THE BASSES: FRES H-W ATER AND MARINE 



upon the hook. A dead one is not attractive to the 

 bass, but to the bother of the angler very 

 much so to the small sunfishes and chubs. 



Catfish 



The small catfishes, which are favorite baits 

 with many bass-fishermen, bear several popular 

 names, such as " stonecats," " mad-toms," " black 

 bullheads," "pouts," etc. They are found under 

 stones along the shores. Take a hammer with you, 

 and on seeing a stone with a shelving side, no mat- 

 ter how slight the angle, strike quickly and sharply 

 on its top; lift it up at once, and you may find 

 underneath it one or more catfish from two to four 

 inches long, stunned and helpless. Seize them 

 quickly (avoiding touching the spine on the back), 

 as they recover and disappear almost in an instant. 

 This bait is very tenacious of life, and on a single 

 one as many as five black bass have been caught 

 before the catfish died. This result, however, is, 

 in a measure, owing to the fact that in many in- 

 stances the black bass, like many other fishes, when 

 striking fiercely at live bait, and sometimes even 

 when they appear to have gently mouthed it, 

 force the minnow from the hook several feet above 

 it on the line or leader. A satisfactory angling 

 diagnosis or explanation of this peculiar condition 

 is yet to be made. 



