54 FAMILIAR FISH, THEIR HABITS AND CAPTURE 



fish nearly, if not quite, equal the black bass in 

 all ways. 



To exhaust the subject of the basses completely, 

 the sunfish family, to which they belong, should be 

 fully described. This would be entirely useless, how- 

 ever, as the sunfish are not only small, but not sought 

 after by fishermen, possessing neither game nor food 

 qualities. They are usually beautifully colored and 

 marked, which constitutes their only interest. These 

 fish are widely distributed, and almost every one can 

 recall that his first fishing experience consisted of 

 angling for "pumpkin seeds," by which name they 

 are most commonly known. 



A peculiarity of bass, the black bass especially, is 

 their hibernating nature when cold weather and cold 

 water come on. When the winter season approaches, 

 they become more or less dormant, and seek the deep- 

 est water possible. Unless it is very deep, they bur- 

 row into the mud and remain there during the winter. 

 In such circumstances they seem able to go with- 

 out food for several months. Even when placed 

 in aquariums, they remain almost motionless during 

 the cold season, and refuse food. Another character- 

 istic of black bass is the length of time they can live 

 when caught. Instances are known where they have 

 lived for several hours after being taken from the 

 water, regaining their wonted liveliness in a few 



