FOREST AND STREAM. 
[July 9, 1898. 
but to be very different species of the genus Morone, a 
genus formed on the fact that the two dorsal fins are 
joined, spines strong and not graduated, base of the 
tongue toothless, and the jaws nearly equal. In the genus 
Roccus, which we will glance at, the lower jaw projects 
and the tongue has teeth on its base. Yet these two 
genera have much in common. So much for science, 
which is "knowledge set in order" and is our only rudder 
and compass. The popular names of our mammals are 
badly mixed; those of our birds so muddled that it 
will take a century to straighten them out, but I throw 
up the sponge on the fishes. 
Once I hoped to accomplish something in the line of 
a national nomenclature for our fishes. As I labor the 
mountain rises and the obstacles are more formidable. 
Tf that millennium ever comes it will be centuries after I 
have been put to bed with a spade and sodded over, yet 
I write to-day in the hope that some time in the dis- 
tant future Americans may have one name for one fish 
and only one fish for one name. 
The white bass, Roccus chrysops (Raf.), is a splendid 
fish, which ranges through the Great Lakes, the Ohio 
River and the upper Mississippi, weighing up to 5lbs. 
It may be distinguished from its relatives by this de- 
scription: "Silvery, tinged with golden below; sides 
with dusky longitudinal lines, 4 or 5 above the lateral 
line, and a variable number of more or less distinct 
ones below it." Its specific name, chrysops, refers to 
its yellow or golden eye. As it is not found in the 
same waters with the striped bass, it cannot be con- 
founded with that fish. In general appearance it is a 
handsome fish, and it is also a gamy one. 
I must dissent with Dr. Jordan in regard to this fish. 
He says, American Game Fishes: "A quiet, Jiandsome 
fish, common enough, yet never very abundant; fairly 
well known, yet unobtrusive, never taking a prominent 
part in anything, Such is the white bass. It is found 
throughout the region west of Lake Champlain, north 
of Tennessee and east of Dakota. A few white bass 
may be found in any pile of black bass or sunfish from 
the lakes, as they lie in the market stalls. Yet no one 
ever saw a catch of white bass, and no one ever went 
fishing especially for them." 
It is the last statement of Dr. Jordan's which re- 
calls that famous scene in the Boar's Head Tavern, at 
Eastcheap, where Prince Hal says to Falstaff: "Mark 
now, how plain a tale shall put you down." In 1854 
there was good fishing in the Chicago River, see story 
of George Raynor in "Men I Have Fished With," and 
I took a few white bass there and off the old break- 
water in the autumn of hat year. I had never seen the 
fish before, but was so pleased with its fighting and with 
its table qualities that I talked about it to every angler 
I fell in with. One day a young man named John Boyd, 
who lived near Milwaukee, told me that he could take 
me to a pier off that city where I could "catch 'em by 
the hundred." We went and fished with cane poles, no 
reels, but the line coiled at the feet, and running through 
rings was checked by a gloved hand. We used minnows 
for bait, and had grand sport. Three days we fished 
there, and gave all of our catch, except a few that went 
to Boyd's people, to the poor women who haunted the 
pier with baskets for any surplus fish that anglers would 
spare. Of course we took many other fishes, but we 
weVe after white bass, as the best fish that we could 
take from the pier. Things piscatorial have changed in 
that region during the past forty-four years; I write 
of things that were, and Dr. Jordan writes of things of 
to-day. What will be the change forty-four years from 
now? Ah, me! I fear that the greed of man will pro- 
duce greater changes in the future than it has done 
in the past, and the changes are likely to be of the same 
kind. The angling writer of 1942 may mention the white 
bass as an extinct species; gone with the buffalo and the 
passenger pigeon. 
The striped bass, Roccus lineatus, is the noblest Roman 
of them all. Its specific name refers to the lines upon 
its sides, which are usually continuous, but in the more 
northern specimens, from New Brunswick, these lines 
are often broken. The generic name is a latinization of 
its Southern name of "rockfish," or "rock." It is main- 
ly a salt-water fish, where it attains a weight of 100 or 
more pounds. It may seem out of place in an article on 
fresh-water angling, but the young run up rivers and 
have been taken in the Hudson as far up as Albany, and 
in boyhood days I often angled specially for them in 
the river channel, where they were feeding on the eggs 
of sturgeon and young shad. 
