, eight to fifteen pounds, an eight- or nine-ounce rod is to be preferred to a lighter one. A good multiplying reel, a braided line, either silk or linen, size F, and Sproat hooks, THE EASTERN PICKEREL Esox yeticulatus THE WESTERN PICKEREL Esox vermiculatus THE PIKE-PERCH Sti2ostedion vitreum THE YELLOW-PERCH Perca flavescens The Pike Family 141 Nos. 2-0 to 3-0, are better suited to large pike than black-bass. A minnow, or a trolling-spoon of small size with a single Sproat or O'Shaughnessy hook, may be employed in casting from a boat along the edges of weed patches, lily-pads, and wild rice, and along the shoals and bars. The same tackle can be utilized for trolling in the same situations. Where the conditions are favorable it is advisable to allow the boat to drift, in order to dispense with the noise and confusion of rowing or paddling. The directions already given for black-bass fishing, as to playing and landing the fish, will answer just as well for the pike. As the pike seems to suggest the trolling- spoon, this is a good place to say a few words con- cerning that little-understood article of fishing tackle. In the first place, it should never have more than a single hook, and that should never be handicapped by adding a minnow, frog, or strip of fish or bacon-skin, as is so often done. The hook should be left free to perform its function, untrammelled by extraneous and useless appendages. If the angler pins his faith to them, by all means give them a fair chance on a hook 142 Bass, Pike, and Percb without a spoon ; it is not only more logical, but more sportsmanlike. Give the fish a chance, also, and of two evils let it choose the least by using them separately. Seriously, the spoon is a most alluring and attractive bait in itself. Its bright and shining appearance when spinning and glancing through the water is well-nigh irresistible to a predaceous fish, and is in itself all that could be desired as an effective lure. The original trolling-spoon (made by Buell) was the bowl of a dessert spoon, with a hole in the broadest end for the line, and a single hook soldered to the narrow end. It is as effective as the best trolling-spoon made to-day. With a single hook, either loosely attached or soldered to the spoon, one is more apt to hook his fish, and more certain of landing it, to say nothing of the cruel and inhuman practice of using the triangle of three hooks usually attached to most trolling-spoons. Manufacturers generally affix a triangle of hooks to trolling-spoons, disguised by a bunch of red and white feathers that are worse than useless. The spoon is made of many shapes and of various sizes, and often of two or three spoons combined. They seem to vie with each other as The Pike Family 143 to who can turn out the most ridiculous contriv- ance, for the farther it departs from the original spoon the more useless it becomes. Manufac- turers are not all anglers, and endeavor to produce what is most novel and attractive to the pro- spective customer. Such appliances sell to the uninitiated and unwary, but do not catch many fish, or even anglers of experience. And the same remarks will apply in a measure to the gang or trace of several hooks, usually employed in trolling or spinning the minnow. A minnow, hooked through the lips — and it may be a dead one — with a single hook, will move more lifelike, and be really more attractive to the fish, than the whirling, wabbling one, brist- ling with a dozen hooks. It is cruel and heartless to employ so murderous a device. I have seen the mouths of bass and pike and lake-trout lacerated and mutilated, sometimes the lips and upper jaw torn completely off, by the triangle of the spoon or the half dozen or more hooks of the gang or trace. If their use cannot be dispensed with on the score of inutility, a single hook being far more successful, their employment should be relinquished in the name of humanity. The pike will not often rise to the artificial fly, 144 Bass, Pike, and Perch but will take it if allowed to sink a foot or two after casting. Many years ago, in Wisconsin, I devised the "polka" black-bass ily, and on its first trial, at the very first cast, it was seized by a pike of six pounds. The polka has a body of red floss silk, with spotted wings of the guinea fowl. I have frequently taken the pike with other red- bodied flies, as the Abbey, red ibis, king of the water, and Montreal, but the polka was always the favorite. Flies with bodies of peacock harl, as coachman, Henshall, Governor Alvord, etc., are very useful, as w^ll as some with yellow bodies, as professor, queen of the water, and Lord Baltimore. The afternoon hours, especially toward sundown and until dusk, are the most promising for fly-fishing. Large flies are also successfully used in trolling for pike, from a rather slow-moving boat. For fuller instructions for fly-fishing the reader is referred to those given for the black-bass, which will answer very well for the pike, especially where the two fishes inhabit the same waters. Fishing through the ice for pike or pickerel has quite a fascination for some persons, even for those who never fish in any other way. And there is a certain kind of enjoyment in it, though The Pike Family 145 actual fishing, as we understand it, has but Httle to do with it. If the ice is glare and free of snow, one can vary the amusement with skating. The bracing, nipping air on a clear day, with the sun shining brightly on the winter landscape, has its charms, and fishing through the ice is a good pretext for a winter outing. A dozen or more holes are cut through the ice in a circle, its diameter extending over the feeding grounds of the pike, whether small or great in extent. A fire may be built in the centre, if far from the shore on a lake, or on the shore itself if convenient to the holes. The holes being cut and a fire made for comfort, the next thing to do is to place the " tip-ups," as they are called, and bait the hooks, when there is nothing more to be done but to fill one's pipe and wait by the fire for the anticipated event — the rising of a signal proclaiming a " bite." Tip-ups are made in several ways, but the simplest plan, which is as good as any, is to provide a piece of thin board, say two or three feet long and two or three inches wide. A few inches from one end a hole is bored, through which is thrust a round stick, like a section of a broom-handle, and long enough to extend well across the hole in the ice. A short line, usually 146 Bass, Pike, and Perch three or four feet long, with suitable hook and sinker, is tied to the short end of the thin board, through a small hole bored for tlie purpose. The hook is then baited, placed in the water, and the thin board is laid down on its edge, with the short end at the middle of the hole in the ice, and the round stick straddling it. It will be readily understood that a fish pulling on the line at the short end of the thin board, or lever, will raise the long end, thus indicating to the watcher the looked-for event. The long end of the lever may be shaved to a point, to which a signal flag may be affixed. Where the fish are plentiful it will keep one pretty busy running from one hole to another to take off the pike or rebait the hooks. When residing at Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, I found that fishing through the ice for pike and yellow-perch was a favorite sport. I indulged in it once for pike and several times for perch, for the latter is a firm, sweet, and delicious pan-fish in the winter. Driving over La Belle Lake in my sleigh to the " pickerel grounds," where my man had cut the holes the day before, the tip-ups and lines were soon arranged and the hooks baited with live minnows. A fire was then built The Pike Family 147 on the shore, near at hand, to warm the chilled fingers. It was pretty tame when considered from the angler's point of view; but with the keen, crisp winter air, and the bright sun spar- kling on the pure white snow, on which I occa- sionally took a spin in the sleigh, it was quite an enjoyable experience. In the course of a few hours several pike were taken and left lying on the snow, where they soon became frozen stiff. Upon my arrival at home they were placed in a tub of cold water, when all but one or two revived and began to swim about ; the latter were probably too thoroughly frozen or may have been dead before being frozen. Apro- pos of this : I had some minnows in a live box, at the edge of the lake near my home, that thawed out alive in the spring after being frozen all winter. They were evidently the same minnows, as there were no dead ones, and the live ones could hardly have got into the box from the lake. The mediocrity of the pike as a game-fish is doubtless a just estimation in a majority of cases, but once in a while one will exhibit game quali- ties that will surprise the most doubting and con- temptuous angler, compelling his admiration, and forcing him to admit that there are exceptions 148 Bass, Pike, and Perch to all rules, but more especially in fishing. I was once one of a party of black-bass fishers on a lake in Wisconsin. In one of the boats was a lady of Milwaukee, who was justly considered one of the most expert and level-headed anglers in the party. She always stood up in her boat, was a marvel in casting the minnow, and played a bass to a finish in a style both graceful and artistic after a short, sharp, and decisive contest. She used the light- est rods and tackle, and the best. On this occa- sion, after landing a number of gamy bass and logy pike, she hooked a pike of about six pounds that put her six-ounce rod to the severest test, and gave her twenty minutes of the liveliest work that a fish is capable of. It leaped repeat- edly from the water, and rushed not only straight away, but twisted and turned and doubled in a manner that would have done credit to the gam- est bass. Finally she brought it to the landing- net in triumph, though she was, to use her own expression, " completely tuckered out." I venture to say that no man of the party would have been successful in landing that pike, with the same tackle, in the same length of time. A woman who is an expert angler will risk her tackle to f^reater lengths than a man, and will The Pike Family 149 take more chances in subduing a fish within a reasonable time. This is not because of reckless- ness, or because she docs not understand or appreciate the tensile strength of her rod. On the contrary, she knows her tackle well, and has the utmost faith in its potentiality. I knew a lady friend who was never more than thirty min- utes in bringing to gaff any salmon of from twenty-five to thirty pounds. And my Kentucky friend, Mrs. Bachmann (formerly Mrs. Stagg), killed her tarpon of two hundred and five pounds in eighty minutes. THE EASTERN PICKEREL (Esox reticulatus) The eastern pickerel, also called chain pickerel in the North, and jack in the South, was first described by Le Sueur, in 18 18, from the Con- necticut River. He named it reticulatus, owing to the " reticulations " or the netted character of the markings on the body. Its range extends from Maine along the coast- wise streams to Florida and Louisiana. West of the Alleghanies it has been reported from the Ozark region of Missouri and Arkansas, but I am rather inclined to doubt it. 150 Bass, Pike, and Percb In its general form the pickerel resembles a small pike, though it is more slender, has a larger eye, and its coloration is quite different. The ground color is either olive-brown or some shade of green, the sides with a golden lustre, and the belly white. The sides are marked with many dark lines and streaks, mostly oblique and hori- zontal, forming a kind of network. There is a dark vertical bar below the eye; the dorsal fin is plain; the lower fins sometimes reddish; the caudal fin occasionally has a few dark spots or blotches. In its habits of feeding and spawning it is similar to the pike, spawning in the early spring. It is found in weedy ponds in the North, and in the quiet, grassy reaches of southern streams. It feeds mostly on small fishes and frogs. It grows to a foot in length, usually, sometimes to two feet and weighing seven or eight pounds, though its usual maximum weight is three or four pounds. In the New England states it is regarded by many as not only a fine game-fish, but an excel- lent food-fish as well. Others despise it on both counts, and there you are. To many a Yankee boy fishing for pickerel was the highest ideal of angling, but with the larger experience of mature The Pike Family 151 years his idol has been thrown from its pedestal, and he, too, has learned to look askance at the friend of his youth. But while the pickerel is not a game-fish of high degree, it is capable of furnish- ing a fair amount of sport with light black-bass tackle in waters not too weedy. Ordinary black-bass rods and tackle are quite suitable for pickerel fishing, either with bait or fly, though the hooks should be larger, about i-o to 2-0, on gimp snells or heavy silkworm fibre. Where the weeds are too thick to admit of play- ing the fish a reel can be dispensed with, and a plain, light bamboo or cane rod, in its natural state, can be substituted for the jointed rod. It should be long enough to furnish considerable elasticity, say twelve feet, as its flexibility must subserve, somewhat, the purposes of a reel. The pickerel will take a sunken fly in shallow water, after it has been fluttered on the surface awhile. The red ibis, soldier. Abbey, polka, Montreal, and coachman are all good pickerel flies, if cast toward the dusk of evening. Skittering is a favorite method of fishing for the pickerel in weedy ponds. It is practised with a long cane rod, and line of about the same length as the rod, with or without a reel. A spoon bait, 152 Bass, Pike, and Perch frog, or a piece of white bacon-rind cut in the semblance of a fish, or a frog's hind legs, skinned, are skittered or fluttered on the surface near the lily-pads and pickerel weeds. The fish should be kept on the surface if possible, when hooked, and drawn into open water ; otherwise it may become entangled in the weeds and lost. The pickerel may also be taken by still-fishing from a boat with the live minnow or frog. On open water, a very successful way is trolling with a small spoon and single hook, or a dead minnow. For these methods the reader is referred to pike or black-bass fishing on previous pages. I have found the pickerel as far south as east- ern Florida, where it is known as " pike," though it is rarely met with, and owing to its rarity is held in pretty fair esteem as a game-fish. In the marshes and rice ditches of South Carolina, and some sluggish streams of southeast Georgia, it is rather more plentiful, though usually of inferior size and dusky coloration. I once caught several on the Cooper River in South Carolina when fishing with very light tackle for " bream," which were unusually active and strong, and which im- pressed me as entitled to a better reputation as a game-fish than is commonly accorded to it by The Pike Family 153 anglers. On the whole, the eastern pickerel is not half a bad fish, as English anglers would say. One might go farther and fare worse. THE WESTERN PICKEREL (^Esox vermiciilatus) The western pickerel was first described by Le Sueur from the Wabash River. He named it vermiculatus, owing to the " wormlike " appear- ance of its markings. He collected it about 181 8, but his description was not published until 1846. It inhabits the Mississippi Valley, south to Arkansas and Mississippi, and the tributaries of Lakes Erie and Michigan. It is not found east of the Alleghanies. It is formed on the same general lines as the other members of the pike family, but is rather more slender and rounder, with a shorter head, proportionally, but a larger eye. Its color is olive-green, or grayish green, darker on the back, and belly white. The sides are covered with many dark curved streaks, inextricably mixed, or forming reticulations. The coloration is quite variable in different waters. A dark vertical bar is usually present below the eye ; the sides of the head are variegated. 154 Bass, Pike, and Percb It is common in the grassy streams of the Middle West and weedy bayous of the South- west, never exceeding a foot in length. The late Dr. Elisha Sterling, of Cleveland, Ohio, once sent me a plaster cast of one not more than eight inches in length, with the ovaries exposed, show- ing the ripe ova. It is not of much importance as a game-fish or as a food-fish. It spawns in early spring, and feeds on small fish, frogs, and tadpoles. It may be fished for in the same way, and with the same tackle as recommended for crappies on a previous page. THE BANDED PICKEREL (^Esox anicruani/s) The banded pickerel. Long Island pickerel, or brook pickerel, as it is variously known, was one of the first of its family to be recognized. It was described by Gmelin, in 1788, from Long Island, New York. He named it amcricamis, or " Amer- ican pike," as a variety of the European Esox lucius. It is found only east of the Alleghanies in coastwise streams from Massachusetts to Florida. It is almost a duplicate of the little western pick- erel in its general form, and represents that species The Pike Family 155 in eastern waters. The characteristics of fin rays, scales, and squamation of cheeks and gill-covers apply equally to both species. The ground color is dark green; belly white; sides with about twenty distinct, blackish, curved, vertical bars, often obscurely marked, but not distinctly reticulated. There is a black vertical bar below the eye, and a horizontal band extend- ing from the snout, through the eye, to the gill- cover. The lower fins are often quite red. I have collected it on the east coast of Florida of a beautiful emerald-green coloration, without dis- tinct dark markings, and with orange-colored lower fins — a most beautiful fish. Although an interesting little fish, it is of no importance to anglers and is merely mentioned here, with the little western pickerel, to enable the reader to identify the different members of the pike family. It spawns early in the spring. It seldom grows beyond a foot in length, and is usually much smaller. Fishing for it is on the same plane with sunfishing, and the lightest tackle should be employed. CHAPTER V THE PERCH FAMILY (^PercidcE) Most of the species belonging to this family are the dwarf perches, the beautiful little darters of the clear streams. The only genera of impor- tance as game-fishes are Stizostedion, the pike- perches, and Perca, the yellow-perch. They are characterized by an elongate, nearly round body ; small, rough, and adherent scales; rather large mouth with sharp teeth; spines on opercle, and preopercle serrate ; branchiostegals six or seven ; two dorsal fins, the first composed of spines, the second of soft rays; the anal fin with two spines. GENUS STIZOSTEDION Stizostedion vitreum. The Pike-perch. Body elongate ; back some- what elevated; head 4; depth 5; eye 4; D. XIV-20; A. H, 12; scales 10-125-25 ; head and cheeks sparsely scaled; canine teeth on jaws and palatines ; opercle with small spines ; pyloric coeca 3. Stizostedion canadense. The Sauger. Body elongate and spindle- shaped; head 3^; depth 4^; eye 5; D. XHI-iS ; A. H, 12; 156 The Percb Family 157 scales 9-100-27; head and cheeks scaly; spines on opercle; head depressed and pointed ; pyloric coeca 5 to 7. GENUS PERCA Perca flavescens. The Yellow-perch. Body oblong, somewhat compressed, the back elevated ; head 3 J ; depth 3-J ; eye 5 ; D. XIV-15; A. II, 7; scales 6-75-17; top of head rough; profile convex from dorsal to occiput, thence concave to snout, which projects ; cheeks scaly ; opercles nearly naked ; preopercle and shoulder girdle serrated ; teeth in villiform bands ; branchioste- gals 7 ; scales strongly ctenoid. THE PIKE-PERCH {Stizostedion vitreum) The pike-perch or wall-eye was first described by Dr. Mitchill in 1818, from Cayuga Lake, New York. He named it vitrea in allusion to its large vitreous or glassy eye. It would have been indeed fortunate if the name glass-eye or wall-eye, with or without the suffix perch, had been adopted; for this fine fish is a true perch, with nothing "pike- like " in form or habits, except its large mouth and canine teeth, and nothing " salmon-like " except its trimly-shaped body. But these fancied resemblances have caused it to be called in vari- ous localities wall-eyed pike, yellow pike, blue pike, glass-eyed pike, salmon, and jack salmon. It is also known in Canada as dore and okow, and among the commercial fishermen as "pick- 158 Bass, Pike, and Perch erel." However, the names pike-perch and wall- eyed pike have been rather universally adopted, and it will probably be always known by these names. Pike-perch is the Anglicized form of Lucioperca, the Latin name of the genus in Europe. It is abundant in Canada and the Great Lake region, and fairly abundant in the upper Missis- sippi River and its tributaries, and especially in Lake Pepin. It is found also in the lake region of northern Minnesota, and in the lakes and streams of Wisconsin and Iowa. It is not un- common in the upper Ohio River and tributaries, south to Tennessee. On the Atlantic slope it is more rarely found from Pennsylvania to Georgia, where it often exists in brackish water. I have taken it in my boyhood days at Ferry Bar, a point on the Patapsco River, near Baltimore, Maryland. Its range is being constantly ex- tended by transplantation. The pike-perch is a very trimly-built and shapely fish. Its body is rather slender, not much compressed. The head is well shaped, neither too large nor too small, with a large mouth well filled with teeth, some quite long and sharp. The eye is very large and glassy. Like all the perches it has two dorsal The Perch Family 159 fins, well separated; the caudal fin is forked. The scales are small and rough. The edge of the cheek-bone is toothed or serrated, and the edge of the gill-cover has one or more small spines. The color varies considerably in differ- ent localities, and even in the same waters. The usual color is olive, or greenish brown, mottled with brassy or yellowish blotches forming oblique but indistinct lines, or vermicular markings. The head is similarly colored and marked ; the lower jaw is reddish ; the belly and lower fins pinkish or yellowish; the first dorsal fin is not much marked, but has a large black blotch on its pos- terior border; the second dorsal fin is mottled with olive, brown, and yellow; the caudal fin is likewise mottled, with the tip of the lower lobe white or light colored. The pike-perch frequents waters of good depth, only entering the shallow portions of streams and lakes at spawning time, and at night when feed- ing. It prefers a bottom of rock or gravel in clear and cool water, and loves to lie in the deep pools at the foot of riffies, or at the entrance of streams ; or where the current is strong and deep near mill-dams and under sunken logs, or shelv- ing rocks and banks, and about the timbers of i6o Bass, Pike, and Perch bridges in deep water. It is nocturnal in its habits, for which it is well fitted by its large and prominent eye, and seeks its prey, which con- sists mostly of small fishes, in shallow water. It spawns in the spring, and in lakes usually resorts to its spawning grounds in the winter, where it is caught through the ice in large num- bers in certain localities, notably in Put-in- Bay on Lake Erie, and in Lake Pepin and other north- ern lakes. It spawns in sand or gravel in shallow water. Its eggs are small, twelve to an inch, and average fifty thousand to a female. After spawn- ing it retires to deeper water, and in summer locates in the deepest pools. During the spring freshets it sometimes ascends smaller streams in its search for food. Its usual weight does not exceed three or four pounds, though it often grows much larger, from ten to twenty pounds. I have seen preserved heads of fish that must have weighed thirty or forty pounds, which had been caught in Kentucky — in Tygert Creek and Kentucky River. It is highly prized as a food-fish, its flesh being white, firm, and flaky, and of an excellent flavor. It is a commercial fish of much importance, especially on Lake Erie, from whence it is shipped in large numbers to the city markets, where it always com- The Perch Family i6i mands a ready sale, being in great demand during the Lenten season. The pike-perch is a good game-fish, taking live bait eagerly, and rising pretty well to the fly. When hooked it is a vigorous fighter, pulling strongly and lustily. It does not exhibit much dash or take line rapidly, but swims away rather slowly, but at the same time is constantly tugging and jerking on the line in such a manner as to require careful handling with light tackle. Or- dinary black-bass rods and tackle are well suited for the pike-perch up to six or eight pounds, either for bait-fishing or fly-fishing. Where they are found in considerable numbers, and especially on lakes where pickerel or pike abound, gimp snells should be used instead of gut snells to withstand their sharp teeth; otherwise the tackle may be the same as recommended for black-bass fishing. The best bait is a live minnow, though crawfish are successfully used. On lakes it should be fished for in comparatively deep water, over pebbly or rocky bottom. On streams the likely places are in deep and swift water, at the foot of rapids, or on a rocky lee shore with a brisk wind, where it congregates in search of minnows that are ren- dered almost helpless by the churning water. 