THE STRIPED BASSE. 



167 



bait, excepting in fresh water streams. The shrimp is a 

 much pleasanter and cleaner bait, and is very generally found 

 to be successful in the early spring fishing, and continues so 

 until crabs commence shedding their coats freely. In the 

 latter part of June, the bass prefer the soft or shedder crab, 

 though the shrimp continues to be used with success, until 

 near the first of August, when the crab is decidedly the best 

 of all baits that can be used. The mode of angling conse- 

 quently \aries at this time. While using the shrimp, the an 

 gler is generally most successful, by using the float, and sus- 

 pending his hook from mid-water to within a foot of the bot- 

 tom, excepting where the water is quite shallow, when it 

 should hang just so as to clear the bottom, as in water cf 

 little depth the fish look for their prey near the bottom. But 

 when crab bait is used, the best mode of fishing is for the 

 bait to lie on the bottom ; a sliding sinker is then the best, 

 always as light as the tide or current will allow. The largest 

 fish are generally taken by thus fishing at the bottom, with- 

 out a float ; and the reason for dispensing with the float is ob- 

 vious, if we will look at the habits of the fish. In angling 

 with shrimp, the bait should be suspended as above stated, 

 because the shrimp, by the action of the current, are fre- 

 quently swept from the edges of the channel, or driven out 

 by eels, or other enemies, and the bass look for them accord- 

 ingly ; when feeding oh the crab, however, these fish search 

 along the bottom to find the crab in his helpless and defence- 

 less state, and swim with their bodies at an angle, with the 

 head downward, examining the bottom, where experience 

 teaches them to find their prey ; thus a crab bait suspended 

 by a float at midwater would usually escape their observa- 

 tion, and the angler unacquainted with these facts would 

 mourn over his want of success without being able to ac- 

 count for it. In the latter part of September, the shrimp 

 again begin to come into use, and in October, these, with the 



