92 FISHERMAN'S LURES 



are given to cover so wide and varied a subject, 

 and many different species of fish with widely 

 different habits. 



The annexed combination plan of different lake 

 conditions is an attempt to show at a glance the 

 probable places and most likely spots where bass 

 and pike are usually found, also the food they 

 take and the different baits suited to those con- 

 ditions. Neither bass nor pike are by nature wan- 

 derers; they never stray far from the chosen local- 

 ity; and when this has once been chosen — always 

 with a view to the best feeding-ground — they 

 stay there, unless their food-supply by some reason 

 is cut off — ^as, for instance, when bottom creepers, 

 like hellgrammites, have changed to the adult 

 state. Then a new food-supply is sought — min- 

 nows, frogs, and other foods. In lakes of large 

 extent, like Chautauqua, the home of the banded 

 muskellunge {Lucius ohiensis), the fish food-sup- 

 ply is ample, not only for the muskellunge, but 

 for bass and other fish, so that little or no change 

 of feeding-ground is necessary. Then again, after 

 the young have grown to a fair size, cannibalism 

 provides considerable food for various species, 

 notably bass, pickerel, pike, and muskellunge. 

 The prolific perch, which by some means or other 



