The Haunts of the Black Sea-Bass 



mid-air leaps which gladden the heart of 

 the angler. Quick turns, downward rushes, 

 powerful blows, mighty runs, this gamy 

 creature makes, fighting inch by inch, 

 leaving an impression upon the mind of 

 the fisherman that is not soon forgotten. 



With a large rope, and by taking turns, 

 the fish could have been mastered, but 

 such methods were not considered sports- 

 manlike here. It must be taken free- 

 handed, a fight at arm's-length, and being 

 such, the moments fly by ; it is half an 

 hour, and we have not yet seen the out- 

 line of our game. Gradually the rushes 

 grow less, the blows are lighter, and what 

 is taken is all gain. 



" It take your wind/' said Joe, with a 

 low laugh. 



So it had ; and I stood braced against the 

 gunwale after the final dash a burst of 

 speed to see a magnificent fish, black, 

 lowering, with just a soupfon of white be- 

 neath, pass swiftly across the line of vision, 

 whirling the boat around end for end. 



" You've got him," from astern, is en- 

 couraging, yet I have my doubts ; an 

 honest opinion would have brought the 

 confession that I was in the toils. But the 

 flurry was the last. Several sweeps around 

 the boat, and the black sea-bass lay along- 

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