STRIPED BASS FISHING. 



The following letter is so full in its details of all that pertains to 

 Striped Bass or Rock fishing, as practised at Newport and Narrangan- 

 sett, and along the coast eastward of those places, that I give it 

 entire. 



My dear Old Piscator, 



As you have applied to me for an article on what you call " the 

 mode peculiar" of fishing for Striped Bass, for the supplement to your 

 second edition, I proceed at once to 'give you the result of my experience ; 

 making a few preliminary remarks on the habits of these fish, and then 

 describing the tackle and manner of fishing for them. 



In the neighborhood of Point Judith and eastward of it are large salt- 

 water inlets and ponds, where Striped Bass shelter during the winter 

 months, and where large numbers are taken in nets by the hardy fisher- 

 men and sent to dijBTerent markets. As soon as the spring opens and the 

 ice disappears, these fish are found along the coast in greater or lesser 

 numbers in search of prey, and are always more plenty during or after a 

 storm, when they approach the shore to feed on Mossbunkers and small 

 fry, as well as on Crustacea and a species of large white maggot which 

 sometimes abounds in the seaweed. 



Fishing from the rocks begins in June and closes in October. The 

 coast of Rhode Island, commencing at Point Judith and extending as far 

 to the north-east as Martha's Vineyard, afibrds good sport, as the shore is 

 bold and rocky, and the water of sufficient depth close in, not only for 

 Bass and Horse Mackerel, or, as you call them, Bluefish, but also for 

 Sharks of ten or twelve feet ;* which, though not dangerous, play the 

 deuce with the fishing by frightening away the Bass, and relieving the 

 angler of his hooks. 



* I once sa-w a Shark talien oflF Narragansett of this length, and supposed to 

 weigh over a thousand pounds. On opening it, nine juvenile Sharks, each two and 

 a half feet long, were attached to the parent by a cord, and judging from the strength 

 of their jaws, were well able to take care of themselves. Sharks can be taken by 

 throwing out a large hook baited with a Manhaden. A stout rope is used, and the 

 bait kept about three feet below the surface by a buoy of suitable size. 



(r,7l) 



