28o Bass, Pike, and Perch 



difficult to distinguish between them. The king- 

 fish is rather more slender, the adult fish being of 

 a uniform slaty hue, usually without spots or 

 markings of any kind, and grows to a larger size, 

 often to fifty pounds or more. It is fully de- 

 scribed in another volume of this series. 



On the occasion referred to I captured a num- 

 ber of kingfish and two ceros of about the same 

 relative weight, from eight to ten pounds. The 

 conditions were quite favorable to compare their 

 gameness, but I was unable to perceive any dif- 

 ference in this respect. Both fish took the bait 

 with a rush, and when hooked exhibited game 

 qualities of the highest order, leaping contin- 

 uously and to a height of five or six feet. 

 Their swift rushes, as they cut through the water 

 with incredible swiftness, and for which they are 

 especially built, were very trying to my light 

 striped-bass rod. I lost a number of fish that 

 shook out the hook when leaping. I used the 

 Sproat bend, No. 7-0, but 5-0 would be large 

 enough for the average-sized cero. My line was a 

 braided linen, size E, to which the snelled hook 

 was attached by a small brass box-swivel ; but 

 knobbed hooks, if they can be obtained of suit- 

 able size, are to be preferred. 



