CHAPTER IV 



FISHING FOR THE SUN-FISH AND OTHER 

 "BOYS' FISHES" 



DISTINCTIVELY a boys' fish is the sun-fish, or 

 " pumpkin-seed ; " and when the other game fishes, 

 trout, bass, etc., are no longer plentiful, this de- 

 spised little gamin amongst fishes will be as highly 

 esteemed by anglers as are some of the " coarse " 

 fishes by Englishmen over the water. Everybody 

 knows the sun-fish, bold in biting, and fearlessly 

 fighting to the last on the hook. On fine tackle 

 they give quite good sport ; and I have frequently 

 quit fishing for the large-mouthed black bass and 

 pickerel in some warm-water lake in summer, be- 

 cause I preferred taking the bold-biting and vora- 

 cious sun-fish. 



The food of these little fish consists of the 

 Crustacea and larvae of the water, and they will 

 take almost anything a trout will feed on. Worms, 

 maggots, dobsons, grasshoppers, and crickets are 

 their favorite baits ; and as these are easily pro- 



71 



