THE SHEEPSHEAD. 57 



is usually two or three pounds sometimes four and 

 a half. The form of his face, which is somewhat 

 smutty, is supposed to resemble the physiognomy of 

 a sheep, though for the life of us we never could see 

 the resemblance. The teeth, however, do look like 

 sheep's teeth, and this may be the more rational 

 cause of its name. These teeth enables a fish of good 

 size to crunch the shell of a crab with ease. They 

 are usually found on reefs, or about large rocks, 

 where they feed on the soft clam, and the small rock 

 crab, which articles are used for bait in fishing the 

 sheepshead. The tackle wanted is a stout hemp or 

 cotton line, 100 to 150 feet long, with a black-fish 

 hook of the largest size. The clam must be put on 

 whole, without breaking the shell. Insert your hook 

 through its stem, and bury it entirely in the body of 

 the clam. He takes the whole clam in at a mouth- 

 ful, and chews it, shell and all. If you use crabs, 

 take the same precaution as with clams. Sometimes 

 opened clams (soft or hard) are used, but they should 

 be of very large size, to attract the fish's attention. 

 He will also bite at the worm, the minnow, the chub, 

 and the lobster. When you have struck a sheeps- 

 head, you must be exceedingly cautious while play- 

 ing him, or you may lose your game. He makes the 

 most desperate efforts to get free, frequently bunting 

 his head against a rock so as to break the hook. 



Of late years this fish has become scarce in the 

 Long Island waters, and experienced fishermen are 

 in the habit of tolling them to certain haunts by 



