88 THE FINE ART OF FISHING 



tackle and experience and how wisely and well he may 

 have chosen the locality for the sport he desires, if the 

 question of the proper time to go, the season of the year 

 in its relation to the habits of the game, is not duly con- 

 sidered the trip may result in absolute failure. This is 

 particularly true as regards selecting the time for a 

 bass fishing trip. 



In most States the open season for black bass is a 

 very long one, much longer than for brook trout. As 

 a general thing the law protects the bass only during 

 the spawning season, say for a period of two months, 

 all the rest of the year being open season. May and 

 June are the usual close months, and at any other time 

 the bass may be legally taken. But, notwithstanding 

 the length of the open season, the character of the black 

 bass and his habits are such that the occasions distinctly 

 favorable for bass fishing are not numerous or of long 

 duration. Undoubtedly the black bass is the most 

 fished for of any American game fish, and, undoubtedly, 

 in proportion to the number of fishermen, the annual 

 catch is the smallest. This is because not every man 

 who packs a fishing rod is an angler; and it is also due 

 to the fact that the black bass is, above all, the great 

 American "vacation" game fish, sought for very largely 

 as a mere incident of the summer vacation, the number 

 of men to whom the bass fishing is really a chief object 

 being comparatively small; although, of course, among 

 anglers, there are many who favor bass fishing above 

 all forms of the sport. 



Generally speaking, summer fishing for black bass is 

 not overproductive. This is due to a number of causes 



