AUG. 5, 1893.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



101 



SEA FISHING FOR SEA BASS. 



Fishing for sea bass may be made a gentle art or a bois- 

 terous sport, as the angler chooses. He can fish for the 

 dark, sharp-finned fellows in quiet channels and creeks, 

 where the sweep of the sea wind is broken by lonely, 

 peaceful sti-etches of sedge and grass, and where the 

 waters lie still and glassy day after day; or he can pass the 

 sandy gates that separate the bay from the big rollers of 

 the open sea and cast bis line in the Atlantic Ocean, where 

 the fishing is a struggle not with the bass alone, but with 

 every force of marine nature. Each method has its pleas- 

 ures and its triumphs. But while the fisliing in the open 

 sea is invigorating and exhilarating fun, it does not 

 requu-e a knowledge of angling as an art; and it is of sea 

 bass fishing as an art that this article will treat. In the 

 quiet waters of the bays and creeks the sea bass are wily 

 and sly, and as changeable in appetite and temper as a 

 woman. Sometimes they will bite furiously at the most 

 ordinary bait, however inartistically offered; again, they 

 will scorn almost everything and evade the most cimning 

 and tempting lure. Then the catching of the bass de- 

 mands the exercise of every art learned in years of com- 

 munion with the sea. 



Tlie sea bass is not a game fish like the gorgeous 

 squeteague or the piratical bluefish. But he is a fighter 

 from his bulldog head to his stout chunky tail, and when 

 he feeLs the hook and the strain of the fine he wiU test 

 the tackle well before he is brought to the boat. The 

 first rush of a hump-backed bass as he takes the hook is 

 often so much hke the savage strike of a weakfish or a 

 bluefish that it deceives even practiced anglers. After 

 that first rush, the bass does not run off or leap clear of 

 the water as the game fish do, but he gives a good honest 

 fight that makes him a 

 prize to be proud of, pro- 

 viding he has been hon- 

 estly caught with light 

 rod and line that gave 

 him a fair chance for his 

 life. 



The best i-od for bass 

 fishing is one about 10 

 or 12ft. long, with a tip 

 just stifl: enough to sup- 

 port the lightest lead that 

 can possibly be used. 

 How light that lead may 

 be depends, of course, on 

 the varying strength of 

 the currents in different 

 localities. As a rule salt 

 water anglers err by using 

 leads that are much too 

 heavy. With a thin line 

 a surprisingly small 

 amount of lead will suf- 

 fice to hold bottom. A 

 very slight decrease in 

 the thickness of the Line 

 will make possible a re- 

 markable decrease in the 

 weight of the lead, for 

 the thinner the line the 

 less influence will the 

 current have on it. For 

 ordinary sea bass lishing 

 the line used for black 

 bass casting is just right. 

 The hooks should be large, 

 from 1-0 to 3-0, for the 

 sea bass has a wide mouth 

 and takes generous bites 

 when he feeds. When 

 live bait is used, the 

 Aberdeen hooks, being 

 thin and almost invisible 

 in the water on account 

 of their blue color, are 



perfection. But many anglers prefer a stouter hook and 

 use sproats. Few hooks of other shapes are equal to 

 these for sea bass fishing, For the smaller sea bass, like 

 those that come in the spring, there is no need of gat 

 leaders to fasten the hook to the line. But when the 

 big yellow bass come late in the summer, the leaders 

 will be found useful. A double-strand gut, 1 or 3ft. 

 long, is best. 



There are three "runs" of sea bass. The first comes in 

 the latter part of May or early in June. These fish are 

 small, dark bass, rarely weighing more than a quarter of 

 a pound. The best bait for them is hard clam or sand 

 worm, but they are not very particular about their die^ 

 and shrimp, big sea clams called skimmers, killies, the 

 salt water minnows, and the little queer fiddler crabs wiU 

 all prove kilhng baits at times. Sometimes when nothing 

 else will tempt them, the soft part of that marine house- 

 holder, the hermit crab, will catch them. But to all ex- 

 cept experienced baymen the hermit crab is harder to find 



than bass, consequently . A tiny bit of red feather 



tied to the shank of the hook will often attract the early 

 bass. 



