7 HE BASS. 137 



shoals entering coves and harbours, and on such occasions 

 have been taken in cartloads by placing a net across the entrance. 

 As bait for Prawns, &c., they are useful, but the flesh, being of 

 a stronger taste than Mackerel, is in little request as food in 

 general. It is often taken in the Mackerel seines, and not un- 

 frequently with the angling rod when Pollack- fishing from rocks 

 and piers. This fish is often salted for winter provision in 

 Cornwall and the Scilly Isles. 



THE BASS. 



{Lupus labrax.} 



The Bass, or Salmon-Bass, as it is frequently called, is of a 

 dark blue on the back, which changes to a silvery white on the 

 side and belly, and has a general resemblance in the eyes of a 

 cursory observer to the Salmon, although of quite a different 

 family namely, the Perch. It is seen in large shoals in the 

 mouths of rivers and harbours and off headlands of the English 

 and French coasts, and attains to a considerable size, some- 

 times as much as 15 Ibs. 



These fish generally show themselves on the surface of the 

 water, at the end of April or beginning of May, after which 

 time they may betaken by fly-fishing, ground-fishing, and drift - 

 line fishing. 



Fly-fishing for Bass will naturally recommend itself to those 

 who have been used to this method in fresh water, being iden- 

 tical in practice, except that it is usually from a boat. (See 

 4 Flies,' pp. 89, 90.) 



Any of the smaller kind of Salmon flies will answer for this 

 sport, or very simple flies may be made by tying a pair of wings 

 cut from a white goose feather on a white hook, with or with- 

 out a body of red worsted. Two of these flies should be 

 fastened, one to the end and the other 2 feet above, on a 

 bottom or collar of the best Salmon gut, 5 feet in length, two- 

 thirds double twisted and one-third single. White flies with 

 silver bodies are also very killing, or a parchment fish, 2 inches 

 long. 



Two or three small mother-of-pearl fish, i^ inch in length, are 

 also used, made out of card counters, but they fall more heavily 



