THE F R E S H-W ATER BASSES 



The Fresh-Water Basses 



From the above it will be seen how important 

 it is that the student angler, in the early stages 

 of his progress, should have a clear understanding 

 of the proper classification of the basses, and a 

 sufficient knowledge of the anatomical diif erences 

 between the fishes of the family, to distinguish one 

 from the other when boated or grassed by his rod. 

 The methods by which this is done will be ex- 

 plained under the separate captions, designating 

 each fish then under treatment. In the mean time 

 the angler should make himself thoroughly fa- 

 miliar with the following list, in which are desig- 

 nated all the fishes popularly classed as " basses " 

 and scientifically knoAvn as " sunfishes," bearing in 

 mind that the single popular name of each fish 

 has many multiples in nearly every section where 

 it has its habitat. 



The fresh- water basses, then, popularly so called, 

 but actually members of the family CentrarchidcB, 

 the sunfishes, include the small-mouthed black bass 

 — Micropterus dolomiei; the large-mouthed black 

 bass — Micropterus salmoides; the rock-bass — 

 'Ambloplites rupestris; the strawberry-bass (two 

 forms) — Pomoocis sparoides and P. annularis; 

 and the warmouth bass — Chcenobryttus gulosus. 



The true fresh-water basses that are angled for, 

 and which belong, strictly to the bass family — 



