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 



