HABITS 7 



where to be compared, from an angler's point of view, with 

 those which haunt the rocks and shoals of the eastern shore 

 of Georgian Bay. Owing to the numerous islands and 

 reefs lying along this shore, together with prevailing 

 westerly winds, which keep the water always in motion, 

 strong currents run in all directions, the result being that 

 the bass there differ entirely from those which live in com- 

 paratively still water, their skin being a bright olive green, 

 clean and shining, the belly pure white, and the eyes crimson ; 

 living in water which is in continual motion, they become 

 exceedingly strong and active, and, as an article of food, 

 they are unsurpassed even by the speckled trout. 



In large expanses of water like the Great Lakes bass are 

 gregarious and migratory. This is true to some extent even 

 in smaller lakes. After the spawning season is over, in the 

 spring, they collect in shoals, usually from ten to twenty, 

 but occasionally containing as many as fifty fish, and swim 

 about from place to place in search of food. 



The composition of these shoals varies considerably: 

 they may consist of a leader, either male or female, gener- 

 ally a large fish of two or three pounds in weight, and a 

 number of smaller fry varying from a pound downwards to 

 seven ounces; or, they may be all of a uniform size. 



Very large fish are seldom found with these shoals; and 

 what impresses one most, in these migrations, is the fact 

 that the females predominate. The angler who takes a 

 shoal of bass from a single hole will find, if he cares to make 

 the necessary observations, that seventy-five per cent, of 

 such a shoal will be females. Whether this is on account 

 of their being more numerous than the males, or for some 

 other reason, it is impossible to determine with any degree 

 of accuracy. 



Sometimes stragglers or solitary bass remain in one spot 

 for a length of time ; these are large fish of over three pounds 

 in weight, and more frequently male than female. They 

 seem to prefer solitude and rely on their own exertions. 



