256 Bass, Pike, and Perch 



whose piling is studded with barnacles and mus- 

 sels, and about which shrimp abound. During 

 slack water a light sinker is sufficient ; but when 

 the tide runs strongly, heavier ones must be used, 

 as it is imperative to keep the bait near the 

 bottom, especially if fishing from a boat. If fish- 

 ing from a wharf, it does not matter so much, pro- 

 vided the bait is deep enough to prevent the fish 

 from seeing the angler. While this is a precau- 

 tion that must be observed with all fishes, I do 

 not think the sheepshead is so shy a fish as some 

 maintain ; at least I have never found it so. 



The best bait is shedder-crab, fiddlers, or 

 hermit crabs. Clam bait, though, is cheaper 

 and more universally used in the North. In 

 Florida the fiddlers can be scooped up by the 

 peck on the inside beaches of the bays, and 

 contiguous to good sheepshead fishing. If the 

 clam is large, the meat should be cut up for 

 bait; but if quite small, or if mussels are used, 

 the shells may be merely cracked or smashed, 

 and put on the hook entire. The latter is the 

 mode where the fish are scarce or shy, but I 

 prefer to use the meat only, discarding the shells ; 

 in the case of fiddlers, when very small, they 

 should be used au nalurel, or whole. 