The striped bass, which we took with sturgeon spawn 
covered with mosquito netting, or tied on the hook with 
thread, would weigh from 3^1b. to 2lbs. I once took one 
on a spoon in the fresh waters of the Pamunky River. 
Va., which weighed iolbs., and it fought hard and long. 
The Simfishes. 
There are a dozen or more of them, the number of 
species increasing as we go south, and they are found 
in most all our fresh waters, the only exceptions which 
now occur to me a few of the Adirondack lakes. In the 
South they become "sun perch" and "bream" of differ- 
ent sorts, although the bream of England, where the 
name came from, is a soft-finned fish, something like our 
"red-finned dace" of the North, a species in which only 
the male has red fins. There is the "blue bream," "cop- 
per-nosed bream," the "blue-gill," "chinquapin perch" 
and others. 
These are boys' fishes, but what angler does not look 
back with pleasure at the day he caught a big one, 
"bigger 'n a man's hand!" Those were glorious and 
never to be forgotten days. 
If a boy reads this I want to say to him: "When you 
fish for sunnies, give sunny a chance. It has a small 
mouth, and boys are given to using hooks entirely too 
large. A No. 8 Sproat, No. 6 sneck, or a No. 8 Pennel 
Limerick with turned-down eye, is big enough, and a 
size smaller is better. The last-named hook is a good 
one. Use a foot or two of gut, a fine line, and as light 
a rod as you can get, and then you are rigged to get as 
much sport out of the sunnies as there is in them. A 
float is a nuisance, unless you are fishing among weeds. 
The philosophy of a small hook is that the fish can take 
it so that the hook will fasten in its mouth, for with a 
large hook the sunny will take it flatwise, and so swallow 
it, and no angler likes to have to cut a hook from the 
stomach of a fish. There is an implement on sale at 
the tackle stores called a disgorger. which is made for 
this purpose, but if you use a small hook that the fish 
can take in without mouthing it sideways, and then 
give a gentle strike when the fish runs off, you will not 
need a disgorger. Don't be afraid to use small hooks 
and moderate-sized worms. Loop the worm on the 
hook several times, and let the tail hang. Sunny can 
stow away quite a lot of worm, which shapes itself to 
sunny's mouth better than a large hook can do. Treat 
the little fellow as the older angler does the larger fish, 
don't use a stiff pole and throw the little fellow over your 
head into the brush behind, but use a rod that he can 
bend and exert his strength against, and through which 
you can feel the thrill of his every movement, and then 
"you will experience on a miniature scale the pleasures 
which older anglers have when they fight a good trout 
or bass." 
The Catfish or Bullhead. 
These names conjure up visions of still summer nights, 
a seat on a log or stone, the voices of the frogs, the night 
heron, the owl, the splash of the muskrat and all the vis- 
ible and audible life of the mill pond, and pleasant 
visions they are. There was a time when I thought 
"fishin' fer bullheads" was great sport. Then came a 
contempt for it as the fly-rod came to be used, and now, 
as I write, I would like once more to try it, for pleasant 
memories float up ; memories that are half a century old,^ 
and like good wine, they improve. Most sport is either 
in anticipation or in memory; we enjoy it more before 
and after than while engaged in it. 
In the United States there are at least five genera, and 
more than three times that number of species in fresh 
water and others in salt water, but I will not inflict them 
all on you. The most familiar species is the one known 
in New York as "bullhead." "horn-pout" in Massachu- 
setts, "bull-pout," etc. It is the square-tailed fish which 
sometimes reaches 4lbs. and loves still waters with mud- 
dv bottoms. We will skip the great "Mississippi cat," 
which has been known to weigh iSolbs., and its relative 
of the Great Lakes, which grows nearly as big, and just 
consider the good, old square-tailed bullhead, which is 
found from New England to Wisconsin, Virginia and 
Texas, according to Jordan, who says it is common and 
is the best known of the smaller catfishes, and has been 
introduced into California. . 
This catty is the one which women used to peddle in 
trays on their heads in Philadelphia and cry "fresh cat- 
fish" in musical voices in the early morning. Perhaps 
they do so to-day, but just as Boston is celebrated for 
its baked beans, so is Philadelphia famous for its fried 
catfish, and I am fond of it. In my "Adirondack Fishes" 
I say: "As a food fish I place this fish very high, al- 
ways preferring it to brook trout, and only second in the 
rank of Adirondack fishes, my choice being the frostfish, 
P. quadrilateralis, as first. * * * If this be treason 
"make the most of it." But while the bullhead is always 
good to me, those from Adirondack waters are supreme- 
ly so. If you go to Fuller's ask for "bullplugs" from 
Buck Pond; if to the Antlers you will find them in 
Racquette. They are also in the lakes of Brown's tract, 
Piseco, Pleasant, Ferris, Jockeybush, and in fact most 
Adirondack waters.. 
