Geeedy Small-fey. 



287 



The Sunfish. 



with red, and the belly orange and gold. It is to be fished 

 for with perch tackle and very small hooks. ■ 



THE PBECH. 



This fish is the head of the families of the Percidm or Per- 

 cdides of Cuvier. The preoperculum is denticulated, the oper- 

 culum is produced behind into a flattened spine, the infra- 

 orbitals are obscurely denticulated, and the tongue is smooth. 

 This is the common fresh-water perch — the Perca proper. It 

 is so common in American waters that a description is scarce- 

 ly necessai;y. It is a very voracious fish, will bite to the ar- 

 tificial fly, and the red ibis is its weakness, while it seems 

 equally well pleased with any bait which the angler may 

 adopt or change to. Its weight is usually about half a pound, 

 though three-pounders are not uncommon, while it sometimes 

 scales as high as seven pounds, but rarely except in the la,rge 

 lakes. - - • > 



