288 AMERICAN ANGLER'S BOOK 



almost as game as at first. As he has leathery lips, and the 

 hold is generally strong, he is lifted in with small risk of 

 losing him. 



When fishing for Barb, it is well to use a No. 1 hook at 

 the bottom, and loop on one of 00 size to a gut length, eighteen 

 inches or two feet above the sinker, for Weakfish, as the 

 angler sometimes takes both at the same time. Soft crabs or 

 soft-shelled clams are the best bait. 



This fish is much lauded by the epicures of New York, 

 where it has sometimes been sold at as high a price per pound 

 as Sheepshead. It is seldom boiled, and is better cooked in 

 the pan or on the gridiron. It has a peculiar sweetness of 

 flesh and a richness of flavor ; as all fish that feed on molluscs 

 and Crustacea have. 



When on a visit to Long Beach in August 1855, a brother 

 angler and myself had great sport with Barb in the cove 

 just below the Hotel. They had not been taken in numbers 

 for some years, and had become comparatively a rare fish, 

 until we met with them. In a few hours on the ebb we took 

 upwards of three hundred weight with two rods, and left off 

 from mere satiety, for the certainty of hooking them as fast 

 as our bait found the bottom ceased to be sport. 