• There is nothing dearer to the bullhead palate than big. 
fat angle worms, "our mutual friend," "barnyard hackle," 
etc., but these cannot be had in the Adirondack's, and 
so we must tempt them with minnows or meat. They 
are bottom feeders and prefer to feed just after sundown. 
The long barbels on the jaws are feelers, and they drag 
them over the bottom to detect food; these being like 
the whiskers of the cat give the fish one of its names. 
The bullhead has an exceedingly sharp spine in its 
dorsal fin, and one in each of its pectoral fins; all other 
rays are soft. It' has a trigger-like arrangement to the 
spines of the pectorals, which the angler can let down 
by touching a bone behind them, but they will break 
before being put down by force. To unhook a bullhead 
without danger take its head in the left hand, the first 
two fingers grasping the pectoral spines from behind with 
the dorsal spine between the two fingers, and there is no 
danger. A Avound from these spines takes weeks to heal. 
Any fish slime in a cut is poisonous, but if the fish is 
held as directed there is no danger. 
"Catfishin'," said old Mose, a "shif'less" old darky on 
Bodeau Lake, La., "yassah, I does a heap o' catfishin' 
in de lake w'en de sign in de moon comes right. Wen 
it's new or ole an' lies flat awn its back 'tain't no use to 
try, an' w'en it's full an' comes up red I stays home, but 
w'en it's vallo' an' stan's up I knows de catty's look fo f 
ol' Mose,' an' I gets de wums an' goes fo' 'em. Some 
dese fishamen dey takes baskets fo' to bring de fish home; 
I do' take no basket; I jess catches a catty an' I jabs 
his thawn— dey got. thawns awn dey backs, you know — 
well, I jess iabs de thawn into a fence rail an' lets 'em 
wiggle 'till I gits 'nuff an' I shoulders dat rail an' goes 
home; den dahs da fish an' da wood to cook 'em. No, 
I do' want no basket." 
We boys used hand lines, a ^oz. sinker and two or 
three hooks above it. all far enough apart not to entangle, 
and the upper snoods were longer in order to have all 
the baits rest on the bottom. When we got a bite we 
rushed 'em in hand under hand, and listened to them 
sing. The catfish has vocal powers, and when it gets 
out of water emits sounds which all boys have heard, 
but have not understood. The sounds are like those of 
a human being who has only been on earth a few months. 
1 used to think they were a protest against being forci- 
bly taken from the water, and for many years so regarded 
them, but after I began to study ichthyology and learned 
that some scientist had named this genus Amiurus. I 
began to ponder over it. He, Jordan, gave what he be- 
lieved to be the meaning of this alleged Greek name. 
He gave it as a. privative, or "not," and meiuros, notched, 
or square-tailed. 
This is all very well for science, but to one who has 
pulled in as many bullheads as I have, while listening 
to the voices of the night and trying to interpret them, I 
fully believe that when Amiurus is pulled in from his 
watery home to be partially cremated in the frying-pan 
he tries to articulate: "Amiurus truly," and from this 
imperfect articulation science took the name, but Dr. 
Jordan thought the catty spoke in Greek. 
I Want to go A-Fishing. 
Editor Forest and Stream: 
At the opening of the trout season I took six trout on 
Long Island, and the rest of the season has been wasted. 
I had an invitation to fish lake Hopatcong when the bass 
season opened, but declined because I was busy re- 
cruiting a regiment for the war. I have worked hard, 
and after enrolling 1,218 men in six weeks I am not only 
tired, but disheartened that my men were not accepted. 
New York had only three regiments to furnish and a 
dozen regiments offered. 
While waiting for the third call I want to camp and fish 
for a week or more around Long Island; no hotels and 
no hired cooks. Just a stag party of three or four to 
sleep in tent or on boat, and if any angler who owns 
a suitable boat wants this sort of a trip and will let me 
share the expense, will write me at 63 Linden_ street, 
Brooklyn, I will respond. Hotel life will not bring the 
vitality needed to take the field at the third call for troops 
if I can get it, and I am hungering for a camp or a cruise 
on quiet waters, where I can catch a fish and broil it. 