1 62 Bass, Pike, and Percb Owing to its nocturnal habits, the hours from about sunset until dark are the most favorable. Night fishing is also quite successful should any one care for it. As a matter of experiment I fished Pewaukee Lake, in Wisconsin, one moon- lit evening in summer, many years ago, in com- pany with three other anglers, there being two to a boat. In a few hours twenty-two were landed to each boat, weighing from three to four pounds each. This was my only experience in fishing for pike-perch at night, but I have known many others to practise it very successfully. Fly-fishing is most successful from about sun- down until dark, or later, and on cloudy days also during the afternoon. Two flies on a four-foot leader may be used, one of which should be a light-colored one, as the coachman, or white miller ; the other may be any of the hackles or the stone fly, oriole, gray drake, polka, professor, or Montreal. The same instructions concerning fly- fishing for black-bass may be profitably followed for the pike-perch, allowing the flies to sink two or three feet after each cast, though it is a more uncertain fish to locate, being much given to roaming in its search for food at different seasons. The Perch Family 163 Years ago I had fine sport on several occa- sions, about sundown, fly-fishing for pike-perch from the bridge over Neenah channel, the outlet of Lake Winnebago, in Wisconsin. It was really the best fishing I have ever had for this fish. All the conditions seemed to be just right, and they responded eagerly to the coachman and oriole at first, but at the approach of dusk they preferred the dusty miller and gray hackle. The fish averaged three pounds, and in the swift water were quite gamy. I have been very successful, on many occasions, fly-fishing on the Muskingum River, in Ohio, fishing just below the dams late in the afternoon ; and also about the rocky tow-heads on the upper Ohio River, — the fish, however, averaging only about a pound. But taking everything into consideration, the character of the stream and its surroundings, I think I have had the most enjoyable experience with the pike-perch, both in fly-fishing and bait- fishing, on Rock River, Wisconsin, in the south- ern part of the state. It is a beautiful, rocky river in places, an ideal stream for wading. The fish also were of good size, running up to five or six pounds. In fishing for pike-perch in different parts of 1 64 Bass, Pike, and Percb the country I have noticed its variableness of coloration, which might be inferred from some of its names, as gray pike, yellow pike, blue pike, white salmon, etc. As I remember them, those caught in brackish water in Maryland were quite greenish, with silvery reflections and with dark markings. On Lake Erie the coloration varies somewhat with age, the younger ones being known as blue pike, the mature fish as yellow pike, and the oldest and largest as gray pike. On the rivers of the Middle West that are subject to periods of high and muddy water they are much paler. On the many pine-fringed lakes in northern Wisconsin and Minnesota the variation in color is quite apparent, both as to the ground color and markings. The older fish are very dark and dull on the back, and the younger ones much brighter. THE SAUGER {Stizostedion canadense) The sauger was first described by C. H. Smith, in 1834, who named it canadensis, from having collected his type specimens in Canada. It is also known as jack, sand-pike, gray-pike, and rattlesnake pike. It is closely related to the pike-perch, though smaller and more slender, with The Perch Family 165 a more pointed head and smaller eye. It is dis- tributed through the Great Lake region and in the upper portions of the Missouri, Mississippi, and Ohio rivers. It grows to a length of twelve to fifteen inches. Its color is paler than the pike- perch, grayish above, with brassy sides, which are marked by several blackish blotches or patches, hence "rattlesnake pike." It is not nearly so good a food-fish as the pike- perch, and is not of much importance as a game- fish. It may be fished for with the same tackle as that recommended for the calico-bass or crappie, in the same situations mentioned for the pike-perch. I have taken it with a gaudy fly on the Ohio and Muskingum rivers, in Ohio, and in the Big Sandy and Tygert Creek, in Kentucky ; also by still-fish- ing and trolling on Lake Erie about the Bass Islands. The meaning or etymology of the name " sauger " is unknown. THE YELLOW-PERCH ( Perca flavescens) The yellow-perch was first described by Dr. Mitchill in 18 14, from the vicinity of New York. He named it flavescens, " yellowish," owing to its coloration. It is closely allied to the perch of 1 66 Bass, Pike, and Perch Europe. It is commonly known as perch or yellow-perch, also as ringed-perch and raccoon- perch. It is abundant in the Great Lake region and in coastwise streams of the Atlantic slope from Nova Scotia to North Carolina. It is also common in some of the tributaries of the upper Mississippi River and in certain lakes in northern Indiana. It is a handsome fish, well propor- tioned, and of a lively disposition. It has a shapely body, with a depth of about one-third of its length, somewhat compressed, and with an arching back. The mouth is moderate in size, with bands of small, bristlelike teeth, but no ca- nines, and has a projecting snout. The head is not quite one-third of the length of the body. Its back is dark olive, sides bright golden yellow, belly pale or pinkish, with half a dozen or more broad, dark, vertical bars. The lower fins are bright red or orange. While the coloration varies somewhat in different situations it is always brill- iant, rendering it one of the handsomest fishes among the fresh-water species. The yellow-perch is gregarious, always in schools, and the fish of a school will be about of a uniform size, be that great or small. It fre- quents waters of a moderate depth in streams or The Perch Family 167 lakes or ponds. In streams, early in the spring, it frequently resorts to the edge or foot of riffles, when feeding, but later prefers the deeper water under mill-dams and about the submerged tim- bers of bridges, and the still water under hollow banks, or in the eddies of old logs, rocks, etc. It is averse to a muddy bottom in fresh water, but along the eastern coast it is often found on the weedy shoals of shallow bays in brackish water. In my boyhood days it was a prime favorite with myself and companions. We sought it on the mud-flats, among the water-plants, of the Patapsco River, near Baltimore. It was there known as " yellow Ned," and was considered a good pan-fish. In Lake Michigan, after leaving its winter quarters in the spring, it fairly swarms about the piers and wharves of Chicago and other towns, where it is caught by thousands by men, women, and children with hand-lines, rods, and dip-nets. It is a very predaceous fish and feeds principally on small minnows and the young of other fishes, also on crawfish, tadpoles, small frogs, insects, etc. In large waters it grows to a pound or two in weight, sometimes more. Usually it is much smaller, a half-pound perch being a good-sized fish in most localities. In midsummer, in weedy 1 68 Bass, Pike, and Perch ponds, it is not good ; but at other seasons, or in clear, cold water, it is an excellent pan-fish, firm and flaky. In brackish water it is good at all seasons. Whenever it has a muddy taste, it should be skinned, by which the objectionable flavor is removed almost entirely, and owing to its adherent scales it is the best plan for dressing it. It spawns early in the spring, in March and April, though in very cold waters not until May. The eggs are about twelve to the inch, and are held together by a glutinous substance in long, ribbonlike masses from two to six feet in length, and from an inch to three or four inches wide. Light trout tackle, either for bait-fishing or fly- fishing, is suitable for the yellow-perch for those anglers who can appreciate the pleasure to be derived only by the use of appropriate and ele- gant tackle for any kind of fishing, and a pound perch is well worthy of such implements. With a fly-rod of a few ounces, a light click reel, an enamelled silk line, and a small leader and flies on hooks No. 7, the yellow-perch will not disap- point the most exacting angler who has a true love for the sport. Under such circumstances it is a good game-fish, eager to rise, bold to a de- gree, and fights to a finish. The Perch Family 169 Most of the flies used for black-bass, as coach- man, polka, oriole, professor. Abbey, etc., are suc- cessful, as well as the hackles of various shades, and occasionally red ibis and stone fly. The late afternoon hours are to be preferred for fly-fish- ing. The flies should be allowed to sink with each cast, after being fluttered on the surface a few seconds. In the absence of a more suitable rod, a light one of native cane, nine or ten feet long, will do good service without a reel. The line should be the smallest " sea-grass," or twisted silk. Hooks Nos. 5 or 6, on gut snells, with a small brass box- swivel for connecting snell and line, make up the rest of the tackle. The most taking bait is a small minnow, but grasshoppers, crickets, white grubs, or earth- worms are good. In tidal waters the shrimp is preferred. But in the absence of any of these baits, cut-bait, either fish or flesh, may be used with good results, for the yellow-perch is not very particular or fastidious. Large perch are also easily taken by trolling with the minnow, or a very small spoon on lakes or ponds. If the spoon is employed, but a single hook should be used, and that not too large. I am not an 170 Bass, Pike, and Perch advocate, however, for trolling for so small a fish, and merely mention it as one of the ways and means that may be followed. There are men who never rise above this method for any game-fish, but they are more to be pitied than blamed. They either lack the skill to practise more approved methods, or are too indolent to learn them. The yellow-perch has been introduced into some waters west of the Rockies. A few weigh- ing about a pound were sent to me from a lake about forty miles west of Spokane, which were of exceptionally bright coloration and good flavor. In the same box were two pike of about four pounds each, and a large-mouth black-bass of eight pounds, dressed, and very fat, plump, and delicious. These fish were the result of a sin- gle plant by the United States Fish Commission some years ago. On the Missouri River, a few miles above the Great Falls, a large lake has been formed by an expansion of the river, caused by building a dam for an electric light plant. Several years ago some yellow-perch were placed in this lake, or in the river just above it, but by whom I have not been able to ascertain. At all events, the lake now swarms with perch, strings of one The Perch Family 171 hundred or more not being an uncommon catch in a single day, as I am credibly informed. As the water above the forks of the Missouri River is too cold for the perch, and the water of the lake too warm for trout or grayling, there seems to be no probability of any harm resulting from the introduction of the yellow-perch, though it was not a wise thing to do. About the only fish in that portion of the Missouri, before the perch were planted just above the Great Falls, were ling, suckers, and catfish. In the many small lakes near Oconomowoc, Wisconsin, the yellow-perch thrives well. It is caught in the summer by men, women, and chil- dren with almost any kind of bait, and often with the rudest tackle. To the summer visitors it is a source of perennial delight, and an unfailing means of enjoyment to the juvenile anglers. In my day, Genesee Lake, a few miles from Ocono- mowoc, contained some of the largest perch of all the numerous lakes and lakelets. In this lake only the small-mouth bass and yellow-perch were found, no large-mouth bass or pike, and the bass and perch were of about the same size — two pounds. This uniformity of weight did not obtain in any of the other lakes. A basket of 172 Bass, Pike, and Perch perch from Genesee Lake was a handsome sight, and the fish were unusually sweet and savory. During the winter the residents catch yellow- perch through holes cut in the ice in great num- bers, in all of the lakes mentioned. It was here that I devised my " Oconomowoc " bass fly with creamy yellow body, hackle of hairs of deer's tail, cinnamon (woodcock) wings, and tail of ginger; but for the perch of Genesee I found that with a tail of scarlet wool it was more effective. Many a two-pound perch responded to that lure, in days long gone, and as Thoreau says, " It is a true fish, such as the angler loves to put into his basket or hang on top of his willow twig on shady afternoons." CHAPTER VI THE GRAYLING FAMILY {ThymallidcB) Thytnallus signifer. Head 5I; depth 4f; eye 3; D. 24; A. 11; scales 8-88 to 90-11; cceca 18; body elongate, compressed, highest under the anterior portion of the dorsal ; head rather short, subconic, compressed, its upper outline continuous with anterior curve of the back ; mouth moderate, the maxillary ex- tending to below the middle of the eye ; maxillary 6 (?) in head ; jaws about equal ; tongue, in the young, with teeth, which are usually absent in the adult ; eye quite large, rather longer than snout ; scales moderate ; lateral line nearly straight ; a small bare space behind isthmus ; dorsal fin long and high, about 3^ in length of body; adipose fin small; anal fin small; gill-rakers short and slender, about 12 below the angle. Thymallus tricolor. Head 5 ; depth 5^ ; eye 4 ; D. 21 or 22 ; A. 10 ; scales 93 to 98 ; gill-rakers 7 + 12 ; maxillary 2| in head ; dorsal fin 5 1 in length of body. Otherwise much as T. signifer. Thymallus fnoniamis. Head 5; depth 4^; eye 3|; D. 18 to 21; A. 10 or II ; scales 8-82 to 85-10; gill-rakers 5 -|- 12; maxil- lary 3 in head ; dorsal fin 4^ in length of body. Other features much resembling T, signifer and T. tricolor. Owing to the restricted area of Its distribu- tion, the "graceful, ghding grayhng" is known to but comparatively few anglers in America. He who has been so fortunate as to have this 173 174 ^^^55, Pike, and Percb beautiful fish respond to his deftly cast flies, will bear me out in the assertion that for courage, finesse, and all the qualities that constitute a true game-fish, the grayling is the equal of its con- gener, the trout. In France it is known as ombre, in Germany as asche, and in Norway as barren. Among all English-speaking people it is the grayling, though occasionally it is called umber in parts of England. All of these names are somewhat descriptive of its grayish, ashy, or bluish colora- tion. Gliding along in clear, swift water it seems, indeed, a gray shadow ; but fresh out of its native element it becomes a creature of mother-of-pearl, so beautiful and varied are its tints. The graceful outlines and beautifully-moulded proportions of the grayling, together with the satiny sheen and delicate coloration of her adorn- ment, have always impressed me as essentially feminine. The evanescent play of prismatic hues on her shapely and rounded sides, when fresh from the pure and crystal stream she loves so well, reminds one of changeable silk shot with all the colors of the rainbow. Her tall dorsal fin, with its rose-colored spots, she waves as THE ARCTIC GRAYLING Thymallus signifer THE MICHIGAN GRAYLING Thymallus tricolor THE MONTANA GRAYLING Thymallus montams The Grayling Family 175 gracefully and effectually as the nodding plume of a duchess. The grayling was named by the ancients T/iymalhis, owing to a smell of thyme that was said to emanate from the fish when freshly caught. However that may have been in days of old, it is not so now, though an odor of cucumbers is sometimes perceptible when it is just out of the water. But the name, if not the odor, has endured to the present day, for Thy- mallus is still its generic appellation. The gray- lings were formerly included in the salmon family, and are still so considered by European ichthyologists, who include them in the genus Salmo. Dr. Theodore Gill, however, has formed them into a separate family {Thymallidce), owing to the peculiar structure of the skull, whereby the parietal bones meet at the median line, excluding the frontal bones from the supra- occipital ; whereas in the other salmonids the parietals are separated by the intervention of the supra-occipital bone, which connects with the frontals. There are three species in America: one in the Arctic regions, one in Michigan, and one in Montana. To the untrained eye no great 76 Bass, Pike, and Percb difference is apparent between these various species as to form and coloration,^ and their habits are similar, all lovins; clear, cold, and swift water, with gravelly or sandy bottom. They feed on insects and their larvae, small minnows, crustaceans, and such small organisms. They spawn in the spring. The eggs are smaller than trout eggs, running seven to the inch. They hatch in from ten days to two weeks, according to temperature of the water. THE ARCTIC GRAYLING ( Thytnalltis signifer) The Arctic grayling was first described by Sir John Richardson, in 1823, from specimens 1 SPECIFIC CHARACTERIZATIONS OF THE GRAYLINGS T. signifer T. tricolor T. montanus Head in length s\ 5 5 Depth in length 4f S\ M Eye in head 3 4 l\ Maxillary in head 6(?) A 3 Scales 8-88 to 90-1 1 93-98 8-82 to 85-10 Gill-rakers 12 below the angle 7 + 12 5 + 12 Dorsal rays 20-24 21-22 18-21 Height of dorsal fin 3^ in length 5| in length \\ in length The Grayling Family 177 collected at Winter Lake, near Fort Enterprise, in British America. He named it signifer, or " standard-bearer," in allusion to its tall, waving, gayly-colored dorsal fin. It is presumably the oldest and original species, and it is not unlikely that it was transported to Michigan and Mon- tana on an ice-field during the glacial period. It is often called Bach's grayling, in honor of an officer of that name who took the first one on the fly, when with the Arctic expedition of Sir John Franklin, in 1819. It abounds in clear, cold streams of the Mackenzie and Yukon prov- inces in British America, and in Alaska up to the Arctic Ocean. This boreal grayling has a somewhat smaller head than the other species, its upper outline being continuous with the curve of the back. The mouth is small, extend- ing to below the middle of the eye, which latter is larger than in the other graylings, while its dorsal fin is both longer and higher, and contains a few more rays. The sides are purplish gray, darker on the back; head brownish, a blue mark on each side of the lower jaw; the dorsal fins dark gray, splashed with a lighter shade, with rows of deep blue spots edged with red; ventral fins with red and white stripes. Along 178 Bass, Pike, and Perch the sides are scattered a few irregularly-shaped black spots. A friend of mine, an ardent angler, returned recently from Cape Nome and the Yukon, in Alaska, where he resided for several years. He informed me that the grayling is very abundant in the streams of that region, and that he had taken thousands on the fly ; but not knowing that they differed from the Montana grayling, he did not examine them closely. THE MICHIGAN GRAYLING ( Thymallus tricolor) The Michigan grayling was first described by Professor E. D. Cope, in 1865, from specimens from the Au Sable River. He named it tricolor, on account of its handsomely-decorated fins and body. At that time it was abundant in the Au Sable, Manistee, Marquette, Jordan, Pigeon, and other rivers in the northern part of the lower pen- insula of Michigan, and in Otter Creek, near Keweenah, in the upper peninsula. It has a some- what larger head than the Arctic form, its length being about one-fifth of the length of the body ; the outline of the latter does not differ except in not being so prominent over the shoulder. The Grayling Family 179 The coloration is purplish gray with silvery reflections, darker on the back, belly white and iridescent ; sides of head with bright bluish and bronze lustre; sides of the body with small, black, irregular spots; ventral fins with oblique, rose-colored lines ; dorsal with alternate dusky and rose-colored lines below, and alternate rows of dusky green and roseate spots above ; caudal fin dusky with a middle roseate stripe. In 1870-1876 I visited most of the grayling streams in Michigan, and found it abundant, affording fine fishing. At that time it was also in the Boyne, and in Pine Lake and River. I also took it in Lake Michigan while fishing for cisco from the pier at Charlevoix. Fish running from a pound to a pound and a half were common, and occasionally one of two pounds was taken. It is sad to contemplate the gradual disap- pearance of this fish from the once densely populated streams of Michigan. At the present day the angler is fortunate, indeed, who succeeds in taking a brace of grayling where a few years ago his basket was soon filled. This deplorable state of affairs has been brought about by the axe of the lumberman, whose logs, descending i8o Bass, Pike, and Percb the small streams on the spring rise, plough up the spawning beds, smothering the eggs and killing the helpless fry. As brook-trout spawn in the fall they escape this calamity, the fry being old enough in April to take pretty good care of themselves. The decrease of both trout and grayling is commonly attributed to over- fishing; but while this may have its influence to a limited extent in lessening the numbers for a season, other causes must be looked for to account for the permanent depletion of certain waters. A stream or pond will support but a limited number of fish, the number depending on the supply of natural food for both young and mature. By the supply of food on one