MINNOWS AS BAITS 



of the scales. It never grows beyond five inches 

 in length. 



The young of some of the mullets are some- 

 times used for baits, the best of them being the 

 white or blue-back mullet, which is numerous 

 from Cape Cod to Brazil. It may be known by 

 its thick lips, and its eyes being hidden, before and 

 behind, by a broad fatty membrane, and by a 

 rather small dark blotch at the base of the breast 

 fins. 



There is a little fish that may occasionally be 

 met with by inland fishermen of New England 

 and Eastern Canada, which, when found, will make 

 excellent bait for all fishes of fresh water and, 

 doubtless, those of salt water. It is known as the 

 miller's thumb, blob, muffle-jaw, bullhead, and 

 spring fish. It has a slender (sometimes stout) 

 body which tapers gradually backward to the tail ; 

 its head is large, flat on top, and its breast fins are 

 also very large, extending backwards nearly to the 

 base of the tail fin. Its length is three to seven 

 inches, but the size and form is extremely variable. 

 It is also very destructive to trout eggs. 