It seems to me that a cruise around Long Island, run- 
ning into some bay or harbor at night and either camping 
on shore or sleeping on board, would afford a chance for 
most all kinds of salt-water fishing at this time of year, 
and if the party was composed of the right kind of mate- 
rial would make a trip to be retained in memory while 
memory lasts. My old companions on such a trip have 
passed over to the majority or I would not make such 
a proposition. 
I would not like to go with less than three nor more 
than five; four would be about the right number, if the 
boat would acommodate them, and if they were real good 
fellows, who would not grumble at any accident or 
change of weather, the trip would be an ideal one. 
Fred Mather. 
Texas Fresh Water and Salt. 
Victoria, Texas, June 16. — Ten years ago there was 
no better place for fresh-water fishing than western Texas, 
or rather southwestern Texas, but we have none now. 
Our streams dried up two or three years ago in a 
drought, and since that time we have been compelled to 
depend upon salt water for all our sport. Fishing parties 
are made up almost every week to go to Rockport or 
Indianola, and reports say that red fish and trout are 
abundant, and afford much enjoyment to the fishermen. 
I have not yet tried it, and cannot speak from personal 
experience or observation. But tarpon abound, and for 
the properly-equipped fisherman they will afford all the 
enjoyment necessary to make a trip to our coast pleas- 
ant. Up to this time our summer has been cool, and we 
have delightful sea breeze at night and but few mosqui- 
toes. Texas. 
Friday Luck. 
Escambia, Mich., June 28. — Podgers makes a good 
string of mishaps or unlucky events in the last Forest 
and Stream. Fifty years ago this fall I was in New 
York, and while there went into a barber's shop, and 
while waiting my turn heard a lot of sailors telling of 
all sorts of bad luck from Friday sailing. A captain in 
the chair called attention to the history of the Constitu- 
tion (Old Ironsides) and pointed out that her keel had 
been laid on Friday; she was closed in on Friday; 
launched on Friday; sailed on Friday; took her first 
prize on Friday, and returned to port on Friday. No 
bad luck about all that. A. F. Y. 
Tuna and Frigate Mackerel. 
Washington, D. C, July 1. — Editor Forest and Stream : 
I regret to see the tuna copied from Fisheries Industries 
in Forest and Stream of July 2. That plate represents 
the frigate mackerel and not the tuna or tunny. No one 
knows how the mistake was made in the plate legend, 
but it is a very unfortunate one. The frigate mackerel 
is a small fish seldom exceeding 14m. in length, and is 
an occasional visitor in our waters. If you think best 
it might be well to call attention to the error, for which 
Forest and Stream is not responsible. 
Tarleton H. Bean 
[We shall give in our next issue a plate of the tuna, j 
Weakfish by the Hundredweight. 
East Rockaway, L. I., July 4. — The net fishermen 
brought in over 70olbs. of fish yesterday. They were 
mostly weakfish and small flounders. Hook and line 
fishermen had good luck. They caught mostly blackfish 
(tautog), flounders and fluke. Experienced anglers 
caught weakfish and bluefish bit freely outside the 
Inlet. The usual 4th of July squalls and storms, how- 
ever, cut the sport of the fishermen short and sent the 
small boats scurrying for the landings. Several yachts 
were capsized, but no loss of life was reported. 
Snipe Season on Long Island. 
Inner Beach, L. I., July 4. — The snipe shooting sea- 
son opened last Friday, but few gunners came down un 
til yesterday. The smaller sorts of birds are as plentiful 
as usual, but large birds are very scarce. Baymen say 
that large yellowlegs were plentiful until about two week:, 
ago, when they left for parts unknown. There may be a 
flight of the larger birds later in the season. The small 
snipe are not bunching well, and the market gunners 
have considerable difficulty in getting birds enough to 
pay the cost of ammunition. A pleasant day's outing 
and a small bag of birds may be had any time by taking 
a train to Wreck Lead or Inner Beach, and a boat to 
the shooting grounds in the Great South Bay. With 
long rubber boots a boat may be dispensed with, but it 
is hard work tramping over the meadows, with constant 
danger of floundering into a salt pond or quicksand. 
It is better to take Spine stool and rest quietly, while 
the birds come to you in response to your whistle rather 
than chase them over the meadows, 
