BLACK BASS AND TROUT COMPARED 



pluck of the fish has been seen or felt. This method 

 is used owing to the erratic manner in which the 

 black bass takes a live minnow, a long free line 

 and great patience being necessary to meet its vari- 

 ous moods and to place the hook securely in the 

 flesh of its mouth or gullet. On the other hand, 

 these fish, when in running water, particularly at 

 the tail of a rapid, usually take the minnow head 

 first with a rush. 



Night Sports of the Bass 



Black bass often disport themselves as the day 

 closes, like the trout, by turning somersaults in the 

 air, and on favorable nights, when the twilight lin- 

 gers or the moon shines, they may be seen sporting 

 and lashing the pools as late as midnight; in fact 

 I have had them jump between my legs when 

 wading and fishing for them in mid-stream at 

 night. 



Because of these habits of the bass, the trout- 

 fisherman with bait or fly finds a duplication of his 

 pleasing experiences when angling for bass in flu- 

 vial waters ; and, as it is said that a good trout-rod 

 handler will quickly catch the art of successfully 

 luring and handling a salmon, so also may it be 

 stated that he will soon become an expert at black- 

 bass fishing, with the additional charm of the same 

 picturesque surroundings of hill and rock, of danc- 



57 



