Fishing in North Carolina. 



top stump or log uuder water in the month of 

 May. A little later the perch acts its part near 

 the shore, and so on around the cycle. 



The nest is guarded against intrusion by one 

 of the o\^aiers, but it avails little, for while 

 our bass has savagely sallied forth in pursuit 

 of a ^vuuld be burglar other fishes slip in and 

 get a mess of food — eggs or fry. After the 

 young have got a start in life, which is very 

 early, it is a case of devil take the hindmost, 

 and, human-like, the strong overcome the weak. 



A female bass will deposit about 15,000 eggs, 

 which hatch in two weeks, the young fry grow 

 very fast, reaching 10 inches at 2 years; and 

 maturing at 3 years old. Afterwards they grow 

 at the rate of a pound a year until the maximum 

 Aveight is attained. A ten pound fish ought to 

 be 26 inches long, with a girth of 19 inches. 



The bass spawns, "beds," earlier in mill 

 ponds than in rivers, because, perhaps, the 

 water being stationary it takes in a store of the 

 sun's heat sooner than running streams. Bass 

 are more plentiful in near-the-sea ponds where 

 the water is not so fresh, but they are not so 



