348 MODERN SEA FISHING 



purposes at the end of summer, sometimes proceeds up rivers 

 into fresh water. Indeed, it is said that the Romans not only 

 kept bass in captivity, but also bred them in aquaria filled with 

 spring water. Mr. Arnold, of Guernsey, repeated this experi- 

 ment omitting the breeding part of it not only with success, 

 but went so far as to say that the flesh of the fish was greatly 

 improved by the sojourn in fresh water. 



Though anglers who have cast their lines among shoals of 

 these fish and caught nothing, may question the fact, there is 

 not much doubt that the sea perch were anciently called wolves 

 on "account of their voracity, and, perhaps, also because of a 

 certain sense of cunning they appear to possess when surround- 

 ing the sand-eels, young herrings, and mackerel, &c., on which 

 they largely feed. They have various local names : in Kentish 

 waters are often termed sea dace, while at Herne Bay they are 

 dignified by the name of white salmon. In Scotland, where they 

 are very scarce, they are sometimes termed gape mouths ; while 

 at Belfast the people persistently call them white mullet, or 

 king of the mullets. 



In form the bass is less graceful than the dace of fresh 

 water, but is built on finer lines than the chub, and may be 

 always recognised by the prickly dorsal fin, similar to that worn 

 by the freshwater perch. The back is dark blue, while the sides 

 and belly are silvery. It has a liberal allowance of teeth, some 

 placed in crescent shape on the roof of its mouth, others in a 

 small patch at the base of the tongue. Its mouth otherwise is 

 very leathery and tough, and, so far, very different from that of 

 the mullet. With regard to size, a ten or twelve pounder must 

 be considered a large fish, though occasionally one of 1 5 Ibs. 

 is caught by the angler. Yarrell mentions one of 28 Ibs., but I 

 must confess to being somewhat distrustful of the weights of 

 fish given by the older ichthyologists. It is said that a bass of 

 22 Ibs. was once netted near Herne Bay Pier. A friend tells 



