186 Big Game Fishes 
“surf” of these localities is particularly interest- 
ing from the fact that the young are born alive. 
I have kept the parents of the species known as 
shiners, Adcona minima, in a tank, where the 
young were born. The latter immediately 
“schooled,” and formed interesting pets. They 
fed from my hand with avidity, displaying no 
fear, — the entire school following me as I moved 
around the tank, watching every movement with 
lively interest. The young were an inch and a 
quarter in length at birth, and were at once able 
to care for themselves, the parents paying no 
attention to them. As their name suggests, they 
are found in the surf, feeding upon the various 
crustaceans which burrow in the sand. 
A gamy fish, for a black-bass rod and the 
lightest line, is the rock-bass and its many species 
of California waters. I have taken them up to 
ten pounds and found them gamy; but light 
tackle is a desideratum, as while they are modelled 
after the shape of the black bass they have not 
the staying qualities of this fish. There are many 
species, all found at rocky points, lying in the 
weed simulating more or less the general tone of 
the bottom. 
