36 



RECREA TION. 



FISH AND FISHING. 



BLACK BASS FISHING. 



Unquestionably one of the finest game 

 fishes in the world is the black bass. It 

 gives the angler more game and more 

 sport than any other fish, excepting of 

 course the salmon, which is now out of 

 the reach of those whose time and for- 

 tune are limited. Considering the 

 absence of black flies, mosquitos, etc., 

 and the comfort of a good boat and 

 guide, bass fishing is far more enjoyable 

 than any other class of angling, especially 

 to one advanced in years. 



One of our greatest fisherman, Dr. 

 Samuel Mixter, of Boston, who has 

 killed every species of fish, from the 

 salmon of the north to the tarpon of the 

 south, when asked what kind of fishing 

 he liked best, taking everything into 

 consideration, replied, "black bass fish- 

 ing"; but you must kill one tarpon. 

 After the first one, however, tarpon fish- 

 ing is too much like work. 



There is an erroneous opinion among 

 trout fishermen that black bass in a 

 pond destroy the trout. When the trout 

 spawn in the fall, the bass are in the 

 deep water, for the winter. The follow- 

 ing year the young trout can take care 

 of themselves. It is the pickerel and 

 perch that do the damage to the trout. 

 In Grand lake, Maine, the land locked 

 salmon have increased since bass were 

 put into the lake. 



In Belgrade lake, Maine, there are ten 

 trout, this year, where there was one 

 five years ago, the bass having almost 

 exterminated the pickerel and kept down, 

 to a large extent, the smaller fishes. 



I get this information from two of the 

 best guides on these lakes, neither one 

 having seen the other. These men are 

 more interested in preserving the trout 

 and salmon, than any sportsman is, as 

 their occupation depends on the fish 

 supply being maintained. 



What sport is more fascinating than 

 playing a 3 to 4 pound black bass on a 

 6^4 ounce Leonard rod, a fine line and 

 a light reel, in bright, clear water ? I 

 know of none, and I have fished from 

 Labrador to Florida, and have killed 

 nearly every kind of game fish. 



C. E. Fuller. 



Postmaster W. G. Lott, of Aitkin, 

 Minn., caught on August 5, last, a black 

 bass which weighed 7f pounds. It 

 measured 22 inches in length and i6/4 

 inches in girth. 



Joseph A. Burr, a Brooklyn angler, 

 caught a big bass in Lake Waramaug, 

 Conn., in August last. This was a 

 small mouth and weighed 7 pounds 6 

 ounces. 



M. P. Gray, of Frankfort, Ky., took a 

 six pound black bass at the Flats, near 

 Detroit, in the early part of August. 

 The fish measured 21^2 inches in 

 length. 



W. A. Gray, another Brooklyn angler, 

 reports having caught a large mouth 

 black bass, in Lake Ronkonkoma, Long 

 Island, that weighed 8 pounds. 



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•'AN OLD FRIEND." 



In a series of interviews with members of the 

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