CHAPTER XVII 
THE BLACKFISH 
“When chestnut leaves are as big as thumb nails, 
Then bite blackfish without fail, 
But when chestnut leaves are as large as a span, 
Then catch blackfish if you can!” 
Tue blackfish, tautog, Zaudoga onitis, is rarely 
referred to as a game fish, yet few members of 
the finny tribe, at least in New England waters 
and in Long Island Sound, afford so much 
pleasure to so many people. The tautog is 
omnipresent, and the angler catches the smaller 
members of the tribe whether or no; and when 
the water is fairly shallow and the fish run 
large, up to ten and fifteen pounds, the black- 
fish, if it is approached with light tackle, will 
surprise the angler. Such a location and such 
fish I found at Fisher’s Island, Long Island 
Sound, and similar localities are known all 
alongshore. While the blackfish is in America 
a very democratic, not to say plebeian, crea- 
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