hand, and the natural enemies of the fish on the other, a certain balance is maintained which if disturbed by, say, overfishing one season, will be restored by natural laws the next. And this state of affairs will continue so long as the natural conditions of the waters remain un- disturbed. By cutting down the pine trees at the sources of the streams and along the small tributaries, which are the spawning grounds of bt)th trout The Grayling Family i8i and grayling, the natural conditions are changed. The scorching rays of the summer sun are admitted where once mosses and ferns and the trailing arbutus luxuriated in the shade of a dense growth of pines and hemlocks and firs. The soil becomes dry, the carpet of green shrivels and dies, and the myriads of insects that once bred and multiplied in the cool and grateful shade, and whose larva} furnish the food for the baby fish, disappear. The brooks and rivulets diminish and vanisli. A page has been torn from the book of nature, and the place that trout and grayling knew so well is known no more forever. THE MONTANA GRAYLING ( Thyinnllus vtontanus) The Montana grayling was collected by Pro- fessor James W. Milner, of the United States Fish Commission, in 1872, from a tributary of the Missouri Kiver, at Camj) Baker, in Montana. He named it moutamis, from the name of the state. Lewis and Clark, however, during their wonderful journey that blazed the western course of empire, described, but did not name it, seventy years before, from fish taken near the head waters of 1 82 Bass, Pike, and Percb the Jefferson River. A few years ago (1898) it was my good fortune to be the first to call attention to this prior description. Knowing that Lewis and Clark ascended the Jefferson nearly to its source in the Rocky Mountains, in 1805, I thought it extremely probable that those remark- ably close observers had mentioned the existence of this beautiful and well-marked species. Upon investigation I found my surmise to be correct. On page 545 of Dr. Elliott Coues's edition (1893) of " The Lewis and Clark Expedition," I found the following : — " Toward evening we formed a drag of bushes, and in about two hours caught 528 very good fish, most of them large trout. Among them we observed for the first time ten or twelve trout of a white or silvery color, except on the back and head, where they are of a bluish cast ; in appear- ance and shape they resemble exactly the speckled trout, except they are not so large, though the scales are much larger ; the flavor is equally good." (In a foot-note Dr. Coues stated that this fish remained unidentified.) The locality where these fish were taken was near the head waters of the Jefferson River, where Lewis and Clark abandoned their canoes and The Grayling Family 183 crossed the Continental Divide on horses pur- chased from the Indians. At this point the gray- ling is abundant to-day, as I know from personal observation, and coexists with the red-throat trout almost to the exclusion of all other species. Lewis and Clark were both remarkable for clear and correct descriptions of the animals and plants met with during their journey, many of which were new to science ; but as they neglected to give them scientific names, others have reaped the honors of many of their discoveries. I pub- lished my identification of the fish in question as being undoubtedly the grayling, and soon after- ward received a letter from Dr. Coues, congratulat- ing me and indorsing my opinion, which he said was certainly correct. The Montana grayling is found only in the tributaries of the Missouri River above the Great Falls. In Sheep and Tenderfoot creeks, tribu- taries of Smith River, in the Little Belt Moun- tains, it is fairly abundant, as it is likewise in the three forks of the Missouri, — the Gallatin, Madi- son, and Jefferson rivers. Its ideal home is in several tributaries at the head of Red Rock Lake, swift gravelly streams, and especially in the upper reaches of the Madison above the upper canon, 1 84 Bass, Pilu\ and Pcrcb where tlie water is rapid, llioiigh unbroken, the bottom being dark obsidian sand, with a succession of pools and shallcnvs. I liave taken fish weigh- ing two pounds in Beaver Creek, in the upper canon, which is also an ideal stream. Such sit- uations are peculiarly adapted to the grayling, being preferred to the broken water of rocky streams so much favored by trout. The Montana grayling is a trimmer-built fish than its Michigan cousin, being not quite so deep, proportionally, and with larger scales. Its dorsal fin is about the same height, but with one or two less rays. Its back is gray, with purplish reflections; sides lighter, with lilac, pink, and silvery reflections ; belly pearly white. It has a few irregularly- shaped black spots on the anterior part of the body, but none posteriorly as sometimes on the Michigan grayling. It has two oblong dark blotches in the cleft of the lower jaw, and a heavy dark line running from the ventrals to the pectoral fin ; these markings are more pronounced in the male, being quite faint or wanting in the female. The dorsal fin has a rosy-red border, six or seven rows of roseate, roundish spots, ocellated with white, and gray blotches form lines between the The Grayling Family 185 rows of red spots ; in the upper, posterior angle of the dorsal fin are several larger oblong rosy spots; the ventral fins have three rose-colored stripes along the rays ; the pectoral and anal fins are plain ; the caudal fin is forked. As a game-fish the grayling is fully the equal of the trout, though its way of taking the artificial fly is quite different, and the old hand at trout fishing must pay court to *' the lady of the streams " with the greatest assiduity before he is successful in winning her attention to his lures. And even then he must become fully conversant with her coy and coquettish way of accepting his offer, though it be cast never so deftly. There is a rush and snap and vim in the rise of a trout to the fly that is lacking with the grayling. The trout often leaps above the water to seize the fly, while it is taken more quietly and deliberately, though just as eagerly, by the grayling from below. In other words, it is " sucked in," as English anglers term it, though that hardly ex- presses it, as the act is not so tame as might be inferred. On the contrary, the grayling rises from the bottom of a pool and darts upward like an arrow to seize the fly, though as a rule it does not break water, and is not so demonstrative as 1 86 Bass, Pike, and Perch the trout; but it seldom misses the mark, if the fly is small enough, which the trout often does. Sometimes the grayling will rise a dozen times to a fly, and for some reason refuse it, but will take it at the very next cast. Just why this is so is one of the unanswerable problems that often vexes or confounds the angler. Presumably the fly is too large, or is not presented in just the right way to please her ladyship. But the angler should not despair under such circumstances, but remember the old couplet, " If at first you don't succeed, try, try again." Moreover, he must re- member that he is fishing for grayling, not for trout. He must not cast on a riffle, or at its head, but below, in the eddy or still water, where it is deepest. There lie the large fish, though small ones may be in the shallower water, and it is the latter that perplex one by their antics, oftentimes leaping over one's flies in play. Trout generally lie in ambush beneath the bank, shelving rocks, or roots, usually in shallow water, from whence they rush with tigerlike feroc- ity upon the fly, often leaping over it in their eagerness for the fancied prey. On the contrary, grayling lie on the bottom of pools, in swift The Grayling Family 187 water, entirely in the open. They are also gre- garious, assembling in schools, while the trout is a lone watcher from his hidden lair. Some dry fly-fishers of England, echoing the opinion of Charles Cotton, term the grayling a " dead-hearted fish " that must be taken with a wet or sunken fly. This idea of its lack of game- ness is implied in Tennyson's lines : — " Here and there a lusty trout, And here and there a grayhng." As the English grayling grows only to half of the weight of the trout, it suffers by comparison when killed on the heavy rods of our English brothers. Their assertion, also, that the grayling has a tender mouth, and must be handled gin- gerly, is another fallacy, inasmuch as it has as tough lips as the trout, but the smaller hooks of grayling flies do not hold so firmly as the larger and stronger hooks of trout flies. It must not be supposed that the grayling is not a leaping fish because it takes the fly from beneath the surface of the water. On the con- trary, in its playful moods it may be seen leaping above the surface the same as a trout, and more- over it breaks water repeatedly after being hooked, 1 88 Bass, Pike, and Perch which the trout seldom does. It puts up a stiff fight also beneath the surface, being much aided in its resistance by its tall dorsal fin. It is no disparagement, then, to the gamesome trout, to declare the grayling its equal when of similar size and weight. Grayling fishing has been practised in England for centuries. In addition to fly-fishing, swim- ming the maggot, where a tiny float is used, is a common method. An artificial bait, called the grasshopper, is likewise employed. While gray- ling are taken during the trout season, in spring and summer, the most successful season seems to be from September to December, when they are at their best, both as to gameness and condition. With English anglers the universal practice is to fish up-stream, as the fish are not so apt to see the angler, and that plan undoubtedly has its advantages in the clear and shallow streams of England. In fishing for grayling, however, it is advised by some of their best anglers to cast across the stream, instead of above, and allow the flies to float down. No reason is given for this deviation from the generally accepted method with trout; but I imagine that as grayling lie on the bottom of deep pools, it has been found by The Grayling Family 189 experience that they are not so apt to see the angler as other species in mid-water or near the surface, especially in the clear chalk streams. In America, the streams being deeper, the ne- cessity for fishing up-stream is not so apparent. Fishing down-stream is by far the best plan, for obvious reasons, if the angler wades slowly and cautiously, so as not to roil the water. The prin- cipal reason is that one's line is always straight and taut in swift water, and the flies can be more easily controlled and floated down over the fish, which always heads up-stream. Upon hooking the fish it can be drawn to one side, whereby the other fish in the pool are not much more alarmed than in the case of casting up or across. Casting across seems to be really a concession to the advantage of fishing down-stream. The fly-rod, reel, line, and leader ordinarily employed for trout-fishing may be used also for grayling, though I would advise some modifica- tions. While a first-class split-bamboo rod of three and a half or four ounces may be advanta- geously used by an angler who knows how to handle a very light rod, I prefer one of five or six ounces. Such a rod is certainly light enough to be used all day without fatigue, and it is well to have the iQo Bass, Pike, and Perch resourceful reserve of an ounce or two for emer- gencies. In any case it should not exceed ten and one-half feet in length, if built on the modern plan, where most of the pliancy is in its upper two-thirds, the lower third being stififish and springy, constituting its backbone. A very good rod can be constructed with ash butt, and lance- wood, greenheart, or bethabara upper pieces, and one that will be almost as light as split-bamboo, and certainly more serviceable in the long run. I would also advise flush, non-dowelled joints, and reel-bands instead of a solid reel-seat, the lat- ter being of no advantage and only adding to the weight of the rod; moreover, it is now put on the cheapest rods to make them sell. A plain groove for the reel, with bands, is very much better. As a matter of course the line should be of braided silk, enamelled, and suited to the weight of the rod, as small as size G, but not larger than size E. It may be level, but a tapered line is better for casting, and is also better adapted for the delicate leader that must be employed. A tapered leader six feet long is best, but should not be shorter than four feet. It must be made of the very best silkworm gut fibre, round, clear, and unstained. The distal end should be The Grayling Family 191 made of the finest drawn gut, known as gossamer, and taper to the larger or proximal end, which should be the smallest undrawn gut. In England the most delicate leaders and ex- tremely small flies are employed for grayling. The flies are usually tied on Pennell hooks, turn- down eye, sizes o, 00, 000, Kendal scale, which are smaller than No. 12, Redditch scale, the latter being the smallest size commonly used in Amer- ica. The favorite flies in England have yellowish — lemon to orange — bodies, and bodies of pea- cock harl, either green or bronze. Flies with purplish, black, or slate-colored bodies are more sparingly employed. They are either hackles or split-winged flies. The formulas for some of the favorites are as follows: — Red Tag. Body bright green harl from the " moon " of a peacock's feather ; hackle, bright red cock's hackle ; tag, bright red wool ; hook, No. o, Kendal scale. Orange Bufnble. Body, orange floss silk, ribbed with a strand of peacock's sword feather and fine flat gold tinsel ; hackle, honey dun cock, wrapped all down the body ; hook No. o, Kendal scale. Green Insect. Body, bright green peacock's harl ; hackled with a soft silver-gray hen's feather ; hook No. o, Kendal scale. Bradshaw's Fancy. Body, copper-colored peacock's harl ; hackled with a feather from the neck of a Norwegian crow ; tag, bright crimson wool or silk, with a couple of turns of the same at the head ; tying silk, dark purple ; hook No. o, Kendal scale. 192 Bass, Pike, aitd Perch Claret Bumble. Body, claret floss silk, ribbed with a strand of pea- cock's sword feather ; medium blue dun cock's hackle ; hook, No. o, Kendal scale. Most of the foregoing are fancy flies, but are considered the best killers on English waters. In this country it has been demonstrated, also, that flies with bodies of peacock harl, or with yellow- ish bodies, have been more uniformly successful than others. From this it would appear that the predilection of grayling for certain colors in arti- ficial flies is much the same both in this country and England. From my own experience I can recommend the following well-known flies, adding, however, that their construction should be a little different from the conventional trout flies of these names in having a red tag or tail of scarlet wool, instead of the usual tail, and in having nar- row split wings instead of the regular style of full wings: — Yellowish-bodied flies : professor, queen of the water, Oconomowoc, Lord Baltimore. Green- bodied flies : coachman, Henshall,and grizzly king. Other useful flies are black gnat, cinnamon, iron- blue dun, oriole, red ant, gray hackle, and black hackle. They should all be tied on Sproat or O'Shaughnessy hooks, No. 12, Redditch or com- The Grayling Family 193 mon scale. Two flies only should be used in a cast, and of different colors. Bearing in mind that the portions of a stream mostly used by grayling are the sandy and grav- elly pools in swift, smooth water, they are fished for in much the same way as trout, except that the flies are allowed to sink below the surface, very much as in black-bass fishing. It is very important that the line and leader are always taut, inasmuch as the rise of the fish is not always seen, except as a quick flash or shadow beneath the surface. With a tight line the fish will be more apt to hook itself. With the small hooks of gray- ling flies, it is not wise for the angler to attempt to " strike," as in trout or black-bass fishing. Upon hooking the fish it should be led sidewise from the pool, if possible, so as not to disturb or frighten the others of the school ; and for the same reason it should be kept near the surface until taken into the landing-net. Either a light trout bait-rod or the fly-rod may be employed for bait-fishing for grayling, with fine silk line, leader, and hooks Nos. 6 to 8 with a split-shot sinker a foot above the hook. Eng- lish anglers use a small float, but in fishing down- stream it is not advisable, as the current prevents 194 Bass, Pike, and Perch the bait from touching the bottom, and renders the use of a float for this purpose unnecessary. The bait should be kept from six inches to a foot above the bottom. The best bait is the larva of the caddis-fly, a small worm or caterpillar encased in a bag or covering composed of bits of bark, sticks, etc. ; it is known in the Rocky Mountain region as the " rockworm." Earthworms, small grasshoppers, crickets, and grubs of various kinds are also useful. When it became known to iishculturists, about 1874, that the grayling existed in Michigan, attempts were made to propagate it artificially, but without success, as the same lines were pursued as with the brook-trout. It remained for the United States Fish Commission to success- fully cope with the problem in Montana, under my supervision. Beginning with 1898, we have hatched millions at Bozeman Station and the auxiliary station near Red Rock Lake, at the head of the Jef¥erson River. We have also shipped millions of eggs to different parts of the Union, as far east as Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont, mostly to United States Fish Commis- sion stations, where they were hatched and planted in suitable streams. It is to be hoped that some The Grayling Family 195 of these plants will result in the permanent establishment of this beautiful and desirable fish in eastern waters. The eggs of the grayling are smaller than those of the trout, being but one-seventh of an inch in diameter. When first extruded they are amber- colored, owing to a large oil-drop, which renders them lighter than trout eggs, almost semi-buoyant, and for this reason are best hatched, or at least "eyed," in hatching jars. My plan is to keep them in the hatching jars until the eye-spots show, when they are removed to hatching-trays until incubation is complete. In a few days after extrusion the eggs become crystal-like or hyaline in color, when the embryo can be seen in motion. The period of incubation is from ten days to two weeks. The fry when hatched are very small, about the size of mosquito " wigglers " (larvae). Their umbilical yolk-sac is absorbed in a few days, when it becomes impera^ tive to supply them with stream water, which contains the small organisms {Eniomostraca) on which they feed at first. Afterward they can be fed artificially the same as trout fry, which they soon outgrow. There is an erroneous opinion that has gained 196 Bass, Pike, and Pcrcb considerable currency among anglers to the effect that grayling and trout are antagonistic, and that to this cause is to be attributed the decrease of grayling in the waters of Michigan. My observations have led me to the conclusion that this opinion is not supported by any evidence whatever. When I fished the streams of that state, years ago, both trout and grayling were plentiful in the same waters, and were living in harmony as they had done from time immemorial. Their habits and choice of locality being different, the trout hiding under cover and the grayling lying in exposed pools, their struggle for exist- ence or supremacy does not bring them much in opposition, or cause them to prey on each other or on their eggs or fry in an unusual degree, or to such an extent as to effect the marked decrease of either species. Honors are even. It is the same in Montana. In that state the red-throat trout and grayling seek out such portions of the streams as are best suited to them; but very often they are found together on neutral ground, w^iere they live peaceably and not at variance with each other. As no disturbing element has yet been intro- duced, their numbers still bear the same relative proportion that has existed since the days of yore. The Grayling Family 197 Likewise in England, in such historic waters as the Wye, the Derwent, the Wharfe, or the Dove, hallowed by " meek Walton's heavenly memory," the grayling and trout still coexist in about the same relative proportion that has been maintained since and before the days of Dame Juliana Berners, Izaak Walton, and Charles Cotton in the fifteenth century. On those quiet streams no cause has ever been allowed to militate against the well-being of either species, or to disturb the natural conditions to any considerable extent. In a recent number of the London Fishi7ig Gazette is one of the best articles on the English grayling that I have ever seen. It is written by Mr. E. F. Goodwin, who is undoubtedly fully conversant with his theme and well acquainted with the habits of that fish. Among other things he says : — " When in season I maintain that the grayling will give excellent sport on suitable tackle, is splendid eating, and is as handsome a fish as any angler need wish to gaze upon. What more can one want } How Charles Cotton could have written in such terms of condemnation of the sporting qualities of this fish as to call him ' one 198 Bass, Pike, and Perch of the deadest-hearted fishes in the world, and the bigger he is the more easily taken,' passes my understanding, although we must remember that this remark was passed to * Viator ' on his catching a grayling in the early part of March, when the fish would be out of condition in all probability. I confess to a feeling of disappoint- ment at the summary way in which Walton dis- misses the grayling, showing that he did not think very highly of him either from an edible or sporting point of view. " Grayling will rise readily to the artificial fly, and although they will come again time after time if missed (or perhaps I should say if they miss the fly, which is more usual), they require the neatest and finest tackle and the most deli- cate handling to secure them ; and as Francis Francis truly says, 'when you have hooked a grayling, your next job is to land him.' . . . There is a lot of difference between the way a well-conditioned trout and grayling fight after being hooked, and this may account for some of the condemnation heaped upon the latter as to its non-sportive character ; for although not so lively as the trout with its mad rushes for liberty, yet the kind of resistance is more dangerous to The Grayling Family 199 the hold you have on him, for the grayling tries the hold of the hook in every possible way, and from every possible point of that hold. To my mind a grayling is much more difficult to land than a trout, and the more I fish for grayling the more convinced I am of his game- ness and sporting qualities. Certainly there are a great many more grayling lost after being hooked than trout, and this is accounted for prin- cipally not so much from the reputed tenderness of the mouth as from the fact of the fish not being so firmly hooked as the trout usually is. " The ideas of grayling not heading up-stream and of being deleterious to the trout have been perpetuated by author after author, just copying one another without really ascertaining the facts. . . . As regards the advisability of introducing grayling into a trout stream, that depends en- tirely upon the nature of the river. As far as my experience and observation