The fii-st run lasts till well in July. Then a second run 

 comes from the sea. It consists of larger bass, with 

 deeper bodies, and instead of being dark brown the fish 

 ai'e of a deep bluish tinge. They bite sharply, as a rule, 

 like their predecessors, but the}' are much more lively on 

 the hook. They are a little different, also, in the matter 

 of food. They stiU take all the baits that the early bass 

 did, but they are often much more eager for live bait, 

 and the kiUie will frequently entice them when they will 

 touch nothing else. Toward the middle of August, 

 perhaps later if the weather be very warm, these dark 

 blue fellows disappear and go back to their mysterious 

 homes in the ocean. There is a lull in sea bass fish- 

 ing for a week or two. And then come the big sea bass 

 that make bass fishing a joy. Great savage fellows they 

 are, with sturdy shoulders and big humps that are aimed 

 with stout fins, sharp as a saw. They are different in 

 every way from their predecessors. Instead of being 

 dark in color, they are yellow and indigo, their heads are 

 longer, tlieir jaws larger and firmer, and the cm'ious 

 hump on their backs adds to their warrior-like appear- 

 ance. Fresh run from the sea they are as savagely 

 hungry as wolves and as supple and powerful as athletes. 

 They are mostly old fellows, wary as a fox, quick as a 

 flash, and experienced in all the wiles of an angler. They 

 know a hook when they see it, and it is a well-concealed 



hook that they can't see. That kind of bass is the only 

 kind that a real angler ought to care for. And the right 

 way to learn how to catch them is to consider the prob- 

 lem in a boat at the end of a rod with one of the sly old 

 rascals stealing the fattest kilhes as fast as they can be 

 put on the hook. 



The proper way to put the kUUe on the hook is through 

 the lips. That doesn't hurt the killie and allows it to 

 swim around and look cheerful. When the bass are bit- 

 ing well they wiU always snap at the head of live bait. 

 Then they usually hook themselves. But when they aren't 

 biting well, and approach the hook in a critical mood, 

 they dawdle along carelessly and approach the killie from 

 behind and nose it rather gingerly, with their big tails 

 bent, ready to flirt them instantly out of harm's way. If 

 they find nothing suspicious, they take the kilUe's tail 

 end tenderly into their mouths and tug ever so gently. 

 And now, if the angler is a fool, he wiU strike sharplj^, 

 and that bass will let go in a hurry, or at the most, bite 

 off the killie's tail and flee far away from the man's hue. 

 Then the man will go ashore and teU lies about the whop- 

 per that nearly puUed him out of the boat. 



If the angler is not a fool he -will let the old bass tug 

 away, and instead of restraining him he will carefully, 

 ever so carefully, give him inch after inch of line. 



When the old fellow meets with this courtesy he appre- 

 ciates it, and instead of taking alarm and spitting the 

 kiUie out of his mouth, he will begin to gorge it slowly. 

 First he works it around until he holds it crosswise in his 

 big jaws. Then he gi-adually gets its head into his 

 mouth, and about the time this happens he makes up his 

 mind to move off. After a good many weeks of study 

 with a rod an angler begins to tell by the "feel of it" 

 when the bass does aU these things, and he will learn to 



AN Ai'IEKNOON IN THE WOODS. 

 From the Boston Jouraal of Health. By courtesy of Dr. J. ^'rank Perry. 



know that they tug and distinguish it from other tugs. 

 When your bass thus begins to gorge the killife your hand 

 is the stronger in the game, but you need not give up all 

 hope of losing your fish. AU you need do is to strike 

 sharply and savagely. Then the hook wiU almost always 

 be jerked out of the bass's mouth and you will escape 

 catching him. If, on the contrary, you simply increase 

 the tension of the line suddenly but gently, and only to a 

 slight degree, you ought to hook your bass. 



