American Bait Minnows 



The salt solution should not be too strong; ordinarily about one 

 part of salt to a thousand of water will prove sufficiently strong. 

 Before the fish are returned to the live-box it should be carefully 

 cleaned and set in a different place. 



It is of course much more difficult to keep minnows in the 

 summer than at any other time ; and as it is also easier to get 

 them then there is no necessity for crowding the live-box. 



Though there are more than a hundred species of minnows 

 in America and nearly all of them are used to some extent as 

 bait, not more than a dozen or 14 are usually regarded as bait 

 minnows. 



While the relative values of the different kinds of bait min- 

 nows vary greatly with the locality, nevertheless certain species 

 are recognized by all anglers as particularly suitable for certain 

 game fishes and others for other game fishes. 



For muskallunge the best and most popular minnows are 

 the fallfish {Semotilus corporalis), large examples of the creek 

 chub (S. atromaculatus), and the river chub {Hybopsis kentucki- 

 ensis). Small suckers are also often used, but perhaps the best 

 of all is the river chub, as it is a hardy vigoi'ous fish which will 

 endure much punishment and is very active and attractive on the 

 hook. 



Smaller examples of these same species are excellent for both 

 species of black bass. For bass fishing the following additional 

 species are superior live-bait: Storer's chub [Hybopsis storerianns) 

 redfin or common silverside {Notropis cormitiis), shiner or spottail 

 minnow {N. hitdsonius), the silverfin (M ■whipplii), the slender silver- 

 side [N. atherinoides), and the blunt-nosed minnow {Pimephales 

 notaiiis). In the Potomac and Susquehanna rivers small catfish 

 are extensively used and are very killing. In Maine the gray- 

 back or " shove-fish" (Fiindiilus diaphanus) is much used. 



But the style of minnow varies much with the locality and 

 the season. In some places and during some seasons crawfish 

 and frogs are the best lures. Frogs are used in New England and 

 in the Great Lakes region. Crawfish are popular in the Great 

 Lakes and throughout the Mississippi Valley. In the small lakes 

 of northern Indiana, justly celebrated for their black bass, the small- 

 mouth prefers a grasshopper in the summer but in the fall the 

 . river chub, blunt-nosed minnow and redfin are the best. The 

 large-mouth does not ordinarily take grasshoppers very readily, 



xli 



