Tbe Bass Family 101 



better sport than still-fishing for rockfish running 

 from a half to a pound or two, on the flats off 

 Fort Me Henry, the Lazaretto, or up the Patapsco 

 River near the Long Bridge. It was good sport, 

 too, for the fish were plentiful in those days, and 

 from an anchored boat, with light cane rod and 

 shrimp bait, I was often on the ground to catch 

 the young flood tide at sunrise, or before, on 

 summer mornings, and seldom failed to be re- 

 warded with a full basket of small striped-bass. 

 Still-fishing in summer is best practised in 

 comparatively shallow water in the estuaries, at 

 the edge of the tideways, near the mouths of 

 rivers, or up streams of good size as far as the 

 tide reaches. In some cases the fishing may be 

 done from bridges, piers, wharves, or from the 

 bank, but usually from an anchored boat. In 

 the estuaries and at the mouths of rivers the 

 first of the flood and the last of the ebb are usu- 

 ally the best stages of the tide. In the shallow 

 bays and lagoons, or far up the rivers, the full 

 tide is the most favorable time. For this fishing 

 the rod should be light, pliable, and not more 

 than nine feet in length. A black-bass rod can 

 be utilized to good advantage. The best rod for 

 the purpose, however, is the " Little Giant," a 



