60 Fishcraft 



lent bait, while the frog, worm, craw- 

 fish, or helgramite are often equally 

 attractive, and imitations of these in 

 artificial lures are not by any means 

 refused when the bass happens to be 

 in a taking mood; the "plug" often 

 proving one of the best baits obtain- 

 able. 



The range of the blask bass is about 

 half nation-wide, no fresh water game 

 fish having a much more extensive 

 distribution, probably none so general 

 a habitant of waters east of the Mis- 

 sissippi. Artificial propagation has 

 done much with this, as with other 

 desirable game and food fishes, to ex- 

 tend the distribution far beyond the 

 original or natural range, and in 

 nearly all waters adapted to their 

 adoption, and not pre-empted by 

 some species of the trout family, fish 

 hatching has enabled anglers to revel 

 in fish catching, with the black bass 

 providing the sport-giving incentive. 

 The bass are most abundant in Mich- 

 igan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, New 

 York, New Jersey, and Canada. 



Many local names have been given 



