160 FAMILIAR FISH, THEIR HABITS AND CAPTURE 



will be caught, wliicli is in reality strange, as they 

 are not at all a fish that rises to the fly. 



Fishing through the ice for perch is particularly 

 good sport, as they bite fast and keep one busy. 

 Tip-ups are generally used, but if it is not too cold, 

 a hand line will take large numbers. For this fish- 

 ing small minnows make the best bait. Provision 

 for winter ice fishing must be made in the fall by 

 securing a sufficient quantity of minnows before the 

 brooks freeze up. They can be kept in a deep box 

 or car through which the water flows freely, and so 

 placed that when the ice comes the top will be above, 

 and a good part of the box below it. They will not 

 need feeding, although there is no harm in doing so 

 occasionally. 



White perch are found only in rivers flowing into 

 the sea on the Atlantic coast, and therefore must be 

 classed as semi-fresh-water fish. "While it is not 

 known how long they remain in fresh water away 

 from the sea, they are usually taken from April to 

 September, although the season varies in different 

 rivers. They are generally found in schools, and 

 early in the season on or about muddy bottoms, but 

 later are taken near rocky shores. Angle worius and 

 pieces of fish are the favorite baits, and large strings 

 are often caught in a few hours. That well-known 

 salt-water fish, the striped bass, might be classed with 



