138 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
[July 23, 1910. 
Carelessness at this point may mean a smashed 
rod or a broken line, sometimes both. While in 
this class of striped bass fishing the largest speci¬ 
mens are rarely taken, still they range in weight 
from five to eighteen pounds, just the size to 
make a glorious battle on medium weight tackle. 
The striped bass is a most fastidious feeder; 
moody would perhaps be a good term to express 
his appetite. For a given period he takes one 
bait to the almost utter exclusion of all others 
and then entirely ignores the former piece de re¬ 
sistance and greedily takes to some other fancy. 
Locality, too, appears to change to a noticeable 
degree their fondness for certain foods, and the 
changing seasons are clearly indicated in the 
food the bass seeks out. As before observed, 
early in the season they follow persistently the 
shad and other fish as they ascend the streams 
to their headwaters. The angler who fishes in 
inland streams can find nothing so good for bait 
as shad roe. This may be utilized by inclosing 
a portion in a piece of tarleton, coarse cotton 
goods having a strong thread. The bait should 
be made in a roll and whipped to the hook. Of 
course this can only be used where boat or pier 
fishing is practiced, as it is difficult to do heavy 
surf-casting with such an outfit. 
Later in the season the bass feed on shrimp, 
minnows and all manner of small crustaceans. 
Blood worms, or what are usually termed white 
worms in the markets, are a killing bait during 
May and June, but later on they are much less 
effective. 
In the Eastern States at Cuttyhunk, Montauk 
Point and other famous angling resorts, men¬ 
haden bait is almost exclusively used. The men¬ 
haden is ground into fine bits and cast over the 
water in liberal quantities. This creates what is 
termed a “slick,” caused by the exuding oil, and 
attracts the fish. A generous piece is attached 
to the hook and when found by the fish is 
greedily taken. Some very large fish have been 
taken at the above named points in years past, 
sixty to seventy pounds being deemed not extra¬ 
ordinary. 
These points are; however, occupied in the 
main by exclusive clubs, whose membership fees 
exclude the average fisherman, and it is only 
fair to state that in the waters of New York 
and along the New Jersey coast, the most ex¬ 
pert and enthusiastic bass fishermen are to be 
met with, and there the acme of perfection in 
surf-casting is to be witnessed. 
Albeit the simon pure bass fisherman regards 
not the hours of day or night when in quest of 
his quarry, but is governed entirely by tidal and 
weather conditions; not that storms play any 
part in deterring him from pursuing his passion, 
but are only regarded in the light of bettering 
or lessening his chances. 
It is safe to say there is no better beach for 
bass fishing than the sandy stretches of the New 
Jersey coast between Sandy Hook and Barnegat 
Inlet. This beach is broken by streams flowing 
in and the many arms of the sea stretching far 
inland. Into these the seas surge at flood tide, 
and ebb carries down and washes out the small 
Crustacea which are always abundant at the 
mouth of such inlets, and upon which the bass 
delight to feed and consequently wax fat, but 
never lazy. 
A sharp easterly wind coming on suddenly 
will always send the bass along the shore and 
put them on the feed. When the surf is too 
high to permit casting from the beach, the piers 
are resorted to, and often with good results. 
They are not, however, the favorite places for 
a man of experience, because of the difficulty 
in beaching a large fish from the pier. They 
will frequently run under the pier, and a lost 
fish and tackle results. 
Night fishing is largely practiced and with good 
results. The entire quiet is conducive to success, 
and it is not unusual to see on some lonely point 
a figure sitting wrapped in comfortable garments, 
calculated to ward off the dampness of night, 
patiently waiting for the coveted strike, which 
will tell him that he is in close touch with the 
most beautiful as well as the gamest quarry 
which inhabits our coast waters. Perhaps he has 
been there since sundown, and if enthusiastic 
will remain there until the sun is well up in the 
morning before he quits his post. Even this ex¬ 
hibition of that sublime virtue, patience, is not 
always rewarded, and he may return home empty 
handed, but that will not deter him from another 
trial at his favorite game. 
From May 15 until November the bass is per¬ 
sistently sought, but June is far and away the 
best month of the season for them, and from 
an hour before sunset until full darkness is on, 
and from just before daybreak until full sun¬ 
rise is the best time, provided the tide is right, 
which should be from half flood to high water, 
and on down to half ebb. The above tidal con¬ 
ditions, however, are not indispensable, as many 
fine catches and some of the largest fish have 
been taken at very nearly dead low water, but 
they are exceptional rather than general. 
