204: STRIPED BASS. 



ermen, and there is a pond on Long Island, near Sag 

 Harbor, and others near Point Judith, that are a source 

 of great profit to their owners. The mill-pond at Stam- 

 ford having carried away the gates 'one Winter, and run 

 out nearly dry, striped bass of immense size were picked 

 up by cart-loads from the muddy bottom. 



These fish can be confined to fresh water without 

 being permitted to visit the sea, and they will not onl} 

 live and breed, but are said to be much improved by 

 the change. In September they appear on the coast in 

 shoals, and are taken both inside and outside of the bars, 

 and in the bays and inlets where they resort for food. 

 As they are much sought after and highly appreciated, 

 and as I have added largely to my own knowledge by 

 drawing extensively upon the experience of my friends, 

 the following description of the numerous modes of tak- 

 ing them will be found rather minute. 



When they first appear in April the shad are running, 

 and hence, in the rivers that the latter frequent, shad roe 

 is the best though most troublesome of all baits. In 

 places where shad are not to be found, the bass are sus- 

 picious of such bait. As it is most difficult to fasten on 

 the hook, it must be cut with the skin that envelops it, 

 and tied on with tow, flax, or floss silk. Stonehenge, 

 after eloquently defending the use of the salmon roe as 

 a bait, which is ordinarily considered a kind of poaching, 

 gives for its preparation the following directions, that 

 apply equally well to the shad roe : Boil the roe without 

 its envelope for twenty minutes ; bruise it in a mortar to 

 a uniform consistency ; add to each pound an ounce of 

 common salt and a quarter of an ounce of saltpeter ; 



