40 FISHING GOSSIP. 



tide, to one of those old sunken hulks, so much like 

 Xoah's Arks retired from business, beneath whose 

 submerged timbers lie crag and nigged ledge, gor- 

 geous with many an animal and vegetable wonder. 

 Upward like giant flag and rush stream the fronds of 

 the Laminaria digitcita and countless whip-like lashes 

 of the Chorda filum ; whilst groups of corallines 

 and algffi glitter about like brilliants in a sapphire 

 setting. Here too, amongst the secret crannies of 

 the soddened oak, might be seen, if we could look 

 close enough, creeping annelids, little lurking gobies, 

 and other pigmy haunters of submerged leviathans. 

 Tiny crabs, shrimps, and other crustaceans scramble 

 in and out, through what was once the window of a 

 state cabin ; whilst clusters of mussels, and whole 

 beds of serpeda and balanus, grow everywhere 

 around. 



Here, then, is one of the chosen hunting-grounds 

 of the bass, and here we will watch him engaged in 

 what is to him the main business of life the chase ; 

 thrusting his strong nose by a sudden upward dart 

 into the tufts of weed, and then by a sweep of the 

 tail, retreating on winnowing fin ready to pounce on 

 the dislodged prey. Catching him when thus engaged 

 is by no means as easy as it looks, but may be thus 

 attempted : A strong rod of average length (almost 

 any strong rod will answer the purpose), fitted with 

 a large winch, having plenty of fine strong prepared 



