SALT-WATER FISHING. 37 



The Sea Bass and Porgy. 



These salt water fish are caught in immense quan- 

 lities in the vicinity of New York bay on what are 

 called the Fishing Banks. In the summer months, 

 which is the time for fishing them, steamboats are 

 daily leaving New York to accommodate fishing par- 

 ties. The tackle used is a hand line of flax or hemp 

 twelve to eighteen fathoms long, with several hooks 

 attached, ten to fifteen inches apart. The hooks for 

 the porgy should be the black fish hook No. 3, and 

 for sea bass, the Kirby pattern, No. 1. Provide your- 

 self with a goodly number of hooks, as you are apt 

 to lose them in various ways. You should have a 

 lead sinker weighing three quarters of a pound or 

 more. Clam bait is the only kind necessary, and if 

 you salt it a little it will be tougher and stick better 

 to the hook. You should watch your lines cautiously, 

 and jerk them strongly at each bite to hook your 

 fish, or you may lose your bait. The fish thus taken 

 average from one to four and a half pounds, and it 

 frequently happens that two or three are drawn out 

 of the water together. You will thus see the neces- 

 sity of having very strong tools, and also of wearing 

 an old pair of leather gloves to preserve your hands 

 from blistering while drawing up your fish. 



The White Bass. 



This is a very fine fish, somewhat resembling the 

 white perch, though larger. It is found in the lakes 

 of Northern New York, and also in some of the 



