THE STRIPED BASS. 1 43 



autumn weather, breathing the bahny air of the Indian sum- 

 mer, tempered and softened as it comes over the salt water, 

 ■until we feel an exhilaration which will show itself for many 

 days after in a renewed activity of mind and body. 



When the tide rises or the fish cease biting, we try other 

 grounds, never rowing over the spot which we propose to 

 fish, but approaching" it with the utmost caution, particularly 

 if the water be shallow, for your Bass is a shy fish, and grows 

 in wariness as he increases in size. He is as keen of eye as 

 a Trout, and will take alarm at the near approach of a boat 

 or at any unusual disturbance of the water. So we drop our 

 anchor noiselessly, far enough from the feeding-ground to 

 have our boat swing within easy casting distance. The more 

 <]uietly these operations are conducted, the greater the proba- 

 bility of taking large fish. 



I have many times fished with an old friend — that thor- 

 ough angler and excellent writer, Genio C. Scott — on the 

 south side of Long Island for Trout, at Rockaway Inlet for 

 Sheepshead; but the one day that we had, off Staten Island, 

 fishing for Striped Bass, when I sat, as it were, at the feet 

 ■of Gamaliel, gathering in heaps of fish-lore and occasional 

 fishes, will ever have a place in my memory as one of perfect 

 ■enjoyment. Peace to his ashes. 



We caught, that day, thirty Bass, averaging one and three- 

 quarter pounds, in two hours' fishing. 



The baits used in fishing for Bass, are, as Mr. Venus puts 

 it, in "Our Mutual Friend," "warious," depending entirely on 

 the location. On the Susquehanna the Bass are trolled for 

 with the eel tail, and they take it readily. At the falls of the 

 Potomac, and also on the Passaic and Raritan rivers, they 

 take the fly. No doubt they would rise to the fly in other 

 waters if properly invited, but thase are small Bass. At 

 West Island, No Man's Land, Block Island, and the fishing 

 stands of the Vineyard Islands, the Menhaden bait and Lob- 

 ster tail are used with great success. At Hell Gate, and other 

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