fish: their habits and haunts. 15 



When plenty, from fifty to one hundred 

 fish are often taken a day, and it is thor- 

 oughly tiresome work. 



The striped bass is the king of salt-water 

 fish, and in the opinion of many gives as 

 much sport as the salmon. Twenty years 

 ago many were taken from the bridges in 

 Boston harbor, but with the growth of the 

 city the waters have become less pure, and 

 bass are now scarce there. 



At many points on Cape Cod and south 

 of it there is still opportunity for this sport. 

 The method of fishing is to use a short, 

 stiff rod of eight feet in length, a reel with 

 six hundred feet of line, and a hook baited 

 with a piece of eel. From some rocky 

 point well out in the sea the bait is cast 

 as far as possible. The fish are moving 

 about looking for food, and if hungry take 

 in the bait. When one is hooked it is quite 

 a trial of skill and patience to capture him, 

 as, full of strength and courage, he will 



