GAME-FISH THAT LEAP ABOVE THE SURFACE 105 



On quiet evenings we observe bass (where they 

 are plentiful) rising clear from the placid water 

 surface, both in play and when trying to catch 

 insects large moths, and even birds on the wing. 

 It is very different with the muskellunge, whose 

 food lies entirely below the surface, and his leap 

 is of bull-like ferocity and fierce anger at the 

 unusual restraint of the line. When he leaps it 

 is like slipping out and sliding along like an arrow 

 which has touched the water and is gliding above 

 the surface. His long heavy body prevents his 

 making a graceful curve like that of the salmon, 

 whose leap is sidewise, and he makes an upright 

 movement instead. In nearly all cases it is fish 

 who feed on or near the surface that make leaps 

 from the water after being hooked, and all have 

 a strikingly different method of doing it. The 

 bass and ouananiche are very similar in their way 

 of resisting capture. They shoot straight out and 

 for a moment their whole bodies quiver; then, 

 turning, dive or slide back and disappear beneath 

 the surface. By doing this they very often suc- 

 ceed in ridding themselves of the hook, especially 

 if the water is running swiftly and the line is not 

 taut. In such waters it is scarcely possible to land 

 the fish that makes a run toward the angler and 