go, grayling only become detrimental to the trout in that, being active and voracious feeders, they consume the food that otherwise would have belonged to and been partaken of by the trout. It is certain that these fish live together in general amity. The grayling is but seldom a fish eater, and therefore 200 Bass, Pike, and Perch any accusation as to its being destructive to the fry of trout is untenable. That it, in the trout- spawning season, may help itself to what it can find of the superfluous ova which float down the stream no one can object to, but as to its burrow- ing in the redds and disturbing the hatching ova, I very much doubt it. Both the late Dr. Brunton and Dr. Hamilton were very strong in their assertion that this was a matter of impossibility with the grayling, and yet we are assured by Dr. James A. Henshall that the fry of grayling are as much addicted to cannibalism as the pike- perch fry." After giving a brief space to natural bait- fishing, he goes on to say : " But after all there is only one way in which this fish should be caught, and that is with the fly. This ground has been gone over so many times that it only remains for me to say that, the grayling being a bold and daring riser, never be discouraged if you fail to hook him, even if he rise at your fly time after time. He lies very low in the river when watching for his prey, and therefore is not so easily disturbed ; and if you remain quite still when he has risen and missed the fly and gone down to his lair, he will surely rise again. His THE MORE SPORTSMANLY WAY OF CATCHING MASCALONGE The Grayling Family 201 rise, too, is different to a trout. A trout, from lying close to the surface when feeding, takes without effort the flies floating over him, and also is easily scared. A grayling, from lying deep in the water, quite close to the bottom, comes up with great rapidity, and seldom takes the fly until it has passed him ; and should he miss it, which often happens, disappears so quickly that he may well be compared to a shadow — hence the name of 'umber,' from umbra, a shadow. Should you hook him, up goes his great dorsal fin and down goes his head in his determination to get to his hiding-place, and it depends on his size and gameness, as well as the skill of the angler, whether he succeeds or not. I have often heard anglers complain that grayling are more dif^cult to hook than trout. Experienced anglers are all aware that grayling are not so easily hooked on the rise as trout, but he offers the best compensation in his power by consenting to rise over and over again until if you do not hook him the fault is yours, not his. When he rises at a passing fly he must ascend at lightning speed in order to cover the distance in time to catch it; having done so, he turns instantly head down and descends at the same speed. This is 202 Bass, Pike, and Percb really the 'somersault' so well known to grayling fishers. With a long line it is next to impossible to strike a grayling on the instant, and a taut line in this fishing is of even greater importance than in trout-fishing." I have given the above liberal quotations be- cause the article agrees so well with my own practice in grayling fishing, and accords with the habits of the American graylings as I have ob- served them. CHAPTER VII THE SALMON FAMILY {Salnionid// Siiurifs) The yellow grunt was first noticed by Bloch, in 1790, from the West Indies; but owing to a mistake as to its proper identification it was named siiurus, meaning "squirrel," by Shaw, in 1803, based on Bloch's description and figure. The name squirrel is in allusion to the grunt- ing noise it emits when captured, which is com- pared to the barking of that animal. It is abundant in the West Indies and south to Brazil, and is quite common about Key West. The yellow grunt is very similar to the com- mon grunt in the conformation of its body and fins, but has a rather curved profile instead of a depression in front of the eye. The teeth are simi- lar, with about three strong canines on each side. The scales on the upper part of the body are rela- tively smaller than in the black grunt. Its color is uniformly brassy yellow, with about a dozen longitudinal and distinct stripes of sky-blue, some- what wavy, extending from the snout to the anal The Channel Fishes 327 fin; the fins are yellowish ; the inside of the mouth is scarlet. It grows to about a foot in length, but occasionally to eighteen inches. It is the handsomest in coloration and appearance of all the grunts, and is often called *' boar grunt " by the Key West fishermen. A black-bass bait rod, braided linen line, snelled hooks No. i-o, with sinker adapted to the depth and current of the water, and sea-crawfish, shrimps, prawns, or cut- fish bait, will be found quite applicable for grunt fishing. Although the yellow grunt was known to sci- ence from the West Indies as early as 1790, it was not recorded from the waters of the United States until a century later, when in 1881 I col- lected it at Key West. This is the more remark- able inasmuch as it is rather common along the keys, and is moreover such a striking, well- marked, and handsome species that it is difficult to imagine how it had been overlooked. The field has, however, been pretty well worked since, and many new species have been recorded. The Florida Keys, like the southern portion of the peninsula, are of recent formation, and are underlaid by oolitic and coral limestones. These coralline rocks are formed by the action of the 328 Bass, Pike, and Perch waves and weather on the calcareous secretions of coral polyps, those beautiful "flowers of the sea" which are still building better than they know on the outlying submerged reefs, and where may be seen those tiny "toilers of the sea," madrepores, astreans, maeandrinas, porites, gor- gonias, etc., rivalling in beauty of form and color the most charming and delicate ferns, fungi, mosses, and shrubs. The fishes that frequent the coral reefs are very handsome, both in form and coloration : silvery, rosy, scarlet, brown, and golden bodies, with sky- blue, bright yellow, rosy, or black stripes and bands, or spotted, stellated, and mottled with all the hues of the rainbow; and with jewelled eyes of scarlet, blue, yellow, or black; fins of all colors and shapes, and lips of scarlet red, blue, or silver. THE MARGATE-FISH (^Hcemulon albia/t) The margate-fish, or margate grunt, is the largest of the family, growing to two feet or more in length and eight or ten pounds in weight, though usually it weighs from two to six pounds as taken to market. It was noticed by Catesby in his " History of the Carolinas," in 1 742, and was The Channel Fishes 329 wrongly identified from his description by Wal- baum in 1792. It received its present name from Cuvier and Valenciennes, in 1830, from West Indian specimens; they called it album, meaning " white," as it is the lightest in coloration of any of the grunts. It is much esteemed as a food- fish at Key West. It is abundant from Key West to Brazil, being quite common about the Florida Keys, especially in the immediate vicinity of Key West, being usually found in deep water, except when it approaches the shallows to feed on crustaceans, etc. It is rather a warm-water fish. The margate-fish is of much the same propor- tions, and of similar appearance, as the yellow grunt, but with a more elevated and arching back, and is more compressed. The teeth are in narrow bands, and are somewhat smaller than in the other grunts. The adult fish is whitish, oliva- ceous on the back, with faint spots on the scales of back and sides. The inside of the mouth is orange ; the lips and snout yellowish ; the fins dusky greenish ; a broad but indistinct band ex- tends along the sides. Younger fish are bluish in coloration of body and fins, with dark parallel stripes below. 330 Bass, Pike, and Percb Somewhat larger hooks, say No. • 2-0, and a little heavier line, braided linen, size F, are more suitable for this fish ; otherwise the same tackle and baits can be employed as for the other grunts and channel fishes. THE SAILOR'S CHOICE {Hcemulon parrd) This grunt is sometimes called bastard mar- garet by the Key West fisherman. The name sailor's choice is often wrongly applied to the pin- fish {Lagodon rhomboides) and the pig-fish {Ortho- pristis chry sop terns). The sailor's choice was first described by Desmarest, in 1823, from Ha- vana; he named it parra in honor of the Cuban naturalist, Parra. It is a good pan-fish, eight or ten inches long, usually, but sometimes growing to a foot in length. It is abundant from Key West to Brazil. I have taken it from the line of keys southwest of Cape Florida, and along the mainland from Biscayne Bay to Marco and Lemon Bay on the Gulf coast. Its body is of about the same proportions, and of the same general appearance, as that of the yellow grunt, and it grows to about the same size. The radial formula of its fins and size of The Channel Fishes 331 scales are also much the same. The mouth is smaller, but the teeth are of about the same char- acter. Its color is dull pearly gray, belly grayish, each scale of the body with a distinct olive-brown spot, forming interrupted, oblique, and wavy streaks; fins dusky. The inside of the mouth is not so red as in the other grunts. There is a distinct black spot on the lower edge of the cheek-bone. THE GRAY GRUNT AND FRENCH GRUNT The gray grunt {Hcemulon macrostomum) and the French grunt {Hcsmulon flavolineatum) are not so common about the Florida Keys as the other grunts, but grow to about the same size, and are often taken with them, and with the same baits and the same mode of fishing. THE PIG-FISH {Orthopristis chrysopterus) Another pan-fish belonging to the grunt family and common to the waters of Florida, and one much esteemed as a food-fish, is the pig-fish. It is known as hog-fish in Chesapeake Bay, and sailor's choice on the South Atlantic coast. It was described by Linnaeus, in 1766, from South Carolina. He named it chrysopterus, or "gold 332 Bass, Pike, and Perch fin." Its range extends from the Chesapeake Bay along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts to Florida and Texas, and occasionally it strays as far north as Long Island. It resembles the grunts very much in its gen- eral appearance. Its body is rather more than a third of its length, elevated at the shoulder, and compressed. Its head is a third of the length of the body, with a long, sharp snout and a small mouth placed low. There is a narrow band of slender teeth in each jaw, the outer ones in the upper jaw somewhat larger. The color of the pig-fish is light blue above, shading gradually to silvery below ; the upper lip is marked with blue ; the body scales have a blue centre, the edges with a bronze spot, forming very distinct orange-brown stripes along the rows of scales on the back and sides, those above the lateral line extending obliquely upward and backward, those below be- ing nearly horizontal ; the snout, cheeks, and gill-covers have distinct bronze spots, larger than those of the body ; the inside of the mouth is pale, the back of the mouth somewhat golden in hue ; the dorsal fin is translucent, with bronze spots or shades, the edge of the fin dusky ; the other fins are more or less dusky, with yellowish shades. The Channel Fishes 333 Along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts it resorts to sandy shoals in rather shallow water, but along the Florida Keys it is found also about rocky bars, and on the Gulf coast is often on grassy flats, or wherever crabs, shrimp, beach-fleas, and other crustaceans abound, on which it feeds, prin- cipally, though it is also fond of the young fry of other fishes. It is an excellent pan-fish, of deli- cious flavor, and is a favorite wherever its merits are known. It grows to a length of ten inches, sometimes to twelve or fifteen inches in favorable localities, but in Florida is mostly from six to eight inches in length. It spawns in the spring in April and May. It is much sought after in Chesapeake Bay, and is a favorite food-fish at Norfolk, Virginia, where it is known as hog-fish. It grows there some- what larger, and is also a favorite fish with an- glers. The lightest tackle must be employed for its capture, and hooks Nos. 2 to 3, on gut snells, for it has a small mouth. Sea-crawfish, crab, shrimp, beach-fleas, and other crustaceans are the best baits, though cut conch and fish will answer pretty well. It is a bottom feeder, and sinkers must be used to keep the bait near the fish. 334 Bass, Pike, and Perch THE PORK-FISH {^Anisotremns virginiciis) Another pan-fish of the grunt family {HcBmu- lidcB) is the pork-fish, a handsome and beautifully- marked species. It was named by Linnaeus, in 1758, from South America, though why he called it virgminis, " Virginia," is not known. It is a tropical fish, its range extending from the Florida Keys to Brazil. It is very abundant in the vicin- ity of Key West, and is seen in the markets daily. It has a short, compressed body, its depth be- ing half of its length, with the back very much elevated. Its head is short compared with its height, with a very steep profile, slightly convex in front and very much arched at the nape. The mouth is quite small, with thick lips ; the jaws are armed with bands of sharp, pointed teeth, the outer row enlarged. The ground color of the body is pearly gray; an oblique black bar, as wide as the eye, extends from the nape through the eye to the angle of the mouth ; another broader and jet-black vertical bar extends from the front of the dorsal fin to the base of the pec- toral fin; the interspace between the bars is pearly gray, with yellow spots, becoming conflu- The Channel Fishes 335 ent above ; beginning at the vertical bar and extending backward are half a dozen deep yellow, longitudinal, and parallel stripes, the lower ones reaching the caudal fin ; all of the fins are deep yellow. The pork-fish resorts to the reefs and coralline rocks, feeding on crustaceans, small marine inver- tebrates, and small, soft-shelled mollusks, which it crushes with the blunt teeth in its throat. Its usual size runs from half a pound to a pound, but occasionally grows to two pounds. It should be fished for with very light tackle, about the same as used for the pig-fish, but with smaller hooks. No. 5 or 6, on gut snells, and cut-conch bait, small shrimps, and beach-fleas. The pork-fish has been known from the time of Marcgrave, over two centuries ago, from Brazil, and from the West Indies for many years, but was not recorded from the waters of the United States until i88i, when I collected it near Key West. As in the case of the yellow grunt and the lane snapper, it is surprising that such long- described and well-marked and beautiful species should have been overlooked in our own waters until my collection of that year. 336 Bass, Pike, and Percb THE SNAPPER FAMILY {LutianidcB) This family of perchlike fishes is related to the grunts on one hand, and to the groupers, or sea- basses, on the other. Those to be described here are mostly of small or moderate size, but are all good food-fishes and fair game-fishes. They are abundant along the Florida Keys, and with the exception of the red snapper are caught in a similar manner, and with the same tackle and baits, as the grunts. They are characterized by an oblong body more or less elevated and com- pressed; rough scales, large head and mouth; teeth sharp and unequal ; dorsal fin single, with ten or twelve spines ; anal fin similar in shape to soft dorsal fin, with three spines ; the caudal fin concave. Ocyurus chrysurus. The Yellow-tail. The yellow-tail differs from the other snappers in the formation of the skull, the peculiar form of its body, the large, deeply-forked caudal fin, and the presence of pterygoid teeth. Its body is elliptical, with regu- larly-arched back ; head 3 ; depth 3 ; scales 7-65-15 ; D. X, 13 ; A. Ill, 9; mouth small, oblique, the lower jaw projecting, max- illary reaching front of orbit ; snout pointed ; caudal peduncle long and slender ; eye small, 5 ; interorbital space very convex, with median keel ; upper jaw with a narrow band of viUiform teeth, outside of which is a single series of larger teeth, several in front being caninelike ; a large, oval patch of teeth on tongue ; The Channel Fishes 337 an arrow-shaped patch on the vomer; a narrow band of pterygoid teeth in the adult ; gill-rakers long and slender, 8 + 21. Lutiamcs synagris. The Lane Snapper. Body oblong and com- pressed, back arched and slightly elevated ; profile almost straight ; head 2f ; depth 2| ; eye 5 ; scales 8-60-15 \ D. X, 12 ; A. Ill, 8; mouth moderate, maxillary reaching front of orbit; interorbital space gently convex ; upper jaw with a narrow band of villiform teeth, outside of which a single series of enlarged ones ; lower jaw with villiform band in front only, the row of larger teeth nearly equal in size, none of them canines ; vomer and tongue with each a single patch ; preopercle finely serrate, with coarser teeth at angle ; gill-rakers rather long, 5 -h 9 ; 4 small canines in front of upper jaw. Lutianus ay a. The Red Snapper. Body rather deep, moderately compressed, the back well elevated, profile steep ; head i\ ; depth 2| ; eye 5 J ; scales 8-60-15 ; mouth rather large, maxillary reaching front of orbit ; snout rather pointed ; interorbital space strongly convex ; upper jaw with a narrow band of villiform teeth, and a row of small teeth outside ; lower jaw with a single row of small teeth, some of which are almost caninelike ; within these is a very narrow band of villiform teeth in front of jaw only ; tongue with a broad oval patch of teeth, in front of which a small, irregular patch ; vomer with a broad, arrow-shaped patch ; preopercle with serrated edge above, lower border den- tate ; gill-rakers moderate, 8 on lower arch ; 4 canines in front of upper jaw. Lutianus jocu. The Dog Snapper. Body comparatively deep and compressed; the back elevated and profile straight; head 2.\\ depth i\ ; eye 4| ; scales 8-56-15 ; D. X, 14 ; A. Ill, 8 ; mouth rather large, jaws subequal, maxillary reaching front of orbit; upper jaw with a narrow band of villiform teeth, a single series of larger ones, and 4 canines in front, 2 of them very large ; lower jaw with a narrow, villiform band in front only, and a series of larger teeth outside, some almost caninelike; tongue with a single patch of teeth ; an arrow-shaped patch on vomer ; pre- opercle finely serrate above, coarser teeth at angle ; gill-rakers short and thick, about 9 on lower arch, z 338 Bass, Pike, and Percb Lutianus apodus. The Schoolmaster Snapper. Body comparatively deep, moderately compressed, the back elevated and profile straight; head 2| ; depth 2|; eye 4|; scales 6-43-13; D. X, 14; A. Ill, 8; mouth large, maxillary reaching front of orbit; snout long and pointed ; interorbital space flattish ; upper jaw with a narrow band of villiform teeth, a single series of larger ones outside, and 4 canines in front, one on each side very large ; lower jaw with a narrow, villiform band in front, an en- larged series outside ; tongue with a large, single patch ; an arrow-shaped patch on vomer ; preopercle finely serrate above ; gill-rakers short and thick, about 9 on lower part of arch. THE YELLOW-TAIL {Ocyurus chrysurtis) The yellow-tail is a very handsome fish, and one of the favorite pan-fishes at Key West. It was named ckrysurus, or "gold-tail," by Bloch, in 1790, from its description by Marcgrave in his " Fishes of Brazil." Its habitat is from southern Florida to South America. It is abundant in the vicinity of Key West in the channels between the reefs and keys. The yellow-tail is well proportioned, compressed, and elliptical, being regularly curved from head to tail. Its head is as long as the depth of the body, with a pointed snout; the mouth is rather small, with the lower jaw projecting. The color above is olivaceous, or bluish, below violet ; a broad, deep yellow stripe runs from the snout, through the The Channel Fishes 339 eye, and along the middle of the body to the caudal fin ; above this stripe there are a number of deep yellow blotches, as if made by the finger tips; below the broad yellow stripe are quite a number of narrow, parallel yellow stripes, with violet interspaces; the iris of the eye is scarlet; the very long caudal fin is entirely deep yellow, and the other fins are bordered with yellow. The yellow-tail associates with the grunts and porgies about the coralline rocks in the channels, feeding on small fishes and crustaceans. Its average size is ten or twelve inches in length and nearly a pound in weight, though it some- times is taken up to two feet, and three or four pounds. It is quite a good game-fish and very voracious, eagerly taking sea-crawfish, crab, conch, or small fish bait. Some of the large conchs, as Pyrula and Strombus, will furnish bait for an entire outing, the animal being as large as a child's forearm. Black-bass tackle, with hooks Nos. I to i-o on gut snells, will answer for the yellow-tail. THE LANE SNAPPER {Lutianus synagris ) The lane snapper is another beautiful fish com- mon about the reefs and keys. It was named by 340 Bass, Pike, and Perch Linn^us, in 1758, who called it synagris, as it resembled a related fish of Europe {Dentex dentex)^ whose old name was synagris. Catesby mentioned the lane snapper in his " History of Carolina," in 1743. It is abundant from the Florida Keys to South America, and not uncom- mon on the west coast of Florida, as far north as Tampa Bay, and west to Pensacola. The lane snapper resembles very much the 3'cllow-tail in the shape of its body, which is semi- elliptical in outline, compressed, with the back regularly curved from the snout to the tail; its depth is a little more than a third of its length. Its head is as long as the depth of the body ; the mouth is large, and the snout pointed. It is rose color, tinged with silver below, with a narrow bluish or greenish border on the top of the back ; the belly is white, tinged with yellow ; there are deep yellow stripes along the sides, with indis- tinct, broad, rosy cross bars ; the iris of the eye and the lips are scarlet ; the cheeks and gill- covers are rosy, with blue above ; the pectoral fins are pink, the lower fins yellow, the soft dorsal pink, the spiny dorsal translucent, with yellow border, and the caudal fin scarlet ; there is a large and conspicuous dark blotch just below the front The Channel Fishes 341 part of the soft dorsal fin. The lane snapper feeds on small fishes and crustaceans about the keys and reefs, in rather shallow water. It grows to a foot in length, though usually about eight or nine inches, and is a free biter at the same baits as the yellowtail. While it is freely conceded that the highest branch of angling is casting the artificial fly on inland waters, and that the fullest measure of enjoyment is found only in the pursuit of the salmon, black-bass, trout, or grayling, it must be admitted that salt-water angling likewise has joys and pleasures that are, as Walton says, " Worthy the knowledge and practice of a wise man." And nowhere does salt-water angling offer more charms to the appreciative angler, or appeal to his sense of the curious and beautiful in nature, than along the keys off the southern extremity of the peninsula of Florida. The palm-crowned islets are laved by the waters of the Gulf Stream, as clear and bright and green as an emerald of the purest ray serene. Through their limpid depths are seen the lovely and varied tints of coral polyps, the graceful fronds of sea-feathers and sea-fans in gorgeous hues, and the curious and fantastic coralline caves, amid whose cran- 342 Bass, Pike, and Percb nies and arches