250 GAME FISH OF NORTH AMERICA. 



THE LABRACID^. 



Striped Bass. — Rock fish. — Roccas lineatus. — Gill. 



Body above dusky, sides and belly a dull white ; sides marked 

 with seven or eight longitudinal lines of a coppery-brown color in 

 salt water, and a bluish black in fresh water. It is found all along 

 the coasts from Florida to Cape Cod. They only ascend fresh- 

 water streams in the spring to breed, or for shelter during the 

 winter. One ichthyologist states that after hea\7 rains, or the 

 sudden melting of snow in great quantities, these fish are forced 

 from their abodes back again into salt water ; but when the freshet 

 subsides, they invariably reascend. We have observed this pecu- 

 liarity in the Hudson River, and this accounts for their apparently 

 capricious movements — their sudden appearance and disappear- 

 ance, which puzzles so many fishermen. They spawn in May, and 

 by August 1st, weigh a quarter of a pound. Large fish are seldom 

 taken in rivers, bays, inlets and small creeks, and we have never 

 heard of large fish being taken in the spawning season. They 

 are too busy with their procreative duties, and are not then " on the 

 feed." The largest fish are taken along the coast outside the surf, 

 from June until October, from Montauk Point to Cape Cod, espe- 

 cially along the islands that flank the Buzzard's Bay. For suitable 

 tackle to capture striped bass, we prefer to take that ancient bass 

 angler, Genio C. Scott, as authority. He has written : 



" The rod should be about eight feet in length, made of two 

 bamboo joints. The guides should be stationary on each side of 

 the rod, so that when the rod gets set or bent by fishing one side 

 up, it may be turned over, and the other side used. The guides 

 sliould be a quarter of an inch in diameter, so as to cast a knot in 

 the line through them if necessary. The edges of the guide should 

 be so smoothly polished or burnished as to produce no friction 

 upon the line. Bell metal is the best from which to make guides 

 and tips; but some prefer settings of agate or other precious 

 stones for the line to play through. The best line is a linen one 

 of twelve strands, as small as the usual trout line, but six hundred 

 feet in length, made without taper like the salmon or trout lines. 

 The reel is of German silver or brass. The crank should be as 

 far as convenient from the knuckles of the angler, and not so 

 long or heavy as to produce a momentum difficult to check with 

 the thumb. Of course, the wear of thumbstalls is necessary, or a 