A trip by the uninitiated with a real enthusiast 
will teach him more than he might ever learn from 
libraries. If a morning trip is to be taken, he 
must be astir while yet the stars are in evidence, 
and every detail of tackle and equipment com¬ 
plete. Encased in a comfortable fishing coat, 
slouch hat and sporting boots reaching to the 
thighs, his rod, which is always of the two-piece 
kind, glistening from the cleaning received after 
the last excursion. If near an inlet, that will be 
the point sought v out, as there are always bars 
there formed by the changing currents. No mat¬ 
ter, however, whether at the mouth of the stream 
or not, our man heeds not the deep basin along 
the coast. That long line of tumbling white 
water tells his practiced eye of the point of a 
bar where he knows the bass love to feed. 
Carefully his twenty-one-thread line is tested, 
foot by foot for at least fifty feet, to see that 
the casting has not frayed or weakened it in any 
way. A selected four-ply gut leader attached to 
a brass box swivel is now bent on, the line and 
leader in the same eye, the remaining eye to re¬ 
ceive the sinker line, which is usually eight to 
ten inches long. He is careful of this, as by 
so doing the line and leader are in direct line, 
and the slight touch of the. bait is instantly felt 
by the rod hand. The sinker is next adjusted. 
About three ounces in weight, and pyramidal in 
shape, the base of which, attached to the line, 
serves as an anchor, and is a most important 
factor, while the hook is always an O’Shaugh- 
nessy. If white worm is used, the hook is about 
5/0 in size; if shedder crab, 6/0 or 7/0. When 
the hook is looped to the leader and baited, all is 
ready for the cast. 
The tyro needs an observant eye. Ordinarily 
a short cast of say thirty feet is made to see 
that everything is working smoothly, the line re¬ 
trieved until the leader is about four feet from 
the hook, then the real cast is made. Slowly the 
point of the rod is lowered until it is on a line 
with the waist, then brought sharply back over 
the right shoulder, and with a snap which seems 
no wood could withstand, the cast is made. 
The resilient greenheart, recovering from the 
spring, darts the sinker and baited hook out 150 
feet or 200 feet to the precise spot intended. 
The swiftly revolving reel almost flashes fire as 
the line pays off, and must be thumbed with an 
exact pressure, not enongh to retard its action 
too much, yet sufficient to control the spool and 
prevent backlashing, which would mean a broken 
line and consequent loss of tackle. 
Alertness in all things is now the part our man 
must play. The tumbling surf is moving his 
bait about and bringing it ever nearer the point 
where the bar ends and deeper water begins. 
The gentle turning of the reel handle shows the 
baited hook is moving, and the line must be kept 
just taut. But look, like a flash the rod is 
brought up, a quick step backward, and the rod 
curving, tells that a bass has taken the bait and 
the barbed steel is sent home by that backward 
move. 
For an instant perhaps all is quiet, then the 
reel begins to hum, as with a rush the startled 
fish, realizing there is danger at hand, plunges 
furiously to the north (a marked peculiarity), 
one, two, perhaps three hundred feet he goes. 
He may sound deep or perhaps skim the sur¬ 
face, his beautiful form and coloring clearly 
outlined in the feathering crest of the breakers. 
The resilient rod and dragging line tell on him, 
and with a new tack he tries a run of fifty feet 
seaward. Gradually circling and approaching the 
point where he took the bait, with arrowy swift¬ 
ness he goes deep in the water now, but sud¬ 
denly breaking to the surface, he shakes his head 
savagely, much as a bulldog might in anger. 
Steady, now. The; least fault on your part at 
this critical stage and all is lost. The least 
slackening of line or a miss-step means failure. 
But the cunningly devised hook holds, and tired 
of that again he runs, not so far, but still game 
and unconquered. 
The hectic flush on the cheek and the spark¬ 
ling eyes of the rodsman show he is deep in the 
game and realizes it is a battle of wits. Plung¬ 
ing swiftly to the deepest waters to be found, 
the bass remains perfectly motionless, sulking 
and taking breath. This will not do, so gently 
prodding him, the angler provokes him to more 
rushes until the tiring quarry begins swimming 
in circles. This to the practiced hand at the rod 
means triumph, as it is always an indication of 
waning strength. Slowly he is worked in until 
the beach is almost reached, and a new danger 
becomes apparent to the now almost exhausted 
fish. Unable to plunge, he braces himself with 
fin and tail at an angle and swims parallel with 
the beach, determined to resist to the last. The 
water being clear, we can see every motion, even 
to the gleam of the very full yellow eye. Our 
practiced hand at the rod feels that the crucial 
moment of beaching has come, and with in¬ 
creased tension of the rod he waits for a bulging 
rather than a tumbling swell. Then a few back¬ 
ward steps, assisted by the impulse of the water, 
and the game is safely his. 
Congratulations to those who, having studied 
each requirement, makes it fit so splendid a re¬ 
sult. But hats off to the captured as he lies 