swim the most beautiful creations of the finny tribe, whose capture is at once a joy and a dehght. THE RED SNAPPER {Luiianus aya) The red snapper was named aya by Bloch, in 1790, that being the Portuguese name for it in Brazil, according to Marcgrave. It was described by Goode and Bean as a new species, in 1878, and named blackfonii, in honor of Eugene G. Black- ford, of New York, in consideration of his eminent services and interest in fishculture. The red snapper, while not a game-fish, is one of the best known of Florida fishes, inasmuch as it is shipped all over the country as a good dinner fish, its fine, firm flesh bearing transportation well. It is especially abundant in the Gulf of Mexico, in water from ten to fifty fathoms deep, on the " snapper banks," from ten to fifty miles offshore, and thence south to Brazil, occasionally straying north on the Atlantic coast to Long Island. The depth of its body is a little more than a third of its length, being rather deep and com- pressed, the back elevated and regularly arched from the eye to the tail. The head is large, its The Channel Fishes 343 length equal to the depth of the body, with a pointed snout, large mouth, and straight profile. The color of the red snapper is a uniform rose- red, paler on the throat; fins all red, the vertical fins bordered with dusky blue; there is a dark blotch under the front of the soft portion of the dorsal fin, except in the oldest and largest fish; the iris of the eye is scarlet. The red snapper, being a deep-water fish, is seldom found along the shores, and is of no im- portance to the angler. It is a bottom fish, feed- ing in company with the large groupers on small fishes and crustaceans. It grows to twenty or thirty pounds, but its usual size is from five to ten pounds. It spawns in summer. The commercial fishing for the red snapper is done on the " snapper banks " in very deep water. Strong hand-lines and codfish hooks are used, with cut bait. By the time the fish is brought to the surface from the bottom it is almost exhausted, and would afford no sport to the angler. The bringing of the fish from depths where the pressure of the water is so great, to the surface, where it is comparatively so much less, causes the fish to swell up, and the air-bladder to be so filled that the fish would float ; it is there* 344 l^^J^^s, Pike, and Percb fore pricked with a sharp awl to let out the air, as otherwise the fish would not sink in the well of the vessel in which it is carried alive to port. THE DOG SNAPPER (^Liiiianus jocit) The dog snapper is very similar in shape to the red snapper, but is much smaller and of dif- ferent coloration. It was named Jocu by Bloch, in 1801, from Parra's description, in I'jSj, jocu being the Cuban name of the fish. It is called dog snapper, owing to its large canine teeth. Its range extends from the South Atlantic coast to Brazil. It is abundant along the Florida Keys, and very rarely strays along the Atlantic coast northward, but has been taken on the Massachu- setts coast in summer. It has a robust, somewhat compressed body, its depth a third of its length, and the back elevated over the shoulder. Its head is large, somewhat longer than the depth of the body, with a straight profile and a rather long and pointed snout. The ground color of the body is dull red or coppery, dark olivaceous or bluish on the back, with about a dozen lighter-colored vertical stripes across the body ; the cheeks and The Channel Fishes 345 gill-covers are red, with a pale area from the eye to the angle of the mouth ; there is a row of small, round blue spots from the snout to the angle of the gill-cover, also a bluish or dusky stripe ; the upper fins and the caudal fin are mostly orange in color ; the lower fins are yellow, and the iris of the eye red. The dog snapper, like the other snappers, feeds on small fishes and crustaceans. It grows to a foot in length and to a pound or two in weight. It is a good food-fish, selling readily in the mar- kets. It is quite gamy and voracious, and with light tackle is worthy of the angler's skill. Hooks No. i-o or 2-0 on gut snells, and sea-crawfish, or a small minnow, are good baits. THE SCHOOLMASTER (^LutiaiiHs apodus) The schoolmaster snapper was named by Wal- baum, in 1792, based on Catesby's description and figure of the schoolmaster in his " History of Caro- lina," but in his figure he omitted the pectoral fins, for which reason Walbaum named it apoda, mean- ing " without a foot." Its range extends from the Florida Keys to Brazil, and is abundant in the vicinity of Key West, where it is seen daily 346 Bass, Pike, and Percb in the markets. Under favorable conditions of temperature it has been taken on the Massachu- setts coast. The schoolmaster is very similar to the dog snapper in its general form, but differs greatly in coloration. Its body is rather deep and com- pressed, its depth being more than a third of its length, and the back is more elevated than in the dog snapper. The head is large, as long as the depth of the body, with a large mouth ; the pro- file is straight from snout to the nape, thence regularly arched to the tail ; the snout is long and pointed. The predominating color is orange, olivaceous on the back and top of the head, with eight or nine vertical bars across the body, equi- distant, of a pale or bluish white color, the wider interspaces being red ; the cheeks and gill-covers are red, with a row of small blue spots from the snout across the cheeks, just below the eye ; all of the fins are yellow, more or less shaded with red. The schoolmaster grows to about the same size as the dog snapper, usually from eight to ten inches, sometimes to a foot in length, and a pound or two in weight. It feeds on small fishes, crabs, and other crustaceans, and is a good The Channel Fishes 347 food-fish. It is a fairly good game-fish, and on light tackle fights with vigor and considerable resistance. Sproat hooks Nos. i-o and 2-0 are quite suitable, and should be tied on gut snells. A sinker adapted to the strength of the tide must be used in the deep-water channels. Sea-craw- fish, anchovies, or whirligig mullets are good baits. The mangrove snapper [Lutianus griseus) and the mutton-fish {LuHanus analis) are larger snappers and better game-fishes. They are described in another volume of this series. THE PORGY FAMILY {SparidcB) The porgies of Florida belong to the family Sparida; previously described, but not to the same genus as the northern porgy, as the scup is sometimes called. They are characterized by a deep, compressed body, humpbacked, with a large head and deep snout, and with a knob in front of the eye. The mouth is small, with strong, canine- like teeth and molars. Calamus bajonado. The Jolt-head Porgy. Body oblong, com- pressed and elevated over the shoulders ; head 3 ; depth 2f ; eye 3; scales 7-54-17; D. XII, 12; A. Ill, 10; anterior profile evenly curved ; mouth moderate, maxillary not reaching front 34^ Bass, Pike, and Percb of eye; snout long and pointed; teeth strong, conical; anterior teeth enlarged, 2 or 3 on each side in the upper jaw, and 3 or 4 on each side in the lower ; molars in 3 series in the upper, and 2 in the lower jaw ; dorsal fin single with slender spines. Calamus cahumts. The Saucer-eye Porgy. Body oblong, elevated more than the other porgies ; head 3I ; depth 2 ; eye 3f ; scales 9-54-16; D. XII, 12; A. Ill, 10; anterior profile steep ; out- line of snout slightly curved ; mouth small, maxillary not reach- ing front of eye; outer teeth strong, 10 or 12 in number, the outer one in each jaw, on each side, caninelike ; dorsal spines rather strong. Calamus proridens. The Little-head Porgy. Body oblong and much elevated ; head 3J ; depth 2] ; eye 4; scales 9-58-16; D. XII, 12; A. Ill, 10; anterior profile steep and straight ; mouth moderate, maxillary scarcely reaching front of eye; anterior teeth of outer series slightly longer and more robust than those of the cardiform band; on each side of the upper jaw one of these teeth becomes much enlarged, caninelike, directed ob- liquely forward and downward, and strongly curved, the upper surface concave ; there are usually 7 teeth of the outer series between these two canines ; no evident accessory series of molars; dorsal spines slender and high. Calamus arctifrons. The Grass Porgy. Body oblong, but little elevated; head 3^ ; depth 2* ; eye 4| ; scales 6-48-13 ; D. XII, 12; A. Ill, 10; anterior profile unevenly curved, very convex before the eye ; head narrow above ; dorsal outline not forming a regular arch ; a rather sharp angle at nape ; preorbital deep ; canine teeth, 8 in upper jaw and 10 in lower. THE JOLT-HEAD PORGY {Calamus bajonado) This is the largest and most abundant of the porgies. It was described by Bloch, in 1801, who named it bajonado, after the Cuban name given by Parra in his " Natural History of Cuba." THE JOLT-HEAD PORGY Calamus bajonado THE LADY-FISH Albula imlpes THE COBIA Rachycentron canadus The Channel Fishes 349 It is not certain what the name is intended to signify. It may allude to the "bayonet-like," interhaemal bones, or to dajio, meaning a " sand- bank " or "shoal," in allusion to its habitat. The jolt-head is abundant along the Florida Keys, especially in the vicinity of Key West, where it is one of the commonest market fishes ; its range extends to the West Indies. It has a short, deep body, compressed, its depth being half its length ; its back is more regularly arched than in the other porgies, or not so hump- backed. The head is large, with a long, pointed snout, and mouth moderate in size ; the profile is more regularly curved than in the other porgies. The predominating color is dusky or bluish, with brassy reflections ; the upper fins are pale or bluish, more or less mottled with darker shades ; the lower fins are plain ; the cheeks are coppery in hue. The jolt-head resorts to the rocks and reefs, as well as to hard, sandy shoals, feeding on small fishes, crustaceans, and soft-shelled mollusks. It grows usually to eight or ten inches, but often to two feet in length, and six or eight pounds in weight. It is a good food-fish, much in favor with the people of Key West, and is always one 350 Bass, Pike, and Perch of the commonest fishes in the markets. It spawns in the summer. It is very voracious, taking ahnost any kind of bait greedily. It is caught in company with the grunts and snappers, and on the same tackle, which should be light. Hooks Nos. I to 2 are large enough, Sproat-bend preferred on account of its short barb with cutting edges and strong wire. Sinkers adapted to the tide and depth of water must be used. While catching porgies at a lively rate one day I asked my boatman, a Bahama negro, why the big porgy was called "jolt-head." He answered in the cockney dialect peculiar to Bahama fisher- men : " Veil, you see, sir, e 'as a big 'ed and an 'ump back, and 'e butts the rocks like a billy-goat, a-joltin' off the snail-shells and shrimps, and 'e goes a-blunderin' along like a wessel that 'as a bluff bow and a small 'elm. 'E 'as more happetite than gumption, and swallers anythink that comes 'andy, like the jolt-'ed or numbskull that 'e is. 'E is werry heasy to ketch and werry good to heat." THE SAUCER-EYE PORGY (^Caldmiis cti/aMus) This porgy is called " saucer-eye," owing to its having a larger eye than the other porgies. It TAKING BONITO BY TROLLING OFF BLOCK ISLAND The Channel Fishes 351 was first described by Cuvier and Valenciennes, in 1830, from the West Indies. They named it calamus, meaning " quill " or " reed," from the quill- like bones (interhasmal) that articulate with the spines of the anal fin. It is abundant in the West Indies, and is common about the Florida Keys, but not so plentiful as the jolt-head or little-head porgies. It is very similar in conformation to the jolt- head, but is more humpbacked, being quite elevated above the shoulder. The body is short, its depth about half its length. Its head is short and deep, with a thin and gibbous profile, and small mouth. Its color is silvery with bluish reflections ; the scales golden, forming longitu- dinal stripes, with pearly-bluish interspaces; the cheeks and snout are purplish, with round brassy spots ; the fins are pale, blotched with orange ; the iris of the eye is golden. The saucer-eye grows to twelve or fifteen inches in length, and is considered a good pan- fish at Key West, commanding a ready sale. It is found in the same situations as the other porgies, grunts, and snappers, and is equally voracious, taking the proffered bait eagerly. The tackle for this porgy is the same as for the others, consisting 352 Bass, Pike, and Percb of a light rod, multiplying reel, braided linen line, size F or G, three-foot leader, Sproat-bend hooks. No. I or 2, on gut snells, with sinker in accord- ance with the depth of the water and the strength of the tide. Almost any bait will answer, as sea- crawfish, cut conch, or fish. THE LITTLE-HEAD PORGY (^Calamus proridetis') This species was first described by Jordan and Gilbert, in 18S3, from Key West. They named it proridens, meaning " prow tooth," owing to its projecting canines. It is abundant in the West Indies, and is quite common about Key West and the neighboring keys. It is one of the smallest and prettiest of the porgies, and is called little- head in contradistinction to the jolt-head or big- head porg}\ It is almost identical in shape to the saucer-eye porgy, both in head and body. It is brighter in color than the other porgies, being quite silvery with iridescent reflections ; the scales of the upper part of the body have violet spots, forming longitudinal streaks ; those on the lower part have pale orange spots ; the sides have several dark bands ; the snout and cheeks have horizontal, wavy stripes of violet-blue ; the The Channel Fishes 353 dorsal fin is violet, with orange border ; the anal fin is blue ; the caudal fin has an orange band. It is of similar habits to the other porgies, and found with them, but is less common. It is a good pan- fish, growing only to six or eight inches in length. The little-head porgy, though small in size, is equally as voracious as the other porgies, and is well worth catching if only to admire its beauty. The same tackle will answer as for the others, or more especially that mentioned for the saucer- eye, and the same baits can be employed. My Bahama negro boatman, alluded to under the jolt-head, continued his dissertation on the porgies somewhat in this wise : " Now, sir, the little-'ed porgy is a cute little chap ; 'e gits to vind'ard o' the big-'ed, hevry time. 'E doesn't butt 'is 'ed aginst the rocks, a-knockin' the shells, but 'e 'as two long teeth like gouge-chisels, and 'e jist scoops hoff the crawlin' things from the rock-patches as 'andsome as you like. Little-'ed little wit ; big-'ed not a bit ! " THE GRASS PORGY {Calamus ardifrons) This pretty porgy was first described by Goode and Bean, in 1882, from Pensacola, Florida. They 354 Bt^ss, Pike, and Perch named it arcli/rons, meaning "contracted fore- head," owing to the narrow forehead. It has a more extended range in the Gulf of Mexico than the other porgies, being common in grassy situa- tions from Pensacola to Key West ; it is not known from the West Indies. The general outline of the grass porgy is very similar to that of the saucer-eye and little-head porgies, though the back is not quite so elevated ; the profile is unevenly curved, being quite convex in front of the eye. The mouth is slightly larger than in the saucer-eye. Its color is olivaceous, with dark spots, and several dark vertical bars across the body ; many of the scales have pearly spots; there are several yellow spots along the lateral line ; the cheeks are brownish, with yellow shades ; the upper fins are barred or spotted ; the lower fins are paler. It is the smallest of the porgies, but one of the prettiest. It grows to six or eight inches in length. It is mentioned incidentally with the others of its family in order that it may be known to anglers who are so fortunate as to catch it and admire it. The same tackle and bait employed for the others are suitable. It is found usually in grassy situations. CHAPTER XVIII MISCELLANEOUS FISHES THE LADY-FISH {Albula vtdpes) Albula vulpes. The Lady-fish. Body rather elongate, little com- pressed, covered with rather small, brilliantly-silvery scales ; head naked ; snout conic, subquadrangular, shaped like the snout of a pig, and overlapping the small, inferior, horizontal mouth; head 3I; depth 4; scales 9-71-7 ; D. 15; A. 8 ; max- illary rather strong, short, with a distinct supplemental bone, slipping under the membraneous edge of the very broad pre- orbital ; premaxillaries short, not protractile ; lateral margin of upper jaw formed by the maxillaries ; both jaws, vomer and palatines, with bands of villiform teeth ; broad patches of coarse, blunt, paved teeth on the tongue behind and on the sphenoid and pterygoid bones ; opercle moderate, firm ; preopercle with a broad, flat, membraneous edge, which extends backward over the base of the opercle ; gill membranes separate ; no gular plate ; a fold of skin across gill membranes, its free edge crenate ; belly flattish, covered with ordinary scales, not carinate ; eye large, with a bony ridge above it, and almost covered with an annular adipose eyelid. The lady-fish, or bonefish, is the only repre- sentative of the family Albulidce. It has long been known to science through the early voyagers to the southern coasts of America. It was first described by Marcgrave in his " History of Bra- zil," in 1648, and afterward by Catesby, in his 355 356 Bass, Pike, and Perch "History of the Carolinas," in 1737, and named vulpes, or "fox," by Linnceus, in 1758, from a specimen taken at the Bahamas. It inhabits the sandy shores of all warm seas and is, perhaps, the most cosmopolitan of all game-fishes, being known from Asia, Arabia, North and South America, the Pacific Islands, etc. It is common on the coasts of the Atlantic and Pacific in the United States, and is especially abundant in Florida waters, occasionally straying in summer as far north as Lonsf Island. The lady-fish is allied to the herring tribe. It has a long, gracefully-shaped body, nearly round, or but little compressed ; its depth is a fourth of its length ; it has a long head with a projecting, piglike snout, overlapping the small mouth, which is well armed with teeth ; both jaws and the roof of the mouth in front have bands of brushlike teeth, with patches of coarse, blunt, paved teeth on the back of the mouth and tongue. Its color is bluish green above, with metallic reflections ; the sides are very bright and silvery, with faint streaks along the rows of scales; the belly is white, and it feeds on small fishes and crustaceans. Its spawning habits are not well understood, though the young pass through a metamorphosis. Miscellaneous Fishes 357 being band-shaped, with very small head and loose, transparent tissues. I have found them abundant on the Gulf coast of Florida. The lady-fish grows to a length of from one to three feet, and to a weight of from one to twelve pounds, though it is usually taken from two to five pounds. It is a good food-fish, highly esteemed at Key West and in the Bermudas by those who know it best. For its size it is one of the gamest fishes of the seacoast. When hooked it fights as much in the air as in the water, continually leaping above the surface like an animated silver shuttle, to which I likened it more than twenty years ago. It is now becoming better known to anglers who visit Florida in the winter season, who recognize in it much more enjoyable sport on light tackle than they can obtain with the heavy tools required for the tarpon and jewfish. A black-bass rod, or the Little Giant rod of eight ounces, is light enough, as a heavier fish than the lady-fish is apt to be hooked. A good multiplying reel and fifty yards of braided linen line, size F, and Sproat hooks. No. i or 2, on gut snells, will be found eminently suitable. No sinker is needed, as the fishing is done on the 358 Bass, Pike, and Perch ' surface, though a small brass box-swivel may be used to connect the snell and line, as in black- bass fishing. A leader is not necessary, but it may be used if thought best. The bait may be a beach-flea, or a very small, silvery fish, as a sardine, pilchard, or mullet, though a small shell squid, or a trolling-spoon of the size of a nickel, with a single hook, may be employed in lieu of live bait, and is quite successful if kept in constant motion. The min- now is to be hooked through the lips and cast as in black-bass fishing, reeling it in slowly on or near the surface. The fishing may be done from any convenient place near a pass or inlet on the flood tide. A sand-spit at the entrance, or a boat anchored just within the inlet, are desirable places, though good fishing is sometimes available from the end of a pier in a tideway. Fine fishing may also be had at other stages of the tide about offshore reefs and shoals. I have taken the lady-fish, with both fly and bait, in Biscayne Bay, in Cards and Barnes sounds, along the keys to Key West, and at nearly every inlet on the Gulf coast, as far north as Pass-a-Grille, above Tampa Bay, and usually found it associated with the ten-pounder. Miscellaneous Fishes 359 The lady-fish, when hooked, will probably as- tonish the angler who is attached to one for the first time, by its aerial gyrations and quick move- ments. But the rod must be held at an angle of forty-five degrees, so as to maintain a taut line, notwithstanding its constant leaping; for if any slack line is given, it is almost sure to shake out the hook. And as the leaps are made in such quick succession, the only safe plan is to keep the rod bent, either in giving or taking line, or when holding the fish on the strain of the rod. The lady-fish will often take a gaudy black- bass fly, in which event a black-bass fly-rod or a heavy trout fly-rod will come handy, with corre- sponding tackle. A heavy braided linen line, size D, is better suited for salt water than the en- amelled silk line, and will cast a fly nearly as well. The flies advised for the Spanish mackerel will answer as well for the lady-fish, though I have found the silver-doctor and coachman both very taking toward dusk, which is the most favorable time for fly-fishing, though the first half of the flood tide and the last half of the ebb are usually both favorable times about the inlets. Twenty years or more ago I called the atten- tion of northern anglers to the lady-fish, or 360 Bass, Pike, and Perch bone-fish, and the ten-pounder, or bony-fish, as game-fishes of high degree, and accorded equal praise to both species as to gameness. I have never been able to convince myself as to which is entitled to the palm ; but they are both good enough, and comparisons are indeed odious as between them. I am glad to note that they are coming to the front and their merits at last rec- ognized. Of late years northern anglers are having great sport with the lady-fish on Biscayne Bay; but judging from their communications in the sportsman's journals, they are confusing the lady-fish with the ten-pounder. This is easily accounted for, inasmuch as they are usually of about the same size, and have very much the same general appearance in form and bright silvery coloration ; and moreover there is a con- fusion attending their vernacular names, as the lady-fish is sometimes known as bony-fish. It should be remembered that the lady-fish has an overhanging, piglike snout and larger scales, while the ten-pounder has a terminal mouth with the jaws about equal, and smaller scales. More- over, the bony-fish, or ten-pounder, has a bony plate under the lower