SURFACE-FEEDING SEA FISH 349 



me he had an account of a bass weighing 24^ Ibs. after being 

 cleaned, from a trustworthy man who himself caught the fish. 



For angling purposes bass may be divided into two classes : 

 those which run from about two pounds to five pounds, and may 

 sometimes be seen in immense shoals, hunting sand-eels or fry ; 

 and the large and more aged fish which, in the dusk of early 

 morning, will be seen swimming in stately fashion in little com- 

 panies of two to five in number, or thereabouts, close to the edge 

 of steep rocks, round wooden piers and jetties, and among the 

 old woodwork of harbours. It is these large, shy, old fish which 

 the enthusiastic bass fisher feels it an honour and a duty to 

 catch. They are the Thames trout of the sea. But for lively 

 and continued sport commend me rather to the shoals of 

 smaller bass when well on the feed. On many days even these 

 cannot be caught, though to all appearance they are savagely 

 and hungrily chasing their unfortunate prey. As in freshwater 

 fishing, much depends upon the weather. If it be very bright 

 and sunny the fish are scared by the line, and are not to be 

 deceived into deeming a piece of indiarubber band a succulent 

 worm or a baby eel. Under such conditions baits to be tried 

 are the curb-chain spinner (p. 143) or a white unvarnished 

 sole-skin phantom with silvered head. The angler, however, 

 will catch nothing unless he keeps out of sight and the boat is 

 worked noiselessly. 



From an English bass-fisher's point of view, the most 

 interesting parts of our coast are those bordering Devonshire 

 and Cornwall, portions of Wales, and the Island of Anglesea. 

 Sometimes they are fairly plentiful in or near the estuary of 

 the Thames, as, for instance, at Herne Bay. Not that bass are 

 wanting elsewhere, for they can occasionally be found, even 

 in considerable numbers, on the East coast, as far north as 

 Scotland, and even Norway, where, however, bass are very scarce. 

 In Ireland they are caught on the east and south coasts, and I 



