SOUTHERX INLAND FISHES. 375 



SO as to give instances of spawning- as early as March and as late 

 as the 15th of June. I have examined the ova of five or six differ- 

 ent sizes of bass ranging- from six to eighteen or twenty inches, 

 and found in November, the eggs separately discernible and 

 equally developed in all, though the sacs were of course of various 

 sizes. The ova mentioned above were about as large as blunt 

 pin points, and, I think, would be ready to flow in the last part of 

 Februar)', certainly by the ist March. The earliest caught last 

 season were taken in May ; the latest in the latter part of ivio- 

 vember. Anglers stop fishing here in December, but I believe bass 

 could be taken even in that month if trial were made. The earli- 

 est taken with the tly were taken on ist of June ; the latest, by 

 that rneans, in November. They can be taken with the fly from 

 June 1st till December, whenever the water is clear enough for 

 the fish to see the fly, and not so clear as to make apparent the 

 angler. They retire to deeper waters as the weather gets cool, 

 and are often taken thence with live bait, hellgramites, etc. They 

 may be captured with the fly even in cool weather on the edges of 

 deep pools long after they have deserted the shallows proper. 

 Bass weighing over three pounds have been killed with the fly, 

 and bass of over six pounds with the live minnows. To sum up, 

 the bass spend the winter in the deepest waters — begin to ascend 

 the streams in early spring — spawn in spring and summer, and 

 are in their best condition in autumn. The main army have 

 finished the labor by the middle of June. The open season ought 

 to be, in this locality, from 15th June to ist December until 

 more accurate data may be gathered of their habits. Their food 

 consists of worms, larvae, flies, beetles, grasshoppers, crickets and 

 small fish of all sorts. They are very voracious, fierce, and strong. 

 In a good pool they can leap vertically several feet. They have 

 been found above dams four or five feet high after being put in 

 below such structures. The artificial flies most taking with these 

 scaly citizens are the Academy and Ferguson flies, the latter 

 red, brown and ginger hackles, and hackles brown and black 

 together. Of the winged flies, the coachman with white wings, flies- 

 with peacock herl body, ginger hackle and yellowish white wings 

 with red streaks and red antennae have been most killing. Most 

 ol the " bass flies," sent from the tackle stores are entirely too 

 large, and ordinary trout flies tied on Aberdeen and on Sproat 

 hooks of small size are much more effective than the so-called 

 bass flies of the stores. The commonest caterpillar here in No- 

 vember is black and reddish brown ; hackles like it are quite 

 taking." 



For Florida w'aters the following has proved a most successful fly : 



/j'D^/t. — Large, No. 3-0, Limerick, r^r//.— Scarlet and blue feather, a portion 

 of each. .5^(/)'.— Scarlet silk or mohair tipped and ribbed with gold twist, a scarlet 

 hackle wound in at the same time, the hackle being wound close at head to form 



