FEEDING-HABITS OF THE BLACK BASS 



^ S the twilight deepens, the black bass will be 

 /% found either rising, here and there, to 

 f ^ the surface of the deeper water, feeding 

 "^ on the insects that fall upon it (particu- 

 larly the gloaming-loving moths, which, as a rule, 

 swarm near and upon the rivers containing bass) , 

 or, in the shaUows along the shores, making the 

 water fairly boil with their dashes into depths of 

 but two or three inches, chasing the minnows ashore 

 by their impetuous rushes. I have actually seen 

 them, in the excitement of thus feeding, with their 

 dorsal fins entirely out of the water. It is at such 

 an hour that the angler meets with the greatest suc- 

 cess with the rod, and it matters but little what 

 feathers he uses, or how inexperienced he may be 

 in handling them, provided he makes his cast at 

 least fifty feet in length, and stands in deep water 

 when casting. 



I once saw a black bass do a brutal deed that 

 fairly earned for him the title of "tiger," but I 

 doubt not that such actions could be laid to the 

 charge of many other fish. He had chased a chub 



