THE CASTER'S QUARRY 125 



variety, the mouth extends back of the eye, while in 

 the small mouth variety it does not come quite to the 

 eye. 



The eye of the small mouth frequently shows some 

 red, although this can not always be relied upon. The 

 large mouth always has a pronounced "dent" in the 

 forehead, while the small mouth's forehead is well- 

 rounded. The small mouth is usually a trimmer fish, 

 not so stoutly built as the large mouth, and his tail 

 is not quite so square nor is his jaw so "undershot." 



However, the best means of identifying the two 

 species is by the scales. The scales of the small mouth 

 are smaller and he has eleven rows of them above 

 the median line (the dark streak or line running along 

 the sides of most fishes) while the large mouth has 

 only eight. The base of the small mouth's dorsal 

 (back) fins are scaled ; the large mouth's are bare. The 

 small mouth has seventeen rows of scales on the cheek ; 

 the large mouth about ten. Both varieties often have 

 a "musk-like" odor when taken from the water, but 

 this is usually more pronounced in the small mouth 

 variety. 



The color of both varieties differs greatly, not only 

 in different waters but in different individuals, the 

 range being from pale yellow through different shades 

 of green and yellow-bronze to dark almost black-green. 

 Both species show dark transverse or longitudinal 

 markings on the sides, especially in younger specimens; 

 these markings occur more frequently on the large 

 mouth species. 