jaw, like the tarpon, which is absent in the lady-fish. Both are cosmopolitan, Miscellaneous Fishes 361 Inhabiting the warm seas of both continents. They have been known to science for a century and a half, and have been described by many naturaHsts from different parts of the world. The current specific names were both bestowed by Linnaeus. Catesby, in 1837, called the lady-fish {Aldula vulpes) of the Bahamas " bone-fish," while Captain William Dampier, one of the early ex- plorers, called the bony-fish {Elops saurus) of the Bahamas " ten-pounder." The fishermen of Key West usually know the lady-fish as bone-fish, and the ten-pounder as bony-fish. The best plan for anglers is to adopt the names lady-fish and ten- pounder for them, and relegate or ignore the names bone-fish, bony-fish, and skip-jack. THE TEN-POUNDER {Elops saurus) Elops saurus. The Ten-pounder. Body elongate, covered with small, silvery scales ; head 4} ; depth 6 ; eye 4, large ; scales 1 2-1 20-1 3; D. 20; A. 13; dorsal fin slightly behind ventrals, its last rays short, depressible into a sheath of scales ; anal fin smaller, similarly depressible ; pectoral and ventral fins moder- ate, each with a long, accessory scale ; opercular bones thin, with expanded membraneous borders ; a scaly occipital collar ; gular plate 3 to 4 times as long as broad; pseudobranchiae large; lateral line straight, its tubes simple. The ten-pounder, or bony-fish, belongs to the same family, ElopidcB, as the tarpon, and both are 362 Bass, Pike, and Perch allied to the herring tribe. The ten-pounder was first described by Linnaeus, in 1776, from speci- mens sent to him from South Carolina by Dr. Garden. He named it saurus, or "lizard," but there is nothing lizard-like about the ten-pounder. I imagine that Dr. Garden sent the fish under the name of " lizard," from hearing it called by its Spanish name of "lisa," which is pronounced much like lizard. The ten-pounder was men- tioned by some of the old voyagers to the West Indies and Carolinas. Like the lady-fish, the ten- pounder is a cosmopolitan, existing in the warm seas of both hemispheres. In the United States it is common to the southern portions of the Atlantic and Pacific coasts and the Gulf of Mexico. In the general aspect and contour of its silvery body the ten-pounder has much the appearance of the lady-fish, and has been often confounded with it by anglers. Its body, however, is more slender than that of the lady-fish, with smaller scales and a very different head and mouth ; the lady-fish has a piglike, overhanging snout, while the lower jaw of the ten-pounder projects slightly. The depth of the body of the ten-pounder is only about a sixth of its length, and the body is not Miscellaneous Fishes 363 much compressed, being nearly round. The head is long and pointed, with a very wide mouth, with upper and lower lips nearly equal, or terminal. The eye is large, hence one of its names, big- eyed herring. There are many series of small and sharp cardlike teeth on the jaws, tongue, and roof of the mouth. There is a bony plate beneath the lower jaw. The color on the back is greenish or bluish, the sides silvery and bright, and belly white ; the top of the head is greenish, with bronze reflec- tions ; the cheeks have a golden lustre ; the lower fins are tinged with yellow, the others dusky. Its habits are not unlike those of the lady-fish, and they often associate. It feeds principally on crustaceans and also on small fishes. It frequents sandy shoals and banks in shallow water at high tide, also grassy situations where its food abounds. Its breeding habits are not well understood, though, like the lady-fish, its young pass through a larval form, and are ribbon-shaped. It grows to a length of two feet or more, and weighs several pounds, sometimes ten or more. It is quite bony, and is not considered a good food-fish, but excels as a game-fish, being equal to the lady-fish in this respect. 364 BiJss, Piki, and Pttib The same tackle as that recommended for its congener, the lady-fish, answers just as well for the ten-pounder, and it can be fished for in the same locations. It frequents shallow water on the grassy banks and sandy shoals rather more than the lady-fish, and can be sought there accordingly, as well as at the inlets when the tide is making. Both the ten-pounder and the lady-fish are warm-water fishes. They are to be found in Biscayne Hay and along the neighboring keys during winter, and as the water becomes warmer they extend their range northward on both coasts. After the disastrous frosts that occurred during the winters of 1886 and 1895 in Florida, I saw windrows of dead ten-pounders, lady-fishes, and tarpon on the beaches about Charlotte Harbor. They had become chilled from the sudden lower- ing of the temperature. I have caught both the ten-pounder and lady-fish as far north as Tampa Bay on the west coast of Florida, and Indian River Inlet on the east coast. My fishing was mostly done from the points of inlets and passes, on the flood tide, and usually with the artificial fly, in shallow water, the time and places mentioned be- ing the most favorable for fly-fishing. At other times I have fished on the shallow bars and grassy Miscellaneous Fishes 365 banks, using such crustaceans as fiddlers, beach- fleas, and shrimps for bait, alternated with small minnows. When beach-fleas are used a fly-rod is preferable and the hook should be smaller than where other bait is employed; No. 4 is about right, if of the Sproat or O'Shaughnessy pattern, they be- ing of larger and stronger wire than other patterns. If beach-fleas are used with a bait-rod, a small sinker must be added to give weight to the cast. The ten-pounder snaps at the bait or fly in the manner of most fishes, and is off immediately in a wild whirl, skimming through the water, if shallow, in a way to astonish the angler who hooks one for the first time. Then follows a series of brilliant leaps and aerial contortions that commands the admiration of the coldest-blooded fisher. The lady-fish, however, owing to the position of its mouth, being underneath its pro- jecting snout, does not at first take the bait with the vim and snap of the ten-pounder, but appar- ently nibbles or mouths it for a while, but when hooked displays the same energy and desperate efforts to escape as its congener. The consistent angler may truly exclaim with Pope : — " How happy could I be with either. Were t'other dear charmer away." 366 Bass, Pike, and Perch THE SNOOK, OR ROVALLIA ( Centropotnus undecimalis) Centroponius undecimalis. The Snook. Body elongate, with ele- vated back and straight abdomen ; head 3 ; depth 4 ; eye 7 ; scales 9-75-16; D. VIII-I, 10; A. Ill, 6; head depressed, pikelike, the lower jaw projecting ; villiform teeth in bands on jaws, vomer, and palatines ; tongue smooth ; dorsal fins well separated ; preorbital faintly serrated ; subopercular flap extend- ing nearly to dorsal fin ; maxillary to middle of eye ; gill-rakers 4 + 9- The snook belongs to the family Centropomidce, which embraces a dozen or more species, most of which inhabit the West Indies and the southern Pacific coast, and are all good game-fishes. The snook was first described by Bloch from Jamaica, in 1792; he named it undecimalis, or "eleven," as the soft dorsal fin has eleven rays. The name snook was mentioned as the name of this fish by the early explorers, among whom was Captain William Dampier, who also mentioned several others, as " ten-pounders," " cavallies," " tarpoms," etc. Snook is derived from " snoek," the Dutch name for the pike, which it resembles slightly in the shape of the head, though it is more like the pike-perch in its structure and appearance. On the east coast of Florida this fish is known as the snook, and on the Gulf coast as rovallia, the latter Miscellaneous Fishes 367 name being a corruption of its Spanish name robalo, by which it is known in Havana. It is sometimes called sergeant-fish, from the black stripe along its sides. It is common along the shores of the Gulf of Mexico, from Texas to the West Indies, and is especially abundant in the bays and lagoons of both coasts of Florida, often ascending the rivers to fresh water. It has a long, robust, and nearly round body, its depth being a fourth of its length ; the back is slightly elevated and arched. The head is long and depressed, or flat, and is more than a third of the total length of the body; the mouth is large, with a projecting lower jaw ; the gill-cover is very long; there are brushlike teeth on the jaws and the roof of the mouth, but no sharp or conical teeth as in the pike or pike-perch. The color of the back is olive-green, the sides silvery, and the belly white ; there is a distinct and very black stripe along the side, following the lateral line from the head to the caudal fin ; the dorsal fins are dusky; the lower fins are yellowish. The snook is a very voracious fish, feeding on fishes, crabs, and other crustaceans, and resorts to sandy shoals and grassy flats where its food 368 Bass, Pike, and Percb is found. It grows to a length of two or three feet, and a weight of twenty or thirty pounds. It is a fair food-fish, though not held in much favor in Florida where so many better food-fishes are common. It is better flavored if skinned instead of scaled. It is a strong, active game-fish, that, when hooked, starts off with a rush that is dangerous to light tackle, and its subsequent manoeuvres require very careful handling when it is of a large size. It has smashed many light rods in the hands of anglers who were not aware of its pugnacity. It will take any kind of natural bait, and rises well to the artificial fly. A rather heavy black-bass rod or a light striped-bass rod is required for the large fish of the bays and estuaries, though ordinary black- bass tackle will answer for those of less weight at the mouths of streams, or in fresh water, to which it often resorts. A good multiplying reel and fifty yards of braided linen line are sufficient, though one hundred yards will not be amiss, as large fishes of other species are very apt to be hooked in Florida waters. Sproat or O'Shaugh- nessy hooks, Nos. i-o to 3-0, on heavy gut snells are required, with a brass box-swivel to Miscellaneous Fishes 369 connect the snell with the reel Hne ; a sinker may be used or not, depending on the strength of the tide, though the fishing is usually prac- tised in quiet water, and not in the tideways. A small fish, mullet or sardine, or fiddler-crab bait, will prove very enticing to the snook, though the minnow is better adapted for casting. The fishing is much like black-bass fishing in fresh waters, and the snook takes the bait in its mouth in much the same way as a bass, starting off at once with a great commotion if near the surface. Its desperate and vigorous spurts and rushes are apt to put one's tackle in jeopardy if the fish is large, and it must be handled with caution and skill. For fly-fishing, a rod of nine or ten ounces is not too heavy where the fish run large. A heavy braided linen line, size D or E, is best for casting the fly in salt water. Black-bass flies of showy patterns, on hooks No. i or 2, as coachman, silver-doctor, polka, oriole, red ibis, professor, etc., will answer. The most favorable time is on the flood tide near the inlets, or toward evening if in quiet coves or lagoons. The fly should be repeatedly cast and then allowed to sink a foot or two. If fishing from a boat, it must be kept in 370 Bass, Pike, and Perch the deeper water, and the casts made under the mangroves, or to the edges of sand-spits, shoals, or mud-flats, which abound in all bays on the west coast of Florida. The snook is easily captured by trolling with hand-line and the spoon or minnow, though it is a questionable style of sport at best. Along the edges of shoals and mud-flats and over grassy banks the snook will be found at home. A landing-net should always be used for any kind of fishing with the fly. THE TRIPLE-TAIL {Lobotes stirinatnensis) Lobotes surinamensis. The Triple-tail. Body oblong, deep, com- pressed and elevated ; head 3 ; depth 2 ; scales 47 ; head small ; snout short ; mouth moderate, oblique, with thick lips ; profile of head concave ; upper jaw very protractile ; the lower, the longest ; maxillary without supplemental bone ; jaws with nar- row bands of villiform teeth, in front of which is a row of larger conical teeth, directed backward ; no teeth on vomer or pala- tines ; preopercle strongly serrate ; maxillary reaching middle of orbit ; scales around eyes small, those on opercles large ; eye small ; small scales running up on the base of soft dorsal, anal, and caudal fins; caudal rounded; D. XII, 15; A. Ill, 11 ; soft rays of dorsal and anal fins elevated, of nearly equal size, and opposite each other ; anal spines graduated ; branchial rays 6. The triple-tail belongs to the family Lobotidcs. It is allied to the snapper family, but differs in having no teeth on the roof of the mouth. It was Miscellaneous Fishes 371 first described by Bloch, in 1790, from Surinam, South America. He named it suriiiamensis, from the name of the locaHty whence his speci- mens were procured. There is another species on the Pacific coast, Lobotes pacificus, that is quite abundant at Panama, where it is known as berrugate. The triple-tail is known in all warm seas. Its range on the Atlantic coast extends from South America north to Cape Cod, though it is not abundant. I have taken it on both the east and west coasts of Florida. At Tampa it is called black snapper, and in South Carolina it is known as black perch. I have never heard it called flasher, which is said to be its name in the markets of New York. It is a short, thick, robust fish, nearly half as deep as long, with an elevated back, and with the ventral outline corresponding with its dorsal curve. The head is a third of the length of the body, its profile concave, the snout prominent, and the lower jaw projecting; the mouth is of moderate size, with thick lips. The color of the back is dark, or greenish black, the sides silvery gray, sometimes blotched and tinged with yellow; the fins are dusky gray or 372 Bass, Pike, and Perch yellowish. In life these colors are very bright, but after death they become almost black. It feeds on small fishes, mussels, and crustaceans and grows to a length of two or three feet, weigh- ing from ten to fifteen pounds, though its usual size is not more than one-half of this length and weight. Its breeding habits are unknown. It is found in northern waters only during the summer months, but from South Carolina to Florida it is common all the year. It is a strong and vigorous fish, but rather slow and sluggish in its movements, and not remarkable for game qualities, though it pulls steadily and strongly when hooked. It will take shrimp, clam, fiddler, or small fishes as bait. A light striped-bass chum rod is very suitable for the triple-tail when of good size. A multiply- ing reel and fifty yards of braided linen line, hooks No. i-o or 2-0, on heavy gut snells, and a brass box-swivel, make up the rest of the tackle. A sinker will probably not be needed as it is usually found in quiet coves about sandy shoals or grassy flats. I have taken it on both coasts of Florida, though it is more common on the east coast. I have also caught it in Chesapeake Bay and near Charleston, South Carolina, but never over five Miscellaneous Fishes 373 pounds in weight, though I have seen it taken in nets up to about ten pounds. Its short and rounded caudal fin, with the soft portions of the dorsal and anal fins, together, give the appearance of three tails, hence the name triple-tail, by which it is generally known. THE COBIA {Rachycentron canadus) Rachycentron canadus. The Cobia. Body elongate, fusiform, sub- cylindrical, covered with very small, smooth, adherent scales; head 4] ; depth 5I ; D. VIII-I, 26 ; A. II, 25 ; head broad, low, pikelike, the bones above appearing through the thin skin ; mouth wide, nearly horizontal, the maxillary reaching front of eye; both jaws, vomer, palatines, and tongue with bands of short, sharp teeth ; lower jaw longest ; premaxillaries not pro- tractile ; preopercle unarmed ; two dorsal fins, the spines of the first depressible in a groove ; soft dorsal long and low, some- what falcate, similar to, and nearly opposite, the anal ; caudal fin strongly forked ; no caudal keel ; no finlets ; gill-rakers short and stout ; pectorals broad and falcate. The cobia, or sergeant-fish, is the only fish of its family, Rachycentridce. It was first described by Linnaeus, in 1766, from a specimen sent to him by Dr. Garden from South Carolina ; it is allied to the mackerel tribe, and is found in all warm seas in the old and new worlds. On the Atlantic coast it is common from the Chesapeake Bay to Florida, but occasionally strays north to Cape Cod in the 374 Bass, Pike, and Perch summer. It is rather rare on the west coast of Florida, but common on the east coast. It is a long and round-bodied fish, quite grace- fully formed, with a depth of about one-fifth of its length. The head is broad and flat, something like that of the pike, with a wide mouth, and with jaws, roof of mouth, and tongue armed with bands of short, sharp teeth; the lower jaw projects. The back is olive-brown, or dusky, the sides lighter and silvery, and the belly white ; a distinct broad and very dark stripe extends from the up- per jaw and through the eye to the caudal fin, with an indistinct one above and below, and par- allel with it. Owing to this dark stripe the cobia is sometimes called sergeant-fish, thus confound- ing it with the snook. The habits of the cobia are not unHke those of the pike, or mascalonge, of fresh waters, in that it is solitary and lies in wait for its prey, and is almost as rapacious. It lies under the mangroves and cocoa-plum bushes along Indian River and other streams of the east coast of Florida, watch- ing for stray fishes and crabs on which it feeds. It is commonly seen of a length of two or three feet, but grows considerably longer, with a weight of fifteen to twenty pounds. The largest I have Miscellaneous Fishes 375 seen was at Key West ; it was fully five feet long. It is not uncommon in the Chesapeake Bay, and like most of the mackerel tribe it is a fairly good food-fish. It spawns in summer, but its breeding habits are not fully understood. As might be imagined from its shape and habits, it is a good game-fish, and quite strong and vigor- ous on the rod. It requires all of the angler's skill to land it safely, especially when it is taken about the mangroves, among whose arching and numerous roots it is sure to take refuge if it can do so. It will take a small fish bait or a crab, going for it with a pikelike rush. I once took one on Indian River with a large red ibis fly, but never succeeded in catching another with the same lure. A strong, rather heavy rod is necessary for the cobia, which the Key West fishermen call cobi-d. A striped-bass chum rod of natural bamboo is a good and serviceable tool for the work, with mul- tiplying reel and braided linen line, to which is affixed a Sproat hook. No. 3-0, on gimp snell, by a brass box-swivel. A sinker should not be used about the mangroves. A fiddler-crab, a mullet, or other small fish is hooked through the lips, and is cast from a boat 376 Bass, Pike, and Perch to the edge of the mangroves or other bushes, in the same way as in casting for mascalonge in northern waters. I have never tried casting with a spoon, which might be successful, but a minnow is better by far. The cobia takes the bait with a fierce lunge, and turning quickly endeavors to return to his lair, a proceeding that must be thwarted by the angler at all hazards to his rod or tackle, for once under the arching roots of the mangroves he is as good as gone. The boat must be rowed to open water at once, while a strong strain is maintained by the rod on the fish. With open water the angler can play his fish with leisure, though he will be severely taxed by the struggles of as game a fish as he is likely to meet during a winter's sojourn in Florida. THE SPOTTED WEAKFISH ( Cynoscion nebulosus') Cynoscion nebulosus. The Spotted Weakfish. Body rather elongate, compressed; head 3^ ; depth 4J ; scales 10-70-11 ; D. X-I, 26; A. II, 10 ; eye 7 ; snout long and acute ; mouth large, maxillary reaching to posterior edge of eye ; lower pharyngeals narrow, each with 7 or 8 series of short teeth, the inner enlarged ; max- illary, preorbital, and lower jaw naked ; canines in upper jaw strong ; lower jaw without canines, other teeth in narrow bands, sharp, but closely set ; membrane of preopercle serrate, the bone entire ; pseudobranchias well developed ; caudal lunate ; soft rays of dorsal and anal scaleless ; gill-rakers short and thick, 4 + 7- Miscellaneous Fishes 2>77 This fish is closely allied to the northern weak- fish, and belongs to the same family, ScicBnidce. It is known very generally in Florida as trout, salt-water trout, or sea-trout, owing to its spots. It is, of course, not a trout at all, and these names should be set aside ; moreover, the name sea-trout is preoccupied by the sea-run brook-trout of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Its present specific name, 7iebtilosus, or " clouded," was bestowed by Cuvier and Valenciennes, in 1830, displacing the earlier and better name maculatus, or " spotted," conferred by Dr. S. L. Mitchill, in 18 15, for rea- sons that it is unnecessary to refer to here. It is abundant from Virginia to Florida, and along the Gulf coast to Texas. It occasionally strays as far north as New Jersey. It is almost the counterpart of the common weakfish in the form of its body, the depth of which is about a fourth of its length, and with a similar head, eye, and mouth, but with somewhat smaller scales, and a few less rays in the second dorsal fin. Its mouth is large, with narrow bands of sharp teeth on the jaws, and two long canine teeth in the upper jaw. Its color is bluish gray on the back, with steely reflections, the sides are silvery and the belly 378 Bass, Pike, and Perch white. The upper half of the body has numerous black spots, as large as the pupil of the eye, with smaller ones on the soft dorsal and anal fins ; the other fins are plainer, and the anal fin is dusky. The spotted weakfish is a better food-fish, and also a better game-fish, than its northern cousin. It is abundant in the bays of Florida during the entire year, often ascending the streams to fresh water. Its usual weioht is from two to four pounds, often of six to eight, and sometimes of even ten pounds or more. It appears in schools in March and April, often in company with the Spanish mackerel, and runs into brackish water for the purpose of spawning. It spawns in the spring ; the eggs are buoyant, quite small, about thirty to the inch, and hatch in two days. It feeds on small fishes and crustaceans. All things considered, it is one of the best game-fishes of Florida. It is a surface feeder and takes the artificial fly eagerly, as well as natural bait, or the artificial squid and trolling- spoon. With light tackle it affords good sport, being a strong and determined fighter. It is a great favorite with all anglers who are acquainted with its merits. When of the usual weight of from two to four Miscellaneous Fishes 379 pounds, black-bass tackle is very suitable and serviceable in rod, reel, line, hooks, or flies, though a rather heavy braided linen line is better adapted for salt water than a silk one. To be more ex- plicit, an eight-ounce rod, multiplying reel, line size F, Sproat hooks Nos. 2-0 to 3-0 on gut or gimp snells, will be found to be just about right for bait-fishing. For fly-fishing, a rod of eight ounces, click reel, braided linen line, size E, leader of three or four feet, single gut, and black-bass flies such as silver- doctor, red ibis. Abbey, soldier, oriole, coachman, etc., on hooks Nos. i to 2, wifl be found to answer in skilful hands. A heavier rod may be used when the fish run larger, and also flies on hooks a size or two larger. Very small phantom min- nows, spoons, or squids may be often used with success when the fish are running in schools in the spring. Fishing, either with fly or bait, can be practised with good results at flood tide from the end of long piers that extend to deep water, or at the points of inlets during the running season. The piers at Port Tampa and St. Petersburg, on Tampa Bay, also at Mullet Key and Egmont Key, or Pass-a-Grille, in the same vicinity, are 380 Bass, Pike, and Perch famed fishing resorts in March and April. I pre- fer to fish from a boat moored to the pier, rather than from the pier itself, as the fish are not so likely to see one, and they are more conveniently landed. During the winter the best fishing will be found in the bays and bayous, or in the streams, in the vicinity of sand-shoals or mud-flats, at almost any stage of the tide, which usually rises but a foot or two in the bays of the west coast. At the inlets and passes, at the first of the flood and last of the ebb tide, the fishing is also good during the winter months. The spotted weakfish takes its prey at the sur- face with a snap of its jaws that is quite audible, especially at night when one's yacht is at anchor. It takes the angler's fly or bait in the same way. It will remind him forcibly of the bite of a large brook-trout, and its manner of resistance when hooked is very much the same as with that fish — one reason for the name sea-trout. The fishing is especially good in Tampa and Sarasota bays, and the upper portion of Charlotte Harbor, on the west coast ; and on the east coast at the mouths of streams entering Halifax River, Mosquito Lagoon, or Indian River. Miscellaneous Fishes 381 THE DEEP-SEA WEAKFISH (^Cynoscion ihalassinus) This species was first described by Dr. Hol- brook, in 1859, from the coast of South Carolina. He named it thalassimis, or "pertaining to the sea," from its supposed habit of living in deep water. It is either a rare fish or it has been confounded with the common weakfish. It has been recorded from several places on the South Atlantic and Gulf coasts, in Virginia, South Carolina, Florida, and Mississippi. It is supposed to inhabit the deep water of the sea and Gulf, though this is by no means certain. Its form is very similar to the spotted weakfish, with a more pointed snout and somewhat larger eye ; otherwise it is much the same. Its color is brownish above, lighter below ; the middle of the sides is marked with many dark dots ; there is a dark blotch on the upper part of the cheek ; the first dorsal fin is black, the second dorsal and anal fins are dusky, and the other fins pale. The same remarks as to fishing for the spotted weak- fish will apply as well to this species, if the opportunity should occur to the angler. It is a doubtful-species at best, and may eventually prove to be an aberrant form of the spotted weakfish. 