THE BASS FAMILY 45 



in the warm waters of the South, but in the colder 

 waters of the North it is not. The small-mouth can 

 well be compared to a bulldog, as it will fight to the 

 last without seeming to tire out. The large-mouth, 

 on the other hand, fights hard for a short time with 

 the same strength as will its relative, but is then 

 taken to net with only a few additional spasmodic 

 rushes. The expert fisherman can generally tell 

 which of the two has taken his hook long before he 

 sees it. 



While both species inhabit the same waters, they 

 are usually taken on decidedly different bottoms, the 

 small-mouth being found on stony bars or shoals, 

 varying in depth from two or three to forty or fifty 

 feet, while the large-mouth is generally found in the 

 vicinity of weeds or rushes and on muddy bottom. 

 As the cold weather approaches, the latter seeks 

 deeper water, but always in bays that contain weeds 

 and soft mud. It usually spawns in shallow water, 

 among weeds and rushes bordering the shores; the 

 small-mouth invariably spawns on stony or gravel 

 bottom. There is no question, therefore, that the 

 latter is by far the cleaner fish. 



There are three material differences between the 

 two varieties that readily distinguish them. The 

 most noticeable is the size of the mouth, which is 

 much larger in one than in the other. In the small- 



