SEPTEMBER, 1917 
FOREST AND STREAM 
409 
CHANNEL BASS—A SUPER GAME FISH 
THE GAME FISH OF THE MIDDLE AND SOUTH ATLANTIC COAST. ITS 
EARNEST QUEST BY SPORTSMEN GROWS MORE POPULAR EVERY DAY 
By LEONARD HULIT 
N O fish which visits our shores has 
risen in popular favor with greater 
rapidity than has the channel bass. 
While it has been known among fishermen 
for an indefinite period of time, its merit 
as a super game fish has not been known 
to northern anglers for longer perhaps than 
twenty years. And its earnest quest has 
fully developed within one half that time. 
Few species have been more disputed 
over among anglers as to proper classifi¬ 
cation, and even market fishermen still 
contend that the channel bass and the red 
drum are one and the same fish. Nothing 
could be more erroneous. Even a novice, 
given a moment’s thoughtful survey of the 
two varieties, will readily distinguish the 
difference. The true red drum has a deep¬ 
ly rounded body, chin barrels and in its 
throat an immense set of pavement-like 
grinders so formidable as to readily crush 
the hardest of clams or other Crustacea of 
the bays and open sea. And it is a deep 
dull bronze color. 
The true channel bass is graceful in con¬ 
tour. All well-developed specimens have 
an almost straight line from chin to anal 
fin, where a slight curve sets that extends 
to the tip of the caudal fin or tail. Its 
back is beautifully arched, there is not 
the slightest appearance of the chin bar¬ 
rels, and when fresh from the water the 
channel bass gives off a sheen of the most 
beautiful burnished copper. One charac¬ 
teristic which is never absent even in the 
most immature specimen is the black spots, 
which are a prominent feature. There 
seems to be no established rule as to the 
number of these which may appear on a 
particular individual. From one up to 
seven or even more have been found. But 
there is always one, located just where 
the tail begins, always on the upper edge. 
In fact the channel bass is at last in his 
proper category, placed there by the an¬ 
glers of the middle Atlantic coast. In 
all sense he is a superbly game fish, wor¬ 
thy of the tribute Innes Randolph pays 
him in a couplet written some years ago: 
Long as a salmon, if not so stout; 
And swift and springy as a mountain 
trout! 
This fish breeds in southern waters— 
possibly never north of the Saint John’s 
river—and is met with in all the bays and 
sounds as well as the rivers down to and 
including the Gulf of Mexico. The mature 
fish range northward to along the New 
Jersey coast, and a few specimens have 
been found as far north as Massachusetts 
Bay. 
It has, as many other of our important 
fishes have, a confusion of names: Beard¬ 
less drum, branded drum, red bass, reef 
bass, red horse and spud. The last men¬ 
tioned is doubtless a corruption of the 
word “spot,” its peculiar markings as al¬ 
ready noticed. Of late years however the 
name channel bass is coming into quite 
universal use in Southern waters, and will 
doubtless become more so as the years go by. 
T HE channel bass is universally used 
as food throughout the South. But 
not only is it sought continually by 
market fishermen; for the rivers of the 
South afford excellent game fishing for 
those who are aware of the excellence of 
sport to be had with this fish. While the 
largest specimens are rarely taken by 
pleasure fishermen—who use boats and 
light tackle and fish but little below the 
surface-—in this manner fish of from six 
to ten pounds in weight is the rule. And 
they give great sport. 
No one not familiar with this fish would 
ever recognize it in its immature stage as of 
the bass family. Specimens of from one- 
half pound to three pounds in weight are 
absolutely void of color, being as silvery 
as a salmon. The only distinguishing mark 
is the inevitable black spot. But it is to 
(continued on page 444) 
TUNA FISHING OFF BLOCK ISLAND 
TROLLING FOR THE BIG ONES FROM A MOTORBOAT, WITH SPORT SIZE 
LINE AND TACKLE, HAS A THRILL THAT INLAND FISHING CANT AFFORD 
(4 4 NGLING for tuna and albicore at 
New York’s door?—Why, man, 
this isn’t Florida and it isn’t Cali¬ 
fornia. What are you talking about!” 
Many residents of the Eastern states as¬ 
sociate Block Island with sword fishing, but 
comparatively few are aware of the fact 
that of late years tuna and albicore are 
plentiful thereabouts at certain seasons. 
From the eighteenth of July to the middle 
of September, 2,500 tuna have been caught 
in the immediate vicinity of that island. 
When the tuna ceased running there came 
a visitation of albicore—vast schools of 
them. They keep things lively for the 
sportsman during the early morning hours; 
then after 9 or 10 o’clock they are seen or 
heard from no more until next day. 
The method of angling for the albicore is 
similar to that which experience has de¬ 
veloped in the case of the tuna. Each are 
trolled for from power boats or sail boats 
up to thirty feet in length, and a speed of 
six or seven miles an hour seems to be 
none too fast to produce the best results, 
even though a short line is used. The fish¬ 
ing grounds lie along the South shore of 
Block Island, a stretch of only about four 
miles. The distance from the beach varies 
from a hundred yards to a mile or more, 
By WILLIAM S. THOMAS 
according to conditions prevailing in the 
sea, the weather and—-chiefly—the move¬ 
ments of the fish themselves. They are 
surface feeders and can be seen breaking 
water in schools, or their presence may be 
revealed by flocks of gulls hovering about 
and swooping down into the water among 
them. The coast is pretty clear for trolling, 
the principal impediments in one’s path 
being lobster po'ts, buoy lines, and other 
fishing boats. And the squids must be 
hauled in and inspected frequently, and 
cleared of seaweed if necessary. 
The native fishermen use hempen hand¬ 
lines, which might well serve as clotheslines 
for the weekly wash in a back yard; but 
those who fish for the sport’s sake gener¬ 
ally use a rod and reel of a size and stout¬ 
ness that bring an element of sportsman¬ 
ship into the game. The bait used by either 
variety of fishermen seems to be a cedar 
or aluminum squid, painted, with a piano- 
wire leader about four feet long and pro¬ 
vided with a swivel at each end. The squid 
resembles in size and shape a perfect cigar, 
with a short stout hook protruding but a 
little from the lighting end, and continuous 
with it. Only about fifty feet—excuse me, 
eight fathoms—of line is let out astern. 
The natives make one or more lines fast to 
the stern with a stout spiral spring, requir¬ 
ing twenty pounds of pull to budge its coil 
apart, to prevent the hook tearing out the 
fishes’ mouths, as would probably be the 
case were it rigidly fastened to the boat. 
Two other lines are generally trolled from 
horizontal out-riggers projecting three feet 
abeam on each side and at right angles to 
the keel. When a fish strikes, it is hauled 
in hand over hand by main force. Even 
the tough hands of a fisherman must be 
provided with cotton or leather gloves for 
this strenuous work. 
When the lighter tackle of the sportsman 
angler is used long play, much patience, 
strength and no little skill are required be¬ 
fore the hard-fighting albicore can be 
brought to the gaff. These olive-backed, 
silvery-bellied members of the mackerel 
family run from ten to twenty-five pounds 
in weight, the majority holding closely to 
fifteen pounds. Their rushes are spirited 
and their strength surprising. Many of 
them escape by rushing toward the boat 
and shaking the hook from their mouths 
the instant there is a slackening of the 
line. 
When gaffed, albicore bleed profusely. 
It isn’t nice to wade in blood, but unless 
(continued on page 434) 