382 Bass, Pike, and Percb THE BERMUDA CHUB (^Kyphosiis sectatrix) Kyphosus sectatrix. The Bermuda Chub. Body ovate, somewhat compressed; head 3I; depth 2| ; scales 10-55-16; D. XI, 12; A. Ill, 11; head short, with blunt snout; mouth small, maxil- lary reaching front of eye ; each jaw with a series of narrow incisors, implanted with compressed conspicuous roots poste- riorly ; behind these a narrow band of villiform teeth ; fine teeth on vomer, palatines, and tongue ; teeth 35 to 40 on each side ; preopercle weakly serrate ; top and sides of head finely scaled ; interorbital region gibbous, below which point snout is truncate ; soft dorsal and anal very low ; second anal spine highest ; caudal well forked, the lower lobe longest ; gill-rakers long ; dorsal spines depressible in a groove of scales ; small ctenoid scales entirely covering the soft portions of the vertical fins, and ex- tending up on the paired fins. The chub belongs to the family of rudder- fishes, Kyphosida:. It was noticed as sectatrix by Catesby in his " History of the Carolinas," in 1738, and was so named by Linnaeus in 1758. Sectatrix is the feminine of sectator, meaning "one who follows," in allusion to its habit of following vessels. Its range is along the South Atlantic coast to the West Indies, sometimes straying as far north as Cape Cod in the summer. It is common on the west coast of Florida. It has an oblong, elliptical body, its depth being more than a third of its length. The head is short, with a blunt snout and small mouth, and a curved profile. There are well-developed Miscellaneous Fishes 383 incisor teeth in each jaw, with pecuHar horizontal bases. Its color is bluish-gray, with steely lustre ; the sides have numerous narrow, indistinct, yel- lowish or brassy stripes, alternating with bluish ones; there is a pale stripe below the eye, and a yellowish one above and below it ; the fins are dull grayish. The chub feeds on barnacles and other small mollusks, and is found wherever they abound, sometimes in rather deep water. Its usual size is six to ten inches, weighing from one to three or four pounds, but it occasionally grows to fifteen or eighteen inches in length in favorable loca- tions. Its spawning habits have not been studied. It is an excellent pan-fish. Light tackle is needed for the chub and pin-fish, both being usually found together. The hook should be small but strong, with gimp snell ; Sproat hooks, No. I or 2, are very suitable. The best bait is fiddler-crab or hermit-crab. It is quite a game little fish. I was once staying for a few days' fishing at the Quarantine Station on Mullet Key, in Tampa Bay. The station is built on piles in water twenty feet deep. There was a trap-door in the floor of one of the rooms, through which many 384 Bass, Pike, and Perch kinds of fish could be seen swimming about in the very clear water. These fishes could be readily taken with the hook or the spear, as they were unable to see any one in the dark room above. I was much interested watching the chub and sheepshead pinching off the barnacles from the piles with their chisel-like teeth. A dozen could be easily taken in as many minutes with fiddler bait, and the table was kept well supplied with chub, which was the favorite food-fish during my sojourn. THE ANGEL-FISH {ChcEtodipterus fabef) ChcBtodipterus faber. The Angel-fish. Body much elevated and compressed, its outline nearly orbicular, the anterior profile nearly vertical ; head 3; depth i to i^; scales 60; D. VIII-I, 20; A. Ill, 18; jaws about equal; no teeth on vomer or pala- tines ; teeth on jaws slender, somewhat movable ; preopercle finely serrate; two dorsal fins, somewhat connected; vertical fins falcate in the adult ; first soft ray of dorsal filamentous ; ventral fin with a large accessory scale. There are a number of angel-fishes in Florida, remarkable for their bizarre and beautiful col- oration, but of no importance to the angler as they do not often take the baited hook, their very small mouths and weak teeth being only adapted for feeding on the minute organisms about the coral reefs. The common angel-fish, THE ANGEL-FISH Chaetodipterus faber THE TURBOT Balistes carolinensis Miscellaneous Fishes 385 or spade-fish, is more sombre in hue than the others, and belongs to a different family, Ephip- pidcs ; it has a somewhat larger mouth, and is more widely distributed. It was described by Broussonet, in 1782, from Jamaica, who named it faber, or "blacksmith," though why is difficult to imagine, except that it is dark in its general hue, with smutty cross bars. It is very abundant from the South Atlantic coast to South America, and is not uncommon, occasionally, as far north as Cape Cod. It is very common on the east and west coasts of Florida. It has a short, very deep body, nearly round in outline, and very much compressed ; it is almost as deep as long. Its head is short and deep, with its profile nearly vertical. The mouth is small, with slender, movable teeth, on jaws only ; the soft dorsal and anal fins are quite large and winglike, extending far backward nearly to the tail; they are quite scaly, which adds much to their thickness and stiffness; the caudal fin is broad and nearly square. The general color is usually gray or slate color, often bluish with iridescent tints ; there are several dusky, broad vertical bars across the body, becoming obsolete or faint with age. 386 Bass, Pike, and Percb It feeds on small marine organisms, and grows to a length of two feet, occasionally, though its usual size is ten or twelve inches, and average weight from one to three or four pounds. It is an excellent food-fish, though its good qualities in this respect are not generally known. It spawns in the spring. It is usually taken in seines in the bays of the Gulf coast, and salted with mullet and sheepshead by the fishermen. It can be caught by the angler with a ver)' small hook, No. 5 or 6, and cut clam or conch bait. It is a fair game-fish on light tackle, which may be the same as advised for the Bermuda chub, THE PIN-FISH (JLagodon rhomboides) Lagodon rhomboides. The Pin-fish. Body elongate, elliptical ; head 3^; depth 2^; eye 4; scales 10-65-17; D. XII, 11 ; A. Ill, 11 ; mouth moderate, maxillary not reaching front of orbit ; head flattened ; snout pointed ; protile not very steep ; 4 incisors in each jaw, all deeply notched ; two series of molars in each jaw ; dorsal fin single, with high spines ; caudal fin deeply forked. The pin-fish, also called sailor's choice and bream in some localities, belongs to the family Sparidce, and is closely related to the sheepshead of that family, having incisor and molar teeth. It differs from it in the conformation of the skull. Miscellaneous Fishes 387 The pin-fish was first described by Linnsus, in 1 766, from specimens sent to him by Dr. Garden from South Carolina. He named it rkomdoides, meaning " rhomboid," from the shape of its body. It is abundant on the South Atlantic and Gulf coasts, extending south to Cuba, and occasionally north to Cape Cod. It is found in all bays on the east and west coasts of Florida. Its body is symmetrical, being rather evenly curved on both dorsal and ventral lines, and rather deep ; its head is large, with a depression in front of the eye. Its color is olivaceous, dark- est on the back, with bluish silvery sides, and narrow horizontal stripes of blue and gold, alter- nating, and six faint, broad vertical bars ; it has a dark spot on the shoulder at the top of the gill- cover ; the dorsal fin is bluish with gilt edge ; the anal fin is bluish with yellow band; the caudal fin is yellow, faintly barred ; the ventral fins are yellowish ; the pectoral fins are plain. It is a pretty fish, and is usually abundant wherever found. It feeds on small mollusks and barnacles, resorting to old wharves and about the mangroves where such food abounds. It grows to a length of six or eight inches, and though small, it is a good pan-fish. It spawns in the 388 Bass, Pike, and Percb spring. The same light tackle used for the pig- fish and pork-fish can be utilized for the pin-fish, with small, strong hooks, as Sproat bend. No. 4 or 5, on gut snells. The ends of piers and wharves, in comparatively shallow water, are favorable localities for fishing. THE SQUIRREL-FISH (^Holocentrus ascensions') Holocentnis ascensionis. The Squirrel-fish. Body oblong, moder- ately compressed, the back a little elevated ; head 3f ; depth i\ ; eye 3; scales 5-50-7; D. XI, 15; A. IV, 10; head compressed, narrowed forward ; opercle with a strong spine above, below with the edge sharply seVrated ; preopercle with a strong spine at its angle ; mouth small, little oblique, with the lower jaw pro- jecting somewhat ; eye excessively large ; upper lobe of caudal fin the longest ; soft dorsal fin pointed, as high as the body ; third anal spine very strong, as long as longest anal ray. The squirrel-fish belongs to the family Holo- centrid(g, the species comprising that family hav- ing very rough or spinous scales, a single dorsal fin, deeply divided, with the spines very tall ; the caudal fin deeply forked ; the • anal fin with four spines ; and a very large eye. The squirrel-fish belongs to the West Indian fauna, ranging from the Florida Keys to South America. It was first described by Osbeck, in 1 771, from Ascension Island, who named it for Miscellaneous Fishes 389 that locality. It is not uncommon along the reefs, where I have taken it a number of times. Its body is oblong, moderately compressed, its depth about a third of its length, with the back slightly elevated, and the ventral outline nearly straight. Its mouth is small, the eye enormously large, and the caudal fin deeply forked. Its color is bright crimson, with a darker shade on the back, and a somewhat lighter tint below, with silver streaks along the sides. The fins are also red, some bordered with olive ; the head is red above, with an oblique white bar running back and down from the eye. It feeds about the reefs on small fishes and marine invertebrates, and grows to two feet in length, occasionally, but is usually found smaller. It is a good food-fish and sells at sight in the market. It is a remarkably handsome and attractive fish in appearance. In one of Stockton's stories, John Gayther, the gardener, tells of the curious and beautiful things to be seen on a coral reef in the tropics, with the aid of a long box with a glass in the end. His description applies just as well to the vicinity of the Dry Tortugas, where I have often viewed the wonders of the sea-floor through a sponge-glass, a wooden pail with a glass bottom : — 390 Bass, Pike, and Percb " Where the water is so clear that with a Httle help you can see everything just as if it were out in the open air, — bushes and vines and hedges ; all sorts of waving plants, all made of seaweed and coral, growing in the white sand ; and instead of birds flying about among their branches, there were little fishes of every color: canary-colored fishes, fishes like robin-redbreasts, and others which you might have thought were blue jays if they had been up in the air instead of down in the water." THE TURBOT (^Balistes carolittcftsis) Balistt's carolincnsis. The Turbot. The fishes comprising the family Balistidcr are characterized by an ovate body, much com- pressed ; small and low mouth, with separate incisor teeth ; eye very high ; gill opening a small slit ; the absence of ventral fins ; the dorsal fins widely separated, the first with but i to 3 spines. The turbot has a very deep compressed body, covered with thick, rough plates or scales; head 3^; depth i|; eye small; scales about 60; about 35 scales in an oblique series from vent upward and forward ; D. III. 27 ; A. 25 ; third dorsal spine stouter than the second and remote from it ; plates on head similar to those on body ; caudal lobes produced ; soft dorsal high ; ventral flaps large, supported by several pungent spines ; lateral line very slender, undulating, and very crooked, showing only when scales are dry ; a groove before the eye ; larger plates behind the gill opening. The turbot, or leather-fish, belongs to the family Balistidce, or trigger-fishes. It was first Miscellaneous Fishes 391 described by Gmelin, in 1788, from Carolina, from one of Dr. Garden's specimens, Gmelin being a coadjutor of Linnaeus, to whom the specimen was sent. The locality from which the type specimen was sent accounts for its name. The turbot, as it is called by the Key West fishermen, is an inhabitant of tropical waters, and is abundant on the South Atlantic coast and along the Florida Keys; it is known also from the Mediterranean Sea. Like all of the trigger- fishes it has a curious form and appearance. It is as deep as long, and slants both ways from the dorsal fin above and from the ven- tral flap below, presenting somewhat of a dia- mond shape. The head is triangular, and the fins are thick and leathery. The first dorsal spine is locked when erect by the second, or "trigger." The soft dorsal and anal fins are opposite each other, and are of similar size and shape. The color is olive-gray, or slate color, with some purplish spots on the back ; two ob- scure cross bars are under the second dorsal fin ; a ring of blue spots alternating with greenish streaks are about the eye ; there are violet marks on the sides of the snout; the first dorsal is 392 Bass, Pike, and Percb spotted and clouded with bluish ; the second dorsal has pale yellowish spots, with rows of blue ones, separated by greenish reticulations; the anal fin is colored like the second dorsal; the pectoral fins are bluish with olive spots. The leather-fish, or turbot, resorts to rocky shoals and coral reefs, feeding on the small marine organisms that are abundant in such localities. Nothing is known of its breeding habits. It grows to a foot in length and is con- sidered a good food-fish by the people of Key West. The thick skin and rough scales are pared off together with a sharp knife by the fishermen when delivered to a customer. It is caught, with the grunts, porgies, etc., in the channels among the keys and reefs with the baited hook, and also in wire traps. Very small hooks must be used for the turbot, as it has a very small mouth. Cut crawfish, conch, or bar- nacles are good baits. Conclusion 393 Conclusion In closing this account it occurs to me to say that the angler who has a genuine love for the finny tribe, and who has never visited the sunny waters of Florida, has in store an experience of joy and delight in the wonderful variety of its fishes. Some idea may be formed of their num- ber from the fact that I have collected nearly three hundred species in the fresh and salt water of that sub-tropical wonderland. And the fishing lasts the year round, and is always good, except when an unusually cold " norther " is blowing. The warm-water species, like the tarpon, lady- fish, and ten-pounder, are more plentiful, and ex- tend their range farther northward in the summer. At that season all of the inlets and passes of both the Atlantic and Gulf coasts abound with them ; but the winter visitor will find them in Biscayne Bay, Barnes Sound, Cards Sound, and southwest along the keys to the Dry Tortugas. The brack- ish water species will be found all winter in the bays and estuaries of either coast. 394 Bass, Pike, and Percb A just idea of the fishing resources of Florida twenty years ago — and it is much the same to- day — may, perhaps, be gathered from the follow- ing excerpts from my " Camping and Cruising in Florida " : — " At flood-tide the channels under the man- groves teem with redfish, groupers, and snap- pers, w'hile near the beds of coon oysters are schools of sheepshead and drum. In fact, all of the passes and inlets of the Gulf coast are fairly alive with fishes, from the mullet to sharks and sawfish. While lying in his bunk, one can hear all night long the voices of the deep, under and around him. " The hollow, muffled boom of the drumfish seems to be just under one's pillow; schools of sparoid fishes feeding on shell-fish at the bottom, sounds like the snapping of dry twigs on a hot fire ; while a hundred tiny hammers in the hands of ocean sprites are tapping on the keel. Then is heard the powerful rush of the tarpon, the blowing of porpoises, and the snapping jaws of the sea-trout among the swarms of mullet, which, leaping from the surface by thousands, awake the watery echoes like showers of silvery fishes fall- ing in fitful gusts and squalls. Conclusion 395 *' Sanibel Island, at the entrance of Caloosa Bay and opposite Punta Rassa, is renowned for its fine fishing. The angler can here fairly revel in piscatorial abandon and cover himself with piscine glory and fish scales. If ichthyc variety is the spice of the angler's life, Sanibel and its sister keys are the Spice Islands. Sharks, rays, and devil-fish, tarpon and jewfish, redfish, snap- pers and groupers, Spanish mackerel and king- fish, sea-trout, bonito and cavallies, ladyfish and sergeant-fish, sheepshead and drum, a host of smaller fry — spots, grunts, and porgies, and the ever-present and ubiquitous catfish — can here be jerked, and yanked and snaked, and pulled and hauled, until the unfortunate angler will lament that he was ever born — under the last but not least of the zodiacal signs." The foregoing excerpts relate to fishing on the Gulf coast, but on the east coast, while the vari- ety of fishes is not so great, the angler will find enough and to spare, and many that are worthy of his best efforts. Large-mouth black-bass are plentiful in Tomoka River, near Ormond on the Halifax, and in Elbow Creek, Turkey Creek, Sebastian River, Taylor's Creek, and the St. Lucie 396 Bass, Pike, and Perch River, all tributaries of Indian River. At the mouths of these streams, brackish-water fishes will be found in more or less abundance, com- prising most of the species inhabiting the Gulf coast. Some of the best localities are at Day- tona, New Smyrna, Rock Ledge, Indian River Inlet, Gilbert's Bar, and Jupiter Inlet. Still far- ther south the fishing is much better, notably at Lake Worth, and on Hillsboro' and New rivers. Mangrove snappers, bluefish, amber-jacks, and barracudas are especially abundant south of Indian River Inlet, more so than on the Gulf coast. In all of the fresh-water lakes in the interior of the state the angler will be amply rewarded, as large-mouth black-bass, calico bass, warmouth perch, and bream are in most of them. As a matter of fact, one can hardly go amiss for some kind of fishing in Florida, wherever there is water, salt or fresh, provided one proceeds with patience and intelligence, and with a due regard for the amenities of the gentle art. Perhaps the queer descriptions and homely comparisons of some of the fishes as given by my negro boatman from the Bahamas, whom I have before mentioned, may not be uninterest- ing. I always employed him when possible, for Conclusion 397 he was a good fisherman and sailor, and had a never-ending fund of anecdotes; and being a close observer, he had a good general idea of the fishes of the locality. I always encouraged him in his quaint and original remarks about fishes, and in this way obtained considerable knowledge of their habits from this faithful Achates. Some of his observations, as I remember them, and which seem very odd in his Bahamian lingo, were as follows : — " Veil, sir, it's curious 'ow some fish is made ; but w'atever their model in length, beam, and draft, there is some good reason vy they is built so." " Yes," I would answer, " they are all endowed by Nature with the shape best fitted for their mode of life and environment." " Veil, 'wironment or not, as you say, and I'm not gainsayin' it, there's as much diff'rence in their model as atween a man-o'-war 'awk and an 'ummin'-bird. Now, sir, just look at the stingaree and the wipporee ; they is flat as pan- cakes, and goes a-skimmin' along like a turkey buzzard, or a-wabblin' like a jolly-boat in the breakers, and then they flops down on a sand- bank like a flounder, when feedin', 'cause their mouth is hunderneath like a shark. And they 398 Bass, Pike, and Perch crawls along on their belly a-gobblin' hup the periwinkles and fiddlers, and crounches 'em vith a set of teeth like a pair o' mill-stones." "Yes," I assented, "the rays are curious creatures, and have very remarkable teeth." " Now, on the bother 'and, sir, look at the moonfish. They is all length and draft and no beam, like the 'ind weel of a vaggon ; it couldn't cast a shadder if it was facin' the sun. And the angel-fish 'aven't much more beam to swear by. Now, sir, hall these slimjims 'ave small mouths and pinchers for teeth, and goes a-nosin' 'round the rocks, and a-vorkin' of thelr- selves thro' the narrow crannies, and a-pinchin' hoff the coral-bugs and sea-lice. Now, sir, a flounder is wicey wersy from a moonfish, it 'asn't hany draft, and don't carry any sail to speak of, and so it 'ides in the sand a-waitin' for sumpthin' to turn hup in the vay o' grub." " That's true," I would say, " they lead a very lazy, humdrum life, and don't hustle much for a living." " But for a real racin' yacht," he would con- tinue, "give me the kingfish, or Spanish mackerel, or boneeto; they ketches their food on the run and jump; and speakin' o' jumpin', sir, look at Conclusion 399 the tarpon, and bone-fish, and skipjack; they is the kankeroos o' the sea." " Many fishes," I would observe, " have their analogues ; that is, they seem to bear some fancied resemblance, either in habits or appear- ance, to some object or animal of the land." " Veil, sir, it's as true as gospel ; a man is like a fish out o' water ; 'e puffs like a poipus and drinks like a fish. And the butterflies are the yellow grunts and pork-fish and little snappers and cockeyed pilots ; and the red snappers and squirrel-fish are the fiUimingoes and pink cur- lews ; and the nigger-fish and conies is the le'p- ards ; and the blowfish and puffers is the 'edge'ogs and porkupines. And then there's the poll-par- rots, red, blue, yellow, and green, from the puddin'- wife to slippery-dick; if they'd vings like the flyin'-fish, we'd put 'em in cages." " True, enough," I would assent ; " and up north we have fish that go into hiding and sleep all win- ter, like the bears ; and some that make nests for their eggs, and guard them, and take care of their young ones like a hen broods her chicks. And in some countries there are fish that crawl out on the land, and climb trees like squirrels." He listened to this apparently very doubtfully. 