178 SCIENCE OF FISHING. 



These large ones are taken only on trot lines with large hooks 

 baited with pieces of meat or liver. 



The channel cat is a much smaller fish and though it is 

 said to reach a weight of twenty pounds sometimes, the 

 usual weight is five or six pounds. It is a nicer appearing 

 fish than the other members of the family, being more 

 slender and having a head smaller in proportion to body. 

 The tail is forked and the anal fin is very large. It shades 

 from dark slate on the back to white on the under side and 

 shows a number of small black spots on the sides. It is 

 found throughout the Mississippi Valley and the Great 

 Lake region; also in other rivers of the Southern States. 

 The channel cat, unlike the bullhead and other members of 

 the catfish family, prefers running, clear, cool water, where 

 the bottom is gravelly or stony. It is a better fish than any 

 of the others, and takes almost any kind of natural bait, 

 even live minnows, if they are not moved too rapidly. The 

 tackle for this fish may be the same as for the bullhead ex- 

 cept that line and hooks should be stronger. If desired, a 

 black bass bait outfit can be used. 



Catfish of all kinds are very tenacious of life. Fish 

 caught in late evening will sometimes live out of water over 

 night. It is best, though, to kill them as soon as caught 

 more humane and they make better food. In dressing they 

 must be skinned, and are best if soaked a few hours in salt 

 water before cooking. Properly prepared they are very good. 



Of the suckers there are many, about seventy species I 

 am told. Of these the common white sucker is the most im- 

 portant. Buffalo fish and red-horse are also classed as 

 suckers. 



The white sucker is found all over the eastern and 

 central parts of the United States and Canada. It 

 reaches a length of twenty inches in the Great Lakes and 

 somewhat less when found in streams, growing larger in 

 some streams than in others. It is a smooth, cylindrical fish 



