THE SILVER PERCH AND SMELT. 39 



worms are sometimes used. The hooks should be 

 Nos. 1 to 3 trout. They bite most readily early in 

 the morning in shallow water near the shore, but are 

 often taken at mid- day on bars near to deep water. 

 At sundown the white perch may be found on the 

 sunny side of the stream, or lake, and will then bite 

 with the same eagerness as in the morning. His bite 

 is different from that of the ordinary yellow perch, 

 as when he gets hold of the bait he drags the float 

 under and keeps it there. When fishing from a boat, 

 the best way is to drift along down the stream, 

 throwing your hook in every nook and corner ; and 

 where you once get a bite, anchor your boat, and 

 fish as long as you have luck. You may be quite as 

 fortunate by rowing up the stream and trying the 

 same process over again. This fish always prefers 

 sunshine to shade. 



The Smelt. 



In the United States this fish seldom exceeds ten 

 inches in length, and the usual size is from five to 

 eight inches. In South America they grow to the 

 length of two feet, are semi-transparent, and are 

 most delicious eating. Some of them caught by 

 American sailors at the Straits of Magellan were 

 thirty inches long by eight inches round the body. 

 The smelt is exceedingly plentiful in the waters 

 around Boston, and they are also taken in the rivers 

 of New Jersey and the ponds of Long Island. They 

 are of a pale green color on the back, with silvery 



