THE STRIPED BASS. 147 



tending to great discomfiture and unrestrained merriment on 

 the part of her more bashful companions; for, although some 

 of the questions drew heavily on the imagination for a reply, 

 I had not the heart to mar their innocent fun by appearing 

 in true character as one of the wicked denizens of the great 

 metropolis, but kept up the rustic simplicity to the end, when, 

 tired of their chaffing, or seeking more fun, they glided away 

 along the beach, leaving in my memory, never to be forgot- 

 ten, the echo of their merry ripples of laughter. 



Some of the greatest catches known, of large Bass, were 

 made from the iron piers built for the purpose by the late 

 Thomas Winans, at Newport, Rhode Island. In three 

 months of one year July, August, and September he and 

 his nephew, Thomas Whistler, caught one hundred and twen- 

 ty-four Bass, weighing two thousand, nine hundred and twen- 

 ty-one pounds, an average of over twenty-three pounds, the 

 largest being one of sixty pounds. There were but nineteen 

 minnows taken in the season, that weighed six pounds or under. 

 This sounds like a fish yarn, but I have the highest author- 

 ity (documentary) for the statement. Noteworthy days were 

 those when, on the 20th of September, their two rods brought 

 to gaff twelve fish, weighing four hundred and seventy-seven 

 pounds, or on the 9th of the same month, when they landed 

 two hundred and five pounds, and when, on the same day, 

 Miss Celeste Winans caught four, weighing respectively, for- 

 ty-eight, fifty-five, thirty-five, and thirty-nine pounds. There 

 are but few Bass anglers who would not be proud of this 

 record made by a delicately nurtured woman. Mr. Winans 

 was an invalid, and fished but a few days in the season; oth- 

 erwise the catch would have been much larger. 



Is there more royal fishing than this? expensive, but still 

 royal. I have no doubt but that, taking in the cost of the 

 two iron structures and the many other incidentals, every 

 pound of Bass caught cost him five dollars. He, Mr. Wi- 

 nans, would buy his two hundred-yard twelve-thread linen 



