3)^Xkj) 



1%, 





GmSt confusion exists, however, in various sections of the country 



ifding\ the black bass. In the south both species are generally mis- 



icalled y^ troti^^;" in portions of Kentucky it is know^n as the "jumping 



percl>J!^"in^IortlT Carolina it appears as the "trout-perch" and "white 



fon ; " in Virginia it is termed the "chub," and in the Northern States, 



tTfe t^m bass is usually applied, some local appellation is frequently 



le^'as " tiger bass," " buck bass," yellow or green bass, river, cove, lake, 



)i^. marsh bass, and in some instances Oswego bass. 



t-^e seen that the local names for the black bass are as varied 

 J^egraphical range of the two species, which extends to 

 r- '^^^--^arly every state east of the Rocky Mountains. In weight the small- 

 "^^^^^C mouthed bass ordinarily attains to about five pounds, and the large-mouthed 

 seven pounds, as a maximum, though occasionally larger specimens have 

 been taken of each kind, especially the latter species, which, in sovithern 

 waters, sometimes reaches sixteen pounds. The colors of the black bass 

 vary in different sections and even those caught in the same lake or stream 

 show considerable variation, but the prevailing tinge is an olive-green, dark- 

 est on the back, lighter on the sides, and nearly white on the belly. 



The favorite natural food of the bass consists of crawfish and min- 

 nows — the former preferred — though the various flies are seized with 

 avidity, during the season when these appear over the surface of the 

 waters. Black bass fishing on the inland lakes and rivers, whether with 

 the natural bait or the artificial fly, is a most exhilarating pastime. Stream 

 fishing is preferable for most anglers, as the methods employed — wading, 

 • or casting from the shore — give greater variety of scene and an opportu- 

 nity for more exciting play, than lake fishing from a boat. Reef-fishing, 

 about the Bass Islands of Lake Erie, which forms a distinct branch, differ- 

 ing in most respects from the ordinary bass-fishing, is enjoyed by many 

 anglers who annually visit the resort, and catch large fish under the ledges, 

 in water ten to twenty feet deep. 



In fly-fishing a rod ten feet and three inches in length, and of seven 

 and one half ounces weight is recommended by Dr. Henshall. The rod 

 should be stiffer than one used for trout-fishing, as the bass are usually- 

 much larger than the brook trout; the reel a single-action click-reel; and 

 the line an enameled, braided silk fly-line, with a carefull}'^ selected leader, 

 about six feet long, and a moderate sized fly of brown, red, black, gray or 

 ginger hackle. 



The charm of this branch of angling is graphically described b}' Dr. 

 Henshall, who remarks that in stream-fishing the angler " has the birds 

 and flowers, the whispering leaves, the laughing water — old and genial 

 friends of whom he never tires, whose fellowship is never wearisome, 



32 