For these big bass there is only one bait, the live 

 killie. Other baits they will take, but that is what they 

 appreciate most, and that is the only bait that is worthy 

 of the sturdy fish. It is not every killie either that will 

 suit the big yellow bass. There are kilhes and killies. 

 There is the big delusive night killie, white with black 

 stripes, like a Uttle striped bass. It is of no more use 

 than a white and black rag, which it resembles after it is 

 on the hook for a few minutes, for the night killies have 

 a delicate constitution and cannot survive capture. No 

 self-respecting fish would touch them. Even old hardened 

 sea spiders, real old tramps of the sea, have been known 

 to resent the offer of one of these killies as an insult. 

 Better, from a bait collector's standpoint, is the beautiful 

 little killie with a Hght green back, and fins and tail mot- 

 tled with orange. If no other killie can be had these will 

 often do very well. But the killie is the dark green, white- 

 bellied fellow. That is the kind that the bass will take 

 ravenously when they will take no other. It is the 

 hardiest of salt water minnows and thrives on misfortune. 

 It will live for houi-s with a hook through its upper Hp, 

 and apparently enjoys the experience. It can be kept 

 out of water for half a day if it is kept in a cool shady 

 place; and it is as plentiful, if not more so, as any other 

 kilUe. 



While in recent years the value of live bait has led 

 most boatmen at fishing resorts to keep live killies for 

 their patrons, still there are many places where they are 

 not to be had unless the angler catches them himself. 

 And as the necessary appliance for doing so is only a 

 common minnow net with a long handle, it would pay 

 the angler who goes to strange waters to take one along. 

 The method of captm-e is so simple that even the fool who 

 Johnson said is at one end of a fish line, can get the knack 

 of it easily. He must only remember that the kilhes fre- 

 quent shallow places only, preferring si^ots near over- 

 hanging banks. Also, as a rule, more are to be found 

 under the windward shore, as they run to the bank that 

 breaks the wind, They have a keen scent for food, and 



shy as they are ordinarily, they are thoroughly reckless 

 when they find something good to eat. So all that it is 

 necessary to do is to put the net into the water, letting it 

 lie flat on the bottom, care being taken that no part of it 

 waves to and fro in the current. Then droj) a broken 

 clam into the center of the net. Let the shell adhere to 

 the meat so that it will sink to the bottom. Soon one kil- 

 lie will swim slowly to the clam, smelj. of it, and dart off 

 like lightning. Then he will come again. If he finds 

 nothing suspicious he will attack the bait. As soon as he 

 begins to pull at it all the kilhes in the neighborhood seem 

 to find it out and they will swarm into the net, forgetting 

 all shyness in their anxiety to share the feast. What the 

 fool mentioned before now has to do, he ought to know 

 without being told, unless -old Johnson overestimated him. 



Killies are generally kept in a bait car, a small wooden 

 box with aperforated bottom, which is tied alongside of the 

 boat. But when the tide runs very swiftly, it is better to 

 haul the car in, for a swift cm-rent swirling through it will 

 drown them. 



In sea or bay fishing the sea bass is found almost always 

 in deep water over rocky or "cinder" bottoms. The "cin- 

 ders" particularly are favorite places, and where such 

 bottom is found there is a fair chance for catching bass. 

 "Cinders" are curious coral-like formations, of brittle 

 material, and they are the homes of small marine worms. 

 Small Crustacea and minnows also frequent such bottom, 

 offering inducements to all fish. In bay fishing the best 

 bass grounds as a rule are in water from 15 to 30ft. deep 

 at mean low tide. Sea bass not being game fish, do not 

 usually run into shallow water in pursuit of their prey, 

 like weakfish and bluefish. They seek their food in the 

 deeper water, and the best plan is to anchor just at the 

 edge of a channel. Old wrecks, after they get covered 

 with barnacles and shell- 

 fish, are always famous 

 places for sea bass, and 

 wreck fishing is the kind 

 most practiced by the 

 fishermen who go out to 

 the deep sea. 



