138 STEIPED BASS. 



STEIPED BASS. 



Rock-fish — Idhrax Lineatus, 



These glorious fish, the dehght of the angler's 

 heart, the bravest and strongest except the salmon, 

 the largest without exception of the finny tribe that 

 the sportsman pursues, frequent every cove and bay 

 of our northern Atlantic coast, and furnish the main 

 attraction of salt-water fishing. 



Their mode of capture differs according to the 

 locality ; from the rock-bound coast of the Eastern 

 States the adventurous angler, perched upon some 

 projecting rock, casts the simple bait into the crested 

 wave, amid the thundering surf of the stormy sea ; 

 along the sandy shores and in the tranquil inlets of 

 the Middle States, gut snells, sinker and float come 

 into play in the rapid tide ways ; and among the 

 numerous lagoons and bays of the Southern States 

 the clumsy but effective hand-line is employed. 



To the eastward, menhaden and lobster are the 

 favorite baits; in Pennsylvania and New York 

 shrimp, crab, and squid ; and in the Southern States 

 killeys, herrings, and other small fish. The artificial 

 baits are the eel-skin, imitation squid, and gaudy 

 bass-fly. The eel-skin used mainly along New^ 

 England shores is attached to a hand-line, and cast 

 into and drawn rapidly through the boiling surf of 



