MINNOWS AS BAITS 



spring of the year. These fishes are abundant in 

 almost every brook and river, and are more gen- 

 erally used than any other minnow for bait. Dur- 

 ing winter they can be taken in great numbers 

 through the ice, at which season they are generally 

 found to be eight to nine inches long, and are ex- 

 cellent pan fish. There are several other species 

 of chubs found in New England and Canadian 

 waters, all of which, when small, are used as 

 baits. 



There is also a pretty little fish, commonly 

 known as the " red-bellied dace," which is tech- 

 nically Chrosomus erythrogaster, both names being 

 from the Greek, and signifying " red beauty of the 

 body." It is very beautiful, with its silvery iri- 

 descence of the lower parts, the clear brownish 

 olive of the upper, and the two black lateral bands 

 traversing nearly the entire body, the upper one 

 passing through the eye to the snout. Between 

 these two black bands, there is a bright silvery 

 area. These little fish are very abundant in the 

 waters around Freeport, Maine, and are, doubtless, 

 found in many other waters along the coast of 

 New England from April to July ; after that 

 time, having spawned, they lose their bright 

 colors, and collect in deeper waters. 



The golden shiner, indiscriminately called roach 

 277 



