The Striped Bass 119 



more than two feet of water and always 

 in the breaking surf, where our baits play 

 in the foam, free of any sort of sinker. 

 William uses a fly rod of ten feet and 

 seven ounces; Charles a nine-foot eight- 

 ounce bait rod. Both rods are rigged 

 with a single salmon leader, a 3.0 sproat 

 hook, and waterproof silken lines. The 

 bass leap at our crab bait like trout or 

 black bass at large flies. They weigh 

 about two pounds, and come out of the 

 water into the air like so many small- 

 mouth fresh-water bass. How white they 

 look, as they glisten in the sunlight ! The 

 play does not last long. Where have 

 the fish gone? We try hard for them for 

 another hour, but only strike fluke, skate, 

 eel, dogfish, sea robin, and flounder. We 

 have only three bass and these were 

 caught within the first half-hour of our 

 angling. William thinks they may have 

 been members of a passing shoal, en 

 route for the Hudson or some more dis- 

 tant water. William says it is early for 



