Popular Salt= Water Game Fish 



CHANNEL BASS 



The channel bass is one of the largest food 

 fishes of the Southern waters, reaching a length 

 of five feet and a weight of seventy-five pounds. 

 It inhabits the Atlantic Coast from New York 

 to Texas, is abundant in the Carolinas, Florida, 

 and the Gulf of Mexico, and is also taken at times 

 on the New Jersey coast. It has many titles. At 

 the mouth of the James River it is called the 

 drum, at the mouth of the St. Mary's, Ga., the 



red bass, at Fort Marion, Florida, the 

 Names 5 s P otted bass on tne Indian River the red 



horse, at Tampa the reef bass, New Or- 

 leans the poisson rouge, San Antonio the pez Colo- 

 rado. But the common name is red drum, or 

 channel bass. It is caught on the bottom of the 

 ocean and in the surf from July to late October. 

 It is a splendid fighter especially if reasonable 

 tackle is used, springing forward and down with 

 long sweeps, shooting back and forth, cutting 

 the water with splendid rushes. 



In fishing the surf the usual stiff casting rod is 

 employed, and the method used is similar to that 

 with the striped bass. In bays and mouths of 

 rivers an eight-foot greenheart or bamboo rod 

 weighing twenty-four ounces is used, the line a No. 

 12 Cuttyhunk, and hook about the size of a No. 7/0 

 Limerick, baited with mullet or crab; a sinker 

 should be attached to the line with the usual 

 swivels, as the channel bass is a bottom feeder, 

 73 



