FISH AND FISHING IN AMERICA. 



BY WM. C. HARRIS. 

 (Continued from page 100.) 



The stone roller — Cauipostonia ano- 

 viahim — is found from Central New 

 York to Tennessee, Wyoming and 

 Texas. It grows to a length of about 

 eight inches, and is often abundant in 

 the deep and still pools of trout and the 

 smaller black bass streams. It may be 

 recognized by the dusky vertical bar 

 back of gill cover, its brownish color 

 with brassy lustre above, scales more or 

 less dark mottled, and a dusky crossbar 

 in the center, or near it, of the dorsal 

 and of the anal fin. In the spawning 

 season this fish puts on the most gorge- 

 ous of nuptial robes; the fins of the 

 males become fiery red, the iris of the 

 eye a beautiful orange, and the entire 

 body seems illumined for the bridal oc- 

 casion ; its brilliant appearance, how- 

 ever, being slightly marred by the 

 large, wart-like tubercles which appear 

 in spring upon the head and sometimes 

 on the entire body. Dr. Bean states 

 this fish to be one of the most singular, 

 in having the air bladder surrounded by 

 numerous turns of the long intestine. 

 In this respect it is unique among fishes. 



The smelt or silvery minnow — Hybog- 

 nathus nnchalis — is abundantly found in 

 the streams from the Delaware and 

 Neuse to the upper Missouri and south- 

 ward to Georgia and Texas. It grows 

 to nearly nine inches. It is greenish 

 olive above the lateral line, clear silvery 

 sides with bright reflection and unspot- 

 ted fins, which become dusky in speci- 

 mens living in dark, deep water. There 

 are several varieties of this species, one 

 of which, regius, is found in the streams 

 and rivers of Maryland and Virginia, 

 and is said to be a choice table fish. It 

 may be distinguished from //. michalis 



by its deeper~.body and larger eye. H 

 regius is the gudgeon of the Patapsco 

 river, so eagerly fished for by Baltimore 

 anglers, and treated more at length on 

 a subsequent page. 



Another species, the cut-lipped chubb 

 — Exoglossuvi uiaxilliiigiia — is frequent- 

 ly taken by the fly fisherman and may 

 be known at sight by its peculiarly 

 shaped lower jaw which has three lobes, 

 a formation not existing in any other of 

 the cyprinoids. It is also called the 

 butter chub, nigger and day chub, and 

 is abundant in the Susquehanna river, 

 and many consider it a good pan fish, 

 although it seldom grows larger than 

 six inches. It has a somewhat limited 

 range, from Lake Ontario southward to 

 Virginia, but is abundant in the Hud- 

 son, Potomac, James and other Virginia 

 waters. 



The spawn eater or smelt — Notropis 

 Jiudsoniiis — is another of the chubs taken 

 by the angler on black bass streams. It 

 grows to about ten inches in Lake Erie 

 and other large waters and ranges from 

 the Dakotas and Lake Superior to New 

 York and southward to South Carolina- 

 It is abundant east of the Alleghanies 

 and in the Great Lakes, but is rarely 

 taken in the small brooks. The color- 

 ation is pale with, usually, a round black 

 spot at base of caudal fin, which is 

 always present in the young. There is 

 also a broad lateral silvery band which 

 in some waters becomes dusky. It is 

 said to be a good table fish and is a 

 choice lure for the black bass, the pike 

 and the mascalonge, for which purpose 

 it is used extensively by the anglers of 

 the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence 



