BAITS FOR BLACK BASS 



Crayfish 



As crayfish frequent the bottom rather than the 

 surface or midwater of the stream, the bait should 

 be dropped to the bottom at the head of a hole. 

 When the crustacean finds a hold, it will burrow 

 just deep enough to make fast either in the sand 

 under a cobble or in a crack in a stone. A bass evi- 

 dently knows the meaning of the little pile of fresh 

 sand as well as a fisherman looking for bait, as the 

 fish will nose out the crayfish when the latter cannot 

 pull it out. If the crawfish is fast, the first intima- 

 tion of a bite will be when a fierce-looking bass 

 jumps from the water with the bait in its maw. 



Many fishermen prefer crayfish to any other live 

 bait. They are found under stones near the shores 

 of rivers and brooks, and frequently in lakes. It is 

 well to use a small hand-net of fine mesh to capture 

 them, as they are quick in their movements. A bet- 

 ter plan, however, is to place a bait of decaying 

 flesh or animal garbage in a piece of net on spots 

 they are known to frequent; they will gather 

 around it in numbers, and can be easily captured. 



The salt-water shrimp, preserved in alcohol, 

 which is allied to the crayfish, has been found very 

 attractive to the black bass of Greenwood Lake, 

 and doubtless would be in any other water. 



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