400 Bass, Pike, and Perch and frowned fiercely, but kept silent until he filled and lighted his pipe ; then, after scanning the horizon, he said meekly : — " I think we'll be goin' 'ome, sir; it looks werry squally in the sou' east." INDEX Albula vulpes, ladyfish, 355, 361. Ambloplites rupestris, rock-bass, 2, 52. Anchovy, banded, 320. big, 320. silver, 320. Angel-fish, 384. description, 385. tackle and fishing, 386. Angling, fresh-water, 341. salt-water, 341. Anisotremus virginicus, pork-fish, 323. 334- Aplodinotus grunniens, fresh-water drum, 232. Archoplites inierrupius, Sacramento perch, 2, 57. Archosargus prol>atocephalus,%h&tT^s- head, 251, 252. Arctic grayling, 1 76. coloration, 177, 178. description, 177, 178. Argyrosonius artedi sisco, cisco, 204, 207. Artificial flies, 20, 21. rules for, 21. Artificial key to pikespecies, 121, 122. Bachelor, 80. Balistes carolinensis, turbot, 390, Banded pickerel, 121. description, 154. tackle and fishing, 155. Bank lick bass, 73. Barb, 221. Bar-fish, 80. Bass, bank lick, 73. big-fin, 74. black, large-mouth, 30. black, small-mouth, 3. brassy, 90. calico, 73. family, 85. fresh-water striped, 86. grass, 73. Lake Erie, 74. rock, 52, 115. sea, 115. sea, Gulf, 119. sea, southern, 118. silver, 73. strawberry, 73. striped, 96. white, 86. white lake, 86. yellow, 90. Bastard margaret, 330. Bastard weakfish, 221. description, 221. habits and habitat, 222. Beach-fleas, 321. Bermuda chub, 382. description 382. tackle and fishing, 383, 384. Besugo, 231. Big-fin bass, 74. Bitter-head, 74. Black-bass, small-mouth, 3. description, 1-6. gameness, 10-15. 2D 401 402 Index Black-bass \^coniintte(l'\ — habits and habitat, 7-9. tackle and fishing, 15-29. Black-bass, large-mouth, 30. description, 31. gameness, 34, 35. habits and habitat, 32-43. spawning and nesting, 33-43. tackle and fishing, 36-52. Blackfish, 115. Black grunt, 323. description, 323. tackle and fishing, 326. Black harry, 115. Black sea-bass, 115. Black sunfish, 58. Black will, 115. Blue bream, 62. Bluefish, 115. Blue gill, 62. Blue perch, 264. Blue sunfish, 62. description, 62. tackle and fishing, 64, Bodianus fulvus, nigger-fish, 287, 300. Bone-fish, 355, 361. Bonito, 2S2. description, 282. tackle and fishing, 283. Bony-fish, 361. Boy and tobacco-box, 67. Boyhood days, 72. Bream, blue, 62. copper-nosed, 62. red-breast, 68. Bridge perch, 74. Bubbler, 232. Burgall, 264. Calamus arctifrons, grass porgy, 348, 353- Calamtts bajonado, jolt-head porgy, 347. 348- Calamus calamus, saucer-eye porgy, 348, 350- Calam us proi-idens, little-head porgy, 348, 352- Calico-bass, 73. description, 74. habits and habitat, 75. tackle and fishing, 75-78. Campbellite, 80. Cancer, common crab genus, 320. Cape May goody, 231. CarattgidiE, cavalli family, 306. Caraiigus crysos, runner, 306, 307. Carangus latus, horse-eye jack, 306, 310. Carp, German, 236. leather, 237. mirror, 237. scale, 237. Catfish, blue, 247. channel, 244. chuckle-head, 247. eel, 247. family, 244. forked-tail, 247. white, 245. willow, 247. Cavalli family, 306. Centrarchida, sunfish family, I. Centropomus undecimalis, snook, 366. Ceniroprisies ocyurus. Gulf sea-bass, 119. Centropristes philadelphicus, south- ern sea-bass, 1 1 8. Centropristes striatals, sea-bass, 96, "5- Cero, 278. description, 278. habits and habitat, 278, 279. tackle and fishing, 279-281. Chcenobryttus gulosus, warmouth, 2, ss. ChcEtodipterus faber, angel-fish, 384. Index 403 Channel catfish, 244. description, 245. tackle and fishing, 245-247. Channel fishes, 316. tackle and bait, 317, 318. Chincapin perch, 74. Chogset, 264. Chopa blanca, 231. Chub, 231. Cisco, 207. description, 208. tackle and fishing, 209, 210. ClupeidcE, herring family, 319. Cobia, 373. description, 374. tackle and fishing, 375, 376. Cobi6, 375. Commercial fishing, Key West, 316, 317- Common sunfish, 69. description, 70. tackle and fishing, 71-73. Conchs, 318. Conclusion, 393. Coney, 286, 299. description, 299. tackle and fishing, 300. Copper-nosed bream, 62. Coral fishes, 328. polyps, 328. reefs, 327, 389, 390. Coralline formation, Florida reefs, 316. Coregonus •williamsoni. Rocky Mountain whitefish, 203, 204. Coregonus williamsoni cis-montanus, 204, 205. Crab, common, 320. fiddler, 320. hermit, 320. lady, 320. mud, 320. spider, 320. Crab \continued'\ — stone, 320, Crappie, 73, 79-80. description, 80, 81. tackle and fishing, 82, 83. Croaker, 226, 232. description, 226, 227. tackle and fishing, 228. Crocus, 227. Croppie, 73, 80. Cunner, 263, 264. description, 264. tackle and fishing, 265, 266. Cynoscion nebulosus, spotted weak- fish, 376. Cynoscion notliiis, bastard weakfish, 221. Cynoscion regalis, weakfish, 214, 215. Cynoscion ihalassinus, deep-sea weakfish, 381. Cypress trees, giant, 61, 62. Cyprinida, minnow family, 236. Cyprinus carpio, German carp, 236. Darky and catfish, 248. Deep-sea weakfish, 381. description, 381. tackle and fishing, 381. Diplectrum formosum, sand-fish, 287, 303. Dog snapper, 344. description, 344. tackle and fishing, 345. Drum family, 213, 232. fresh-water, 232. Eastern pickerel, 149. description, 149, 150. tackle and fishing, 151, 152. Elops saurus, ten-pounder, 361. Engraulidida, anchovy family, 319, 320. Epinephelus adscensionis, rock hind, 286, 295. 404 Index Epinephelus guitaius, red hind, 286 297. Esocida, pike family, 120. Esox americanus, banded pickerel, 121, 154. Esox lucius, pike, 121, 137. Esox nobilior, mascalonge, 120, 121, 122. Esox reticulatus, eastern pickerel, 121, 149. Esox vermiculatus, western pickerel, 121, 153. Eupagurus, hermit crab genus, 320. Eupomotis gibbosus, common sunfish, 3.69. Fascination of the float, 71. Fishes not sensitive to pain, 114. Fishing through ice, 145, 146. with the cork, 72. Flasher, 371. Flatfish, 266. Float, fascination of, 71. Florida Keys, 341. Flounder, 263, 266. description, 266, 267. tackle and fishing, 268. Fresh-water drumfish, 232. description, 232, 233. tackle and fishing, 234, 235. Frozen fish reviving, 78, 79, 147. Gag, 285, 287. description, 288. tackle and fishing, 289-290. Gammu7-us, shrimp genus, 321. Gaspergou, 232. Gelasimus, fiddler crab genus, 320. Generals Sheridan and Stager, 77. German carp, 236. description, 236-238. tackle and fishing, 238-243. Giant cypress trees, 61, 62. Goggle-eye, 53. perch, 74, 80. Goody, 228. Cape May, 231. Grass-bass, 73. Grass porgy, 353. description, 353, tackle and fishing, 354. Grayling, Arctic, 176. description, 176, 177, fishing, 178. Grayling, English, 174. fishing, 191, 197-201. Grayling, Michigan, 178. fishing, 179. scarcity of, 1 79-1 81. Grayling, Montana, 181. description, 184, 185. gameness, 185, 186. propagation of, 194, 195. tackle and fishing, 188-193. Gribble, 321. Grouper family, 285. yellow-finned, 286, 294. Grunt, black, 323. boar, 327. common, 321, 323. family, 321. French, 331. gray, Z^i. margate, 329. sow, 324. white, 329, yellow, 322, 326. Gulf sea-bass, 119. description, 119. habits and habitat, 1 1 9. Gymnosarda pelainis, oceanic bo- nito, 2S3. HcEtnulidtE, grunt family, 321. HceruHlon album, margate-fish, 322, 328. Index 405 Hamulon Jlavolineatum, French grunt, 331. Hcemulon tnacrostomum, gray grunt, 331- Hmmulon parra, sailor's choice, 322, 330- ffamulon plumieri,h\3.ck grunt, 321, 323- HcEtnulon sciurus, yellow grunt, 322, 326. Hannahills, 115. Hard-tail, 309. Henshall rod, 25. Hind, brown, 296. John Paw, 296. red, 286, 297. rock, 286, 295. spotted, 296. Hippa, sand-bug genus, 321. Hog-fish, 331, 333. Holocentrus ascensionis, squirrej-fish, 388. Horse-eye Jack, 306, 310. description, 310. tackle and fishing, 310. Hybrids, 309. Ichthyophagous dog, 284. Ictalurus anguilla, eel-cat, 247. Ictalurus furcatus, chuckle-head cat, 247. Ictalurus punctatus, channel-cat, 244. Jack, horse-eye, 310. Jack salmon, 157. Jolt-head porgy, 348. description, 348, 349. tackle and fishing, 350. Jurel, 309, Key to pike species, 121, 122. Kingfish, 221. description, 222-224. tackle and fishing, 224, 225. Kingfish-mackerel, 279, 280. Knot, for leader, 19. jam, for eyed hook, 19. Kyphosus sectatrix, Bermuda chub, 382. Lady anglers, 148, 149. Lady-fish, 355. Lafayette, 228. description, 229. tackle and fishing, 230, 231. Lagodon rhomboides, pin-fish, 330, _ 386. Lake Erie bass, 74. Lake-herring, 207. Lake-sheepshead, 232. Lamplighter, 74. Lane snapper, 339. description, 340. habits and habitat, 341. Large-mouth black-bass, 30. Leather-fish, 390. Leiostomus xanthurus, Lafayette, 214, 228. Lepomis auritus, red-breast sunfish, 67. Lepomis megalotis, long-eared sun- fish, 65. Lepomis pa Hi dus, blue sunfish, 62. Lewis and Clark, 181-183. Libinia, spider crab genus, 320. Limnoria, gribble genus, 321. Little Giant rod, loi, 102. Little-head porgy, 352. description, 352. tackle and fishing, 353. Lobotes pacijicus, berrugate, 371. Lobotes surinamensis, triple-tail, 370. Long-eared sunfish, 65. description, 65. tackle and fishing, 66. Lucky stones, 233. LutianidcE, snapper family, 336. Lutianus analis, mutton-fish, 347. 4o6 Index Lutianus apodus, schoolmaster, 338, 345- Lutianus aya, red snapper, 337, 342. Lutianus griseus, mangrove snapper, 347- Lutianus jocu, dog snapper, 337, 344. LMtianus synagris, lane snapper, 337. 339- Mackerel family, 272. kingfish, 279. Spanish, 273. Margate fish, 328. description, 328, 329. tackle and fishing, 330. Mascalonge, 122. coloration, 1 27-129, description, 126, 127. distribution, 126. nomenclature, 122-126, tackle and fishing, 132-135, Maskinonge, 124, Menippe, stone crab genus, 320. Menticirrhus americanus, whiting, 225, Menticirrhus littoralis, silver whit- ing, 225, Menticirrhus saxatilis, kingfish, 221. Michigan grayling, 178. Micropogon undulatus, croaker, 214, 226. Micropterus dolomieu, small-mouth black-bass, i, 3. Micropterus salmoides, large-mouth black -bass, 2, 30, Minnow family, 236, Minnow gangs, 143. Montana grayling, 181, Morone americana, white-perch, 95, no, Morone interrupta, yellow-bass, 90, Mud-dab, 266. Mugil cephalus, common mullet, 319. Mugil curetna, white mullet, 319, Mugil trichodon, fan-tail mullet, 319, Mugilidiv, mullet family, 319. Mullet, common, 319, fan-tail, 319. whirligig, 319, white, 319. Multiplying reel, invention of, 13. Muskellunge, 125. Mycteroperca falcata phenax, scamp, 2S6, 291, Mycteroperca microlepis, gag, 285, 287, Mycteroperca venenosa, yellow-fin grouper, 286, 294. Newlight, 80. Nigger-fish, 287, 300. description, 300, 301. tackle and fishing, 302, Not all of fishing to fish, 92-94. Oceanic bonito, 283, Ocyurus chrvsurus, yellow-tail, 336, 33S. Orchestia, beach-flea genus, 321, Orthopristis chrysopterus, pig-fish, 322, 330, 331. Osmerus mordax^ smelt, 263, 269. Osprey on the fly, 64, Palinurus, sea-crawfish genus, 318. Palccmonetes, prawn genus, 321, Panopeus, mud crab genus, 320. Perca flavescens, yellow-perch, 165. Perch, black, 371, blue, 264, bridge, 74, chincapin, 74. family, 156. goggle-eye, 74, 80. pike, 157. raccoon, 166. red-bellied, 68. Index 407 Perch [continued'^ — ringed, 166. Sacramento, 57, warmouth, 58. white, 1 10, 234. yellow, 165. PercidcB, perch family, 156. Permit, 312. Petrometopon cruentatus, coney, 286, 299. Pickerel, banded, 154. brook, 154. eastern, 149. great northern, 137. Long Island, 154. reticulated, 149. western, 153. Pig-fish, 322, 330, 331. description, 331, 332. tackle and fishing, 333. Pike, 137. description, 137-140. fishing through ice, 144-146. tackle and fishing, 141-147, Pike family, 120. glass-eyed, 157. gray, 164. rattlesnake, 164, sand, 164. wall-eyed, 157. yellow, 157. Pike-perch, 157. description, 157-160. night fishing, 162. tackle and fishing, 161-163. Pikes, key to, 121, 122. Pin-fish, 386. description, 386, 387. tackle and fishing, 387. Piscatorial polemic, 44. Platyonichus, lady crab genus, 320, Pomoxis annularis, crappie, 3, 79. Pomoxis sparoides, calico-bass, 3, 73- Pompano, 311. description, 31 1-3 14. best of food-fishes, 312, 314. tackle and fishing, 313, 314. Pompano, common, 307, 31 1. gaff top-sail, 312. permit, 312. round, 312. Porgy, 259. big-head, 347, 348. family, 347. grass, 348, 353. jolt-head, 348. little-head, 348, 352. saucer-eye, 348, 350. Pork-fish, 323, 334. description, 334, 335, tackle and fishing, 335. Prawn, 321. Pseudopleuronectes americanus, flounder, 263, 266. Pumpkin-seed, 69. Pyrula, mollusk genus, 318, 339. Querimana gyrans, whirligig mullet, 319- Razor back, 74. Record fly-casting, 16. Red-bellied perch, 68. Red-breast bream, 68. Red-breast sunfish, 67. Red-eye, 53. Red hind, 286, 297. description, 297. tackle and fishing, 298. Red snapper, 342. description, 342. tackle and fishing, 343, 344. Red sunfish, 67. Reel, click, 17. Reel, multiplying, 13. Roach, 231. Roccus chrysops, white-bass, 86. Roccui Hneatus, striped-bass, 95, 96. 4o8 Index Rock, 96. Rock-bass, 52. description, 53. tackle and fishing, 54-57. Rocktish, 96. Rock hind, 286, 295. description, 295, 296. tackle and fishing, 297. Rocky Mountain whitefish, 204. description, 204. tackle and fishing, 205, 206. Rod, Henshall, 25. Little Giant, loi, 102. Rovallia, 366. Rules for artificial flies, 21. Runner, 306, 307. description, 307. tackle and fishing, 308. Sac-a-lait, 80. Sacramento perch, 57. description, 57. tackle and fishing, 58. Sailor's choice, 330, 331, 386, description, 330. tackle and fishing, 331, Salmon family, 203. SalmonidiB, 203. Sand-bug, 321. Sand-fish, 287, 303. description, 303. tackle and fishing, 304, Sarda sarda, bonito, 273, 282. Sardine, silver, 319. striped, 319. Sardinella humeralis, silver sardine, 319- Sardinella Sardinia, striped sardine, 319. Saucer-eye porgy, 350. description, 351. tackle and fishing, 352. Sanger, 164. description, 165. Sanger \^continued'\ — tackle and fishing, 165, Scamp, 286, 291. description, 292. tackle and fishing, 293. Schoolmaster, 345. description, 345, 346. tackle and fishing, 347. Scicenida:, drum family, 213, 232. Scotnberomorus cavalla, kingfish, 279, 280. Scomberomorus maculatus, Spanish mackerel, 272, 273. Scombero77iorus rcgalis, cero, 272, 278. ScombridcE, mackerel family, 272. Scup, 259. description, 260. tackle and fishing, 261. Scuppaug, 259. Sea-bass, 115. description, 1 15, 1 16. tackle and fishing, 117, 118. Sea-bass, family, 95, 285. black, 115. Gulf, 119. southern, 118. Sea-crawfish, 318. Sergeant-fish, 366, 374. Serranida, bass family, 85, 95, 285. Shad, 80. Sheepshead, 252. description, 252-254. tackle and fishing, 255-259. Sheepshead family, 251. lake, 232. Sheridan and Stager, 77. Shrimp, 321. SiluridcE, catfish family, 244. Silver-bass, 74. Small-mouth black-bass, 3. Smelt, 263, 269. description, 269. tackle and fishing, 270, 271. Index 409 Snapper, black, 371. dog, 337. 344- family, 336. lane, 337, 339. red, 337, 342. schoolmaster, 338, 345. Snook, 366. description, 366, 367. tackle and fishing, 368-370. Southern sea-bass, 118. description, 118. habits and habitat, 119. Spade-fish, 385. Spanish mackerel, 273. description, 273-275. tackle and fishing, 276-278. Spar idee, porgy family, 251, 347. Speckled perch, 74, 80. Spot, 228. Spotted weakfish, 376. description, 377, 378. tackle and fishing, 379, 380. Squeteague, 215. Squirrel-fish, 388. description, 388. tackle and fishing, 389. Stenotomus chrysops, scup, 251, 259. Sienotomus aculeatus, fair maid, 259. Stizostedion canadense, sauger, 156, 164. Stizostedion vitreum, pike-perch, 156, 157. Stolephorus brownii, big anchovy, 320. Stolephorus mitchilli, silver anchovy, 320. Stolephorus: perfasciatus, banded anchovy, 320. Strawberry-bass, 73. Striped-bass, 96. description, 96-100. fly-fishing, 109. still-fishing, loi. Striped-bass \continued^ — surf-fishing, 104-108. tools and tackle, 101-105. Strombus, mollusk genus, 318, 339. Sunfish, black, 58. blue, 62. common, 69. family, i. long-eared, 65. red-breast, 67. Susquehanna salmon, 157. Tally- wag, 119. Tautogolabrus adspersus, cunner, 263, 264. Ten-pounder, 361. description, 361, 362. tackle and fishing, 363-365. Thunder-pumper, 233. Thymallida:, grayling family, 173. Thymallus montanus, Montana grayhng, 173, 181. Thymallus signifer, Arctic grayling, 173. 176. Thymallus tricolor, Michigan gray- ling, 173, 178. Tip-ups, 146. Tobacco-box, 65. Toboggan episode, 92-94. Trachinotus carolinus, common pompano, 307, 311. Trachinotus falcatus, round pom- pano, 312. Trachinotus glaucus, gaflf top-sail pompano, 312. Trachinotus goodei, permit pom- pano, 312. Triple-tail, 370. description, 370, 371. tackle and fishing, 372. Trolling-spoon, 141-143. Turbot, 390. description, 390, 391. habits and habitat, 392. 4IO Index Wall-eyed pike, 157. Warmouth perch, 58. description, 58, 59. tackle and fishing, 60-62. Weakfish, 215. description, 215-217. tackle and fishing, 218-220. Weakfish, bastard, 221. deep-sea, 381. northern, 214. spotted, 376. Western pickerel, 153. description, 153. tackle and fishing, 154. White-bass, 86. description, 86. tackle and fishing, 87-89. Whitefish, Rocky Mountain, 204. White lake-bass, 86. White-perch, 1 10, 234. description, no, iii. White-perch [^continued'\ — tackle and fishing, 112, 113. Whiting, 221. Wonders of the sea, 327, 389, 390. Yellow-bass, 90. description, 90, 91. tackle and fishing, 92. Yellow-finned grouper, 294. description, 294. habits and habitat, 295. Yellow grunt, 326. description, 326. tackle and fishing, 327. Yellow-perch, 165. description, 165-167. tackle and fishing, 168-172. Yellow-tail, 338. description, 338. tackle and fishing, 339. Youthful angling, 72. FISHING — SPORT — TRAVEL Fishing, Tackle and Kits BY DIXIE CAI5R0LL Author of " Lake and Stream Game Fishes " How, when and where to tish and the right kind of tackle for all angles of lisliing for the fresh water game fish. Habits and peculiarities of the basses, muskallonge, trout, pike, pickerel and wall-eyed pike. Fishing facts that will make the tyro an expert angler and the expert more fin- ished in the art. Practical information that will make your fishing dreams come true. Little points that fill your stringer written from years of lake and stream study and experience. How to play the fish in a sportsmanlike manner. Things worth knowing about tackle, kits and equipment secured from actual tests and investigations. Nature's reasons governing fishing conditions. From cast to gafT and how to do it. Care of tackle and the reasons why it does its part and how it makes your batting aver- age higher in the greatest out-of-doors sport. Many illustrations from photofiraphs. 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Hunters of big game will revel in this journey to the greatest range of big game on the continent; lovers of animal life will find keen interest in observing and studying with Mr. Auer the habits of the wild life of the far North, while tlio reader wlio loves the Open Places of God's Great Nature will be doininated by the in- timate contact with the Majesty, Might and Beauty of the Wilder- ness of Alaska and the Yukon. Numerous Full Par/e lUustrations on Cameo Paper. Ilandsome 3 Color Cover Jacket Net $2.00 Endorsed hy U. S. Government Officials Individual Instruction in Rifle Practice With a Chapter on Revolver Shooting — Unabridged Edition By col. a. J. MAC NAB, JR., U. S. A. The science and art of shooting (written by an expert) the Military Rifle and Revolver is described and illustrated in a clear and comprehensive style that makes tlie student's progress accurate and complete. The subjects of Aiming, Position, Vision, and Trigger-pull are all treated in a manner both interesting and instructive. The chaiaer on Revolver Shooting describes in detail how to shoot the new ymith & Wes.son 45-caliber Revolver, which uses the 45caliber Automatic Cartridge, and is the Iwil word in Revolvers. Outdoor Life : "One of the most practical, clear, and concise books on rifle and revolver shooting for beginners, both in civil and army circles, published. It actually tells how to learn to shoot as nearly as it seems possible to explain the matter in print." IGmo. Cloth. Illustrated Net 75c STEWART & KIDD COMPANY, PUBLISHERS FISHING — SPORT— TRAVEL Streamcraft: An Angling Manual By dr. GEORGE PARKER HOLDEN The author has written a volume which will be of great interest to those of the angling fraternity. It deals with the selection, care and rigging of the rod, the art of casting, trout habits, lures and their use, including some stream entymology, the angler flies and liow to tie th. lu, including a description "of the most successful trout and bass fJies. The style is always sprightly and lucid, even in the most technical parts. No other volume on American angling is so authoritative and comprehensive. Handsomely and elaborately illustrated. Eight full j.age colored illustrations and numerous black and whites. The booli in size haudy for the pocket. Net $2.00 3-4 Turkey Morocco ^7.50 The Yellowstone National Park The World's Greatest Wonderland America's Only Geyser Land By GEN. HIRAM M. CHITTENDEN An entirely new and revised edition with new plates and new illustrations of this remarkable classic of The Yellowstone. Ever since its discovery, more than forty years ago, the Yellowstone Park has grown in po]iular interest. Its natural wonders surpass any thing to be found in lik(> compass elsewhere in the world. To these attraclions Imve bi en added others in the form of won- derful mountain ro.'.ds built by the Government, and a s.ystem of hotels and camping facilities which make traveling through the Park a delight quite a|)art from its scenic interest. The 191S edition of The Yellowstone is the most comprehensive book on the Park ever ]iublisbed. It gives a complete history of that region, as well as a full scientific description of its natural wonders. It is also an admirable Guide Book. HundsdHiihi iUuslrated on Cameo paper, and three-color cover ja.cl-'. ^^o ^0^^. >--'X.-.-V- -i'^ > ''^^> .^^'' v^^ "^ LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 002 885 586 2