BAITS, AND SEA-FISHING 125 



" When fishing from high piers, casting is any- 

 thing but a convenient method of working the 

 bait. For bass, or pollack " (by the way pollack, 

 as has been pointed out, are not very common 

 on the east coast) " it is not, as a rule, necessary 

 to cast from such, because those fish are found 

 close to the piles of pier, jetty, and the like, and 

 many of them are caught by simply sinking and 

 drawing the bait through the water, or even 

 by walking up and down the pier and trailing 

 the bait." 



The chief absentee among the sporting fishes, 

 is the bass. Though not unknown, he is so scarce 

 that he may be left out of account, as no one 

 would think of going out in search of him. He 

 bites eagerly when that way inclined, moves 

 about in shoals, and may be hooked up to 12 

 or 16 Ibs. On the other hand, he is a foul 

 feeder, and not very good for food. Now, a strong 

 prejudice exists here against catching fish which 

 one cannot use, or even more than one can use. 



" Though not particularly estimable at the table, 

 it ranks rather highly among the sportsman's 

 sea-fish, being plentiful, biting freely, and fight- 

 jng gamely." Such is the certificate of character 

 attached to the bream. 



