THE GAME FISHES OF THE WOELD 



often taking the angler a half mile up the beach, and in and out 

 before it can be mastered. I once worked nearly an hour^mth a 

 fish on the St. John's and had it within thirty feet of where I was 

 standing, waist-deep in water, when one of the largest sharks I 

 have ever seen bit the bass in two, leaving me the head which 

 told the story of a forty pounder ; at least there was no one to 

 dispute it, and I did not lose any time in getting ashore. The 

 beach or surf angler often sees the game he is playing out-lined 

 on the face of a comber — a splendid spectacle. 



The tackle in vogue is a good sixteen — or over — ounce rod, nine 

 hundred or one thousand feet of No. 21 line, and a 7/° hook, a two- 

 or three-foot leader. A four-oimce sinker is generally used ; 

 and if you wish to appeal to the channel-bass, use ' shedder 

 crabs,' though ' moss bunker ' is an excellent substitute. The 

 angler should use the rod belt described. One of, if not the 

 largest channel-bass was taken by Mi. J. Cowthorn at Corson's 

 Inlet, New Jersey, the fish weighing sixty-three pounds. 



The famous fishing points are Corson's Inlet and the water 

 from Bamegat City to Seaside Park. After November the bass 

 are on their way to Florida, where the sport may be taken up 

 on the Indian Eiver or in the Gulf. 



The record fish of the Field and Stream Tournament for 

 1912 were : 1st prize, by Eobert E. Bridges, Wilhamston, 

 N. C, U. S. A., weight forty-four pounds, length forty-five and one- 

 half inches, taken at Topsail Inlet, North Carolina, mullet bait. 

 The second-prize fish weighed forty-two pounds, and the third, 

 thirty-nine pounds. 



Some idea of the size of the channel-bass taken along the 

 Atlantic Coast can be had from the following tables of records of 

 the Asbury Park, New Jersey, Fishing Club. The fishes were 

 taken in the surf with rod and reel at Barnegat City (Bamegat 

 Inlet) and Harvey Cedars, in the months of June and Septem- 

 ber. I am indebted to E. H. Norris, Secretary of the Club, 

 and to Mr. L. P. Streeter of Chicago and the Tuna Club, for the 

 interesting and valuable data. 

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