For bay fishing, Ja- 

 maica Bay has more good 

 sj)ots than any resort 

 within a few miles of 

 this city. There are the 

 "Cellars," long reaches of 

 cinder bottom, in Deep or 

 Irish Creek, which con- 

 nects the western part of 

 J amaica Bay with Sheeps- 

 head Bay. The fishing 

 here is about 10 or 12ft. 

 of water, is done within 

 2 or 3ft. of the bank and 

 as there is little tide and 

 no danger from storms 

 in the creek, the fishing- 

 is delightful, though un- 

 certain, as the bass some- 

 times forsake the place 

 for weeks. A quarter of 

 a mile from the Jamaica 

 Bay outlet of the creek is 

 another good place, in the 

 Island CUiannel. Follow- 

 ing this and approaching 

 Barren Island, the angler 

 will find water 40 and 

 50ft. deep, about half a 

 mile from that unsavory 

 island, near the Slop 

 Meadows. The crib dock 

 at Barren Island is some- 

 times a good place for 

 very big fish, but the 

 smells and sights are 

 nauseating. Across from 

 Bai-ren Island, and within 

 a quarter of a mile of the Life Saving Station, on Rock- 

 away Beach, is the "Blockhouse wreck," a good place, 

 though it is better for blackfish than bass. 



Following the Beach Channel eastward, one may fish 

 on the famous Neptune wreck, opposite the old Neptune 

 House. Then comes Broad Channel, with its fishing along 

 the spiles of the Long Island Eaih-oad bridge. Further on 

 come the Pot and Silver Hole. Following the railroad 

 bridge northward are Goose Channel and Goose Creek, 

 both excellent places. Thence the angler can move on 

 into the deep, long channel called The Raunt. The Black 

 AVall, Yellow Bar, Pumpkin Patch, Steamboat Channel 

 and Canarsie Breakwater are all good places at times. 



In Gravesend Bay there are two wrecks near Norton's 

 Point in Coney Island which have furnished grand sport 

 in past years' Off Norton's Point is a good place also. 



Staten'island offers Prince's Bay and Huguenot as sea 

 bass grounds. The numerous other resorts there are better 

 for weakfish and bluefish, as a rule. 



Sea fishing is done abnost entirely by parties who hire 

 a steamer, or preferably a sloop, with a captain who 

 knows all the good places along the coast. Off Rockaway, 

 the favorite place is the famous wreck of the old steam- 

 ship Black Warrior, which was lost there many years 

 ago. Southeast of this is the Spanish wreck. Then comes 

 the "Stone Pile," a big granite breakwater in front of the 

 Oj-ieiital Hotel on Manhattan Beach. Out toward Sandy 

 Hook is the "Monument," a rock which bears a beacon at 

 the tail of the Romer Shoals. Flynn's KnoU, just inside 

 of the Horseshoe, is another favorite place. Then along 

 the Jersey coast are innumerable places, where the Sea- 

 bright fishermen fish for market. In another direction 

 lie the Cholera Banks, where a fleet of fishing boats may 

 be found daily. 



For sea fishing the tackle must be very strong. There 

 is no time, and the heavy swell of the ocean allows no 

 chance, for playing the fish. When he is hooked he must 

 be reeled in at once. The rod should be stout, stiff and 

 short, the Une thick and the hooks large and strong. 

 Treble and quadruple gut should be on the hooks. The 

 sinkers mu.st be heavy enough to take the fine to the bot- 

 tom as swiftly as possible and to keep it there, no matter 

 how the waves may roll or the winds may blow. When 

 the fish bites, it is the hard pull and the strong pull that 

 lands him. The fish are huge ones, and though it isn't 

 true sport, it is very good fun, and a pleasant Aaj of such 

 fishing, almost or entirely out of sight of land, is worth 

 remembering, if the angler doesn't get seasick, M, 



