166 With Rod and Gun in New England 



This must be done cautiously, however, for undue haste at the reel 

 almost inevitably leads to a loss of the fish. 



Unlike the salmon, the striped bass very rarely appears above the 

 surface of the water in its contest with the angler, but it makes repeated 

 efforts to chafe and cut the line against the sharp edge of a submerged 

 rock, and tries in every possible way to foul it in the weeds and among the 

 bowlders at the bottom. 



The angler, therefore, must be constantly on the alert to foil these 

 attempts, and, no matter how skilful he may be, he can never feel sure of 

 his fish until it is gaffed and laid on the shore beside him. 



A stout two-handed rod is needed for this method of angling ; it should 

 be stiff rather than very pliable, and the guides should be amply large in 

 order that the line may pass through them with the utmost freedom. 



" I have had very pleasant outings with squeteague, also," said the 

 Doctor. " While it is not so grand a prize as the striped bass, it furnishes 

 capital sport when it is running in good-sized schools ; it is known in some 

 localities as the ' weak fish ' and ' salt-water trout,' but in New England it is 

 generally called the ' squeteague.' " 



""- ;: '~ 



The Squeteague. 



" Yes," I added, " it is a favorite fish with many, and capital sport is 

 often obtained with it." 



It is not such a wanderer as the bluefish, nor nearly as widely dis- 

 tributed, but is taken more or less plentifully all along the shore from Cape 

 Cod to Chesapeake bay. I have found it in considerable numbers as far 

 south as the Delaware breakwater, and have known of stragglers being 

 caught north of Provincetown, but its favorite summer habitat seems to be 

 the coast and estuaries of the Middle States and thence northward to Vine- 

 yard sound and Buzzard's bay, the greatest number being found around 

 the shores of Martha's Vineyard. 



In the opinion of many anglers, it is one of the most gamy of our salt- 

 water fish, and an outing among the squeteague is looked forward to by 



