KING FISH AND EEL. 51 



The King-fish or Barb. 



This is a salt water fish sixteen or eighteen inches 

 in length, and weighing from one to two pounds. His 

 haunts are very uncertain, and habits little known. 

 In color he is of a bluish light brown, with a silvery 

 gloss, and covered with spots darker than the general 

 color. He is thick and stout about the thro ax, and 

 gradually slopes towards the tail. He is found in 

 places similar to those frequented by the bass, weak- 

 fish, &c., and the- tackle used in fishing him is about 

 the same, except the hook, which should be smaller, 

 say a Limerick or Kirby salmon hook No. 4. He is 

 probably the best sporting fish to be caught in salt 

 water, being so lively and determined when on the 

 hook. The summer months is the time for fishinsr 



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the barb, and the bait used is the shedder crab. 

 Do not use too large a hook, as his mouth is small. 

 He runs deeper than either the bass or the weak-fish. 



The Eel. 



Every kind of eel is spawned in salt water, and 

 the young ones generally begin to run up the fresh 

 water streams as early as April, though when spring 

 is backward they do not start until May. The young 

 eel, when he begins his journey, is about the size of 

 a sadler's needle, and the way he works himself up 

 over the cascades and mill-dams is very curious. He 

 exhausts the atmosphere under his body, then lifting 

 his tail, which is flat, over his head, repeats the ope- 

 ration, and raises his head another lift, and so on. In 



