404 
FOREST AND STREAM 
August, 1919 
ANGLING FOR THE STRIPED BASS 
THE ALLURING SPORT OF SURF FISHING ALONG THE SHELVING EDGE OF BEACH 
WHERE THE BREAKERS POUND AND THE AIR IS KEEN WITH THE TANG OF THE SEA 
By LEONARD HULIT, Associate Editor of FOREST AND STREAM 
T O the striped bass must be given, 
if to any of our coastal fishes, the 
title of gentleman among his tribe. 
Paens of praise have been sung to the 
lordly salmon of the cascade and moun- 
tain stream, and to fontanalis libraries 
of books have been devoted, to illustrate 
the glories of his quest and conquest and 
it may justly be said that nothing has 
been said of him that cannot find war- 
rant for the effort. 
While the bass is usually regarded as 
a coast and estuary fish exclusively, the 
truth of the matter is far different, which 
careful research has fully demonstrated. 
That the bass ascends our rivers to 
great distances is now a fully established 
fact, while strong assertions to the con- 
trary were prevalent not so many years 
since and from the pens of men who 
should have been more careful of posi- 
tive statements. Both personal experi- 
ence and close inquiry have so fully es- 
tablished the fact of their wanderings 
to fresh waters that it will no longer 
admit of question, and that many of the 
mature fish pass many months of the 
year in water entirely fresh is amply 
proven. 
Whether or not this fish really hiber- 
nates during any period of the year is 
still a matter for argument as well as 
with the best on our continent and, 
however served, is always a welcome dish 
to all, whether in the banquet hall or on 
the table of the humble toiler of the sea. 
Many curious legends are still extant, 
handed down from the days of long ago, 
telling of the great abundance of this 
fish, and of enormous catches made at 
different times in very crude ways. Cap- 
tain John Smith, of Jamestown fame, is 
credited with many observations on their 
great abundance during his time, and 
in one prominent place a tablet at one 
time was set up extolling the merits of 
the fish and telling of the rare sight 
which he (Smith) had seen as to their 
great numbers in the James River. He 
described them as so rich in flavor that 
they reminded one of the “Mary bones,” 
meaning marrow bones of beef, and as 
being so abundant that at low tide one 
might walk dry shod across the river 
on their backs. Some one of a facetious 
turn of mind chiseled at the bottom of 
the tablet the rather euphonious epigram, 
“John Smith js a liar,” how much of 
truth was embodied in the whole story 
the author has as yet not vouched for. 
As with all characters of prominence 
there is one serious stigma attached to 
the name of the subject of this sketch, 
he is a prodigious spawn eater and will 
T he coast range of the striped bass 
is not so great as many are in- 
clined to believe. It apparently 
never reaches north of the gulf of the 
St. Lawrence, and it is never abundant 
below the mouth of the St. John’s River 
in Florida. While scattering individuals 
have been met with below that point still 
they are rare. Its real range is be- 
tween Massachusetts Bay and the Ches- 
apeake, where it is very plentiful at all 
seasons of the year, and the streams 
leading into it are at times an angler’s 
paradise. And here again we meet the 
same conditions as are mentioned with 
many of our important fishes, the name 
is most confusing. It is known in differ- 
ent localities, and some not far removed 
from each other, by the name of Rock 
Fish, Green Head, Striped Bass, and 
Squid Hound. The latter name being ap- 
plied only to the large ocean ranging 
fish. 
And here it may be well to observe 
that this fish is not a bass at all. It 
does not belong to the family of that 
order, but to the perch, and is so classified 
by all authorities. However, his rela- 
tions are of but small moment to either 
the angler or epicure, and like the scent 
of the rose he is as welcome under one 
name as under any other. 
research. That 
they do con- 
gregate in 
large schools 
and are fre- 
quently taken 
in nets under 
the ice is un- 
question- 
ab le. This 
usually occurs 
where mossy 
bottoms are 
found and 
would lead to 
the conclusion 
that hiberna- 
tion was tak- 
i n g place 
among them. 
Still, at the same time, individuals may 
be taken on the troll in water near by, 
thus disputing the above theory of hiber- 
nation. And it is well known that the 
fully mature fish are rarely or never 
found under such conditions, but are of 
course netted in the open waters during 
the greater part of the year. 
As a food fish the striped bass ranks 
follow schools of herrings and shad to 
their beds and there deplete their well- 
meant endeavors. But we cannot os- 
tracise him on that count and will be 
compelled to gloss over as best we may 
his faults. 
The fact remains that he is eagerly 
sought for by a host of anglers for the 
excellent sport he lends to his capturing. 
The bass is 
a most voraci- 
ous as well as 
indiscriminate 
feeder, taking 
at times al- 
most any bait 
offered, such 
as minnows, 
shedder crabs. 
Menhaden 
clams and 
blood worms, 
as well as the 
well-known 
squid or ink 
fish which at 
times it seems 
to prefer to all 
others. Early 
in the spring it seems to care for nothing 
but the bloodworm and seems to be on the 
search for it at all times. Were the 
same conditions of capture bestowed 
upon the bass as upon the salmon or 
mountain trout as regards weight of 
tackle, it is much to be questioned 
whether either of the latter two would 
develop greater fighting abilities. The 
