FISH AND FISHING. 



THE STRIPED BASS. 



LEONARD HULIT. 



Of all the fish indigenous to our coast the 

 striped bass is, from the angler's point of 

 view, pre-eminently " the king." Of beau- 

 tiful proportions and markings he is an ob- 

 ject of delight to the eye; while his superb 

 game qualities make him an object of eager 

 pursuit. 



He is the first of the game fishes to visit 

 us, and among the last to leave; and when 

 conditi©ns are favorable he is a ready biter 

 and always puts up a fight second to noth-, 

 ing of scale and fin. 



About May 15th he usually appears in 

 the surf, and it is of surf fishing, only, I 

 would speak. June, however, is the best 

 month of the year, and night the best time, 

 fishing from half flood to high water and 

 on down to half ebb. The novice would 

 better watch, for a short time, the methods 

 of some practical angler before venturing 

 to fish for this salt water ranger. From the 

 old timer he may learn more of lasting 

 value in an hour than from a life time 

 perusal of books. 



The tackle should be the best— the very 

 best — the purse will allow; for this class of 

 fishing tests, to the fullest, the merits of 

 rod, reel and line. 



Of the many varieties of wood from 

 which a rod suitable can be selected such 

 as lancewood, greenheart, bethabara, 

 snake-wood, etc., there is small doubt that 

 a thoroughly straight grained lancewood 

 will give the best results. While it does 

 not possess as much resiliency as some of 

 the others, still in toughness of fibre it is 

 unrivalled. 



A 2 piece rod is altogether the best. The 

 style known as independent butt, with tip 

 all of one piece, is generally preferred. The 

 length is governed by height of the angler. 

 A rod too long will invariably prove a 

 snare, while one too short will not give the 

 spring necessary to perfect casting. 



The reel should be in all cases sufficiently 

 large to hold 600 feet of 12 or 15 thread line 

 so that the spool will at all times work 

 free, and should be steel pivoted. The 

 higher the grade the greater the satisfac- 

 tion in its use. 



The line should be twisted — never 

 braided. I have never seen one of the lat- 

 ter that was of any practical use in this 

 class of fishing. 



While the hand forged O'Shaugnessy 

 hook has long been a prime favorite with 

 bass fishermen, it is extremely doubtful if 

 it has any points of merits over a high 

 grade Kirby-Limerick Hook. 



While many bass are taken, each year, 

 during the day, yet night is far and away 



the best time. An Easterly wind, which al- 

 ways agitates the surf, gives the proper 

 condition; as the small crustaceans upon 

 which the bass feed are then washed from 

 the bars and become an easy prey. 



I have seen multitudes of bass disport- 

 ing themselves in the boiling, pounding 

 surf when the wind was blowing at hurri- 

 cane speed, directly on shore. It is at such 

 times that success, from our piers, is best as- 

 sured. 



When casting from the beach the points 

 of bars, which mark the formation of the 

 deep cuts along the beach, are the proper 

 spots. While the blood-worm is a prime 

 favorite with many anglers, as bait early in 

 the season, yet doubt if anything more 

 killing than the shedder crab is to be had. 



Patience, that sublime virtue, must be 

 one of the qualifications of the bass fisher- 

 man. Without it success is doubtful, and 

 some of the most persistent and patient of 

 anglers frequently pass an entire season 

 without reward. 



But when once a big bass is hooked 

 the battle is glorious, and must be at- 

 tended with generalship if success is to be 

 achieved. 



You must be keenly alert, as the quarry 

 is alive to every opportunity of escape. 

 The slacking or fouling of line on guides, 

 or tip, means the loss of the game. 



A battle between an experienced angler 

 and a large bass, in the surf, is a sight never 

 to be forgotten. The steady, anxious 

 movements on one side; the giving of line 

 and its rapid recovery, as the silvered beau- 

 ty darts with lightning like movements — 

 with dorsal fin set and eye like fire — 

 through the tumbling waters, all go to 

 make a picture which pen will never ade- 

 quately describe nor canvas portray. 



TACKS FOR A CYCLING ANGLER. 



Lansing, Mich. 

 Editor Recreation: I read Recreation 

 and enjoy it, but when I run across an ar- 

 ticle like " Biking for Bass," in the Oc- 

 tober number, by W. W. Blackwell, it raises 

 my ire. Mr. B. starts his imagination to 

 work in the very first lap, when he says " A 

 short ride brought us to the Au Sable river, 

 in Middlesex county, Michigan." As a 

 matter of fact, there is no Middlesex coun- 

 ty in Michigan; nor does the Au Sable run 

 through a county beginning with the letter 

 M., so it could not have been a simple mis- 

 take in the name of the county. Nor, so 

 far as my information goes, are there any 

 " clumps of haw trees " on the banks of the 

 Au Sable. Then, he tells the reader he 

 " struck a bass in the weeds, and lost him, 



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