The Black Sea-bass 117 
has been caught when trolling for yellowtail with 
sardine bait, but this is exceptional, though I 
believe by trolling with a pipe sinker that would 
keep the large whitefish bait twenty feet under 
water, the bass could be taken in this most attrac- 
tive way. There seems to be no choice in the 
position of the bait. If half of a barracuda is 
employed, or four or five pounds of albacore, a 
veritable shark bait, it is taken either on the 
bottom or a few feet above it. That the great 
fish has many of the attributes of the typical bass 
is shown by its habit of chasing whitefish to the 
surface; many times when reeling in a gamy 
whitefish, I have seen the gigantic form of a 
black sea-bass dash upward, snapping at it, caus- 
ing the water to boil like a miniature maelstrom. 
Often the bass seizes the fish and makes away with 
it, line and all. The bass does not make the long 
rushes of the tuna. Four hundred feet of line is 
sufficient. A novice should never attempt the 
sport unaided. It is a sport for two men in a 
staunch boat, as large fish may tow a frail boat to 
sea or capsize it; yet expert anglers who delight 
in strenuous conflicts with these huge fishes have 
played them, brought them to gaff, and hauled 
them into the boat single-handed and alone. 
