bass to bite in good shape as soon as the bars were let down 

 on May 29, but for one reason and another the best fishing 

 has not come until well along in June. Many reasons have 

 been found for this condition. In the first place, high water 

 has prevailed for several seasons and whatever fish have 

 had an inclination to feed have found plenty of food in the 

 flooded meadows and bayous around the shores. While frogs 

 have been more or less scarce for the past three years, this 

 bait is not to be considered as one of the chief articles of 

 diet of bass and the scarcity of jumpers has not affected 

 materially the supply of food. Shiner and perch minnows, 

 crawfish, bugs and flies of many descriptions are ordinarily 

 very plentiful and the bass, roving close to the shore line, in 

 and out of the grass and weeds, has little trouble in filling 

 his gullet either by day or by night. 



But this continued great volume of water, perhaps is not the 

 greatest cause of the refusal of bass to take baits early in 

 the season. For some reason or other big-mouth bass appear 

 to be taking more time to their spawning operations than for- 

 merly was the case and during three years have not finished 

 until very late in June. When the female bass are on their 

 spawning beds they refuse to eat, but occasionally will strike 

 at a bait, or in fact, at anything, which comes near them, as 

 bass are very pugnacious in their habits. 



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