47° 



Striped Bass. 



MONTAUK LIGHT. 



If the reader should wish to enjoy this noble sport, the better plan 

 by far is to purchase a share in one of the great bassing clubs, as at 

 their comfortable quarters you can always be certain of bait, skillful 

 chummers, and ice to preserve the fish when caught ; and, moreover, 

 a good meal and a comfortable bed after a hard 

 day's work, or play, as you choose to call it, are 

 desiderata not always to be obtained at the coun- 

 try tavern where your lines may be cast. But 

 should the intention be to fish only occasionally, 

 then equally good sport may be had in the summer 

 and early autumn months at Montauk Point, Point 

 Judith, Newport, Cohasset Narrows, and many places along shore. 



A seventy-two-pounder, caught by a gentle- 

 man of New York, is probably the heaviest bass 

 that has yet been landed with rod and reel ; and 

 when it is considered that the line used would not 

 sustain much more than one-third that amount of 

 dead weight, and that every ounce of that sev- 

 enty-two pounds was "fighting weight," some conception may be 

 formed of the skill and patience required in its capture. 



Verily there is nothing new under the sun. As I pen these lines 

 regarding the capture of large fish with light tackle, there comes to 

 mind the memory of a screed written in the long, long ago, and I step 

 to the book-shelf, take down the volume, and transcribe for your 



