Bait-Casting at Night for Bass. 
Bozeman, Mont., Aug-. 20.— Editor Forest and 
Stream: The practice of bait-casting at night 
for blass bass, is, I believe, to many anglers quite 
a recent innovation, in many places comparative¬ 
ly unknown. During 1907-8, while engaged in 
fish culture work at San Marcos, Texas, I brought 
this method of catching bass to the attention of 
some Texas sportsmen, with the result that in a 
very short time most of them were equipped with 
proper tackle, casting for bass at night, and in¬ 
variably with much better success than they had 
in daylight over the same waters. 
My first experience of taking bass at night in 
this manner occurred during the month of 
August, 1899. My companion and I were stand¬ 
ing one night on the shore of a small lake of 
Northern Indiana. We had fished this lake dur¬ 
ing the afternoon and evening with only the fair 
success of four large-mouth bass to our credit. 
A light breeze that had rippled the lake all day 
diminished at sunset, and as night came on an 
almost dead calm prevailed over the water. It 
was a dark night and occasionally we heard 
sounds on the lake as of fish feeding at the sur¬ 
face. A discussion followed as to the ability of 
fish to see in the darkness and whether these fish, 
which undoubtedly were bass feeding on insects, 
could strike accurately at night. We had talked 
over our pipes till after nine o’clock, when I 
suggested that we take our boat and rods, row 
quietly out on the lake, make a few casts, and 
find out if we could get a strike. We were using 
pork rind cut to resemble the shape of a frog, 
and tandem hooks. 
The night was so dark we could not distinguish 
the shore line, but at about the sixth cast a bass 
struck and with this encouragement we con¬ 
tinued on around the entire lake, returning to 
our starting point about one a. m. We had 
caught twelve large-mouth bass, the smallest 
weighing a trifle over one pound, several weigh¬ 
ing between three and four pounds, and to hook 
one of this size, on a coal-black night, when 
you cannot see the tip of your rod, gives a most 
weird excitement to the sport, which is remem¬ 
bered long after the difficulties of casting at night 
are forgotten. Of course, the darkness made it a 
problem to keep the boat the right distance from 
dense surface vegetation and from the shore 
proper. Frequently our baits landed in the'shrub¬ 
bery. or on dry land, and again we would be a 
hundred yards too far out. 
We told our sportsmen friends of casting for 
bass at night, phenomenal catches induced others 
to try the method and of late years there is prob¬ 
ably more bait-casting for bass at night than dur¬ 
ing the day time, at least on the lakes of North¬ 
ern Indiana. Since my first memorable experi¬ 
ence, I have tried numerous artificial surface 
baits. One of the best, however, is of the 
Jersey spinner type, which makes a bubbling 
sound in coming through the water. Such a 
bait should be reeled in very slowly. The bass 
is first attracted by the sound of the bait strik¬ 
ing the water. At times they seem to follow it, 
and even possibly feel of the trailing hooks with 
the snout before striking; at other times they 
strike almost the instant the bait touches the 
water. On moonlight nights bass repeatedly miss 
the bait,, sometimes two or three feet, and the 
same fish will strike several times before finally 
getting the bait. The moonlight and possibly 
the shadow of the bait baffle their attempts to 
strike accurately. On dark nights bass seldom 
miss striking true at the first attempt. 
The beginner at this sport, after providing 
A 45-POUND CHANNEL BASS TAKEN AT FORKED 
RIVER BEACH. 
proper tackle, which should include a supply of 
matches and a lantern, to be lighted in case of 
necessity, should be able to cast smoothly, with¬ 
out danger of backlashes and with sufficient con¬ 
trol to avoid lodging his bait in the body of the 
oarsman or other occupant of the boat. The 
proper length or distance of the cast, naturally, 
is often mere guess work. 
Accuracy, the artistic side of bait-casting, is 
of course lost in this form of fishing, but the 
beginner will be beset with new difficulties in 
casting, which may tax his patience if he is not 
a genuine sportsman. After a few trials, how¬ 
ever, these troubles will be minimized, and quite 
likely a recruit will be added to the nocturnal 
followers of Walton. To many the idea of 
fishing with a bait exposing from six to twelve 
hooks, is questionable sport at any time; but 
I will say to those who have not had this experi¬ 
ence of rowing quietly out on some of our beau¬ 
tiful lakes on a calm night for a battle with bass 
in the darkness, that, in my opinion, they have 
missed one of the most fascinating sides of bait¬ 
casting. Theodore G. Langguth. 
The Rod and Reel on Salt Water. 
VIII.—The Channel Eass. 
Among our characteristic coast fishes the chan¬ 
nel bass—or red drum, as it is usually termed— 
stands out with strongly marked peculiarities. 
It is well to state, as a matter of information 
rather than of argument, that there are dis¬ 
tinctive differences between the two fishes.* So 
closely do they resemble each other, however, 
that the ordinary observer would fail to note the 
distinctions and consider the two identical. 
Noticeable characteristics are the barbels always 
present in the red drum and absent in the chan¬ 
nel bass; and the black spots near the anal and 
on the caudal fin of the channel bass, and which 
are absent on the drum. Except in these re¬ 
spects their resemblance is close. Although long- 
known on the southern part of the New Jersey 
coast, its advent as a game fish, in the angler's 
category, is of only recent date. Perhaps a dozen 
years would cover the period since its game qual¬ 
ities came to be fully appreciated, and it has 
been persistently sought by anglers. It is dis¬ 
tinctively a Southern fish and is present the year 
around in Florida waters. With us its first ap¬ 
pearance is usually about May 15, if the weather 
is pleasant. At all events, the beginning of June 
finds the channel bass ready to take the hook, 
and through the summer they are captured in 
more or less abundance. October usually ends 
their sojourn with us, and during that month 
they are best conditioned and of most interest to 
the angler. 
In weight they range from 8 to 65 pounds, the 
average as taken on the rod being from 15 pounds 
to 45 pounds. The small fish of 2 to 5 pounds ap¬ 
parently do not visit our waters, but confine 
themselves to their Southern home. It is ex¬ 
tremely doubtful, however, if they would be 
recognized should they be taken—unless it be by 
the careful man—as they are totally unlike the 
adult fish in form and color. The peculiar black 
spot on the caudal fin is, however, one infallible 
sign by which they may be recognized, and I 
have never seen a specimen so small that it did 
not show this marking. In color they are as 
bright and beautifully silvered as fresh run shad, 
without a suspicion of the red bronze of the 
older fish. They are taken in abundance in nets 
throughout the bays and estuaries of the South, 
and are a familiar sight in the Baltimore and 
Philadelphia markets. 
It is the red warrior of the New Jersey coast 
grown to sturdy dimensions, which draws from 
many States men prominent in various profes¬ 
sions and industries to do battle with as stubborn 
and game a fish as inhabits our waters. From 
New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Pittsburg, 
Newark and many other cities come the channel 
bass enthusiasts, who having once tasted the 
delights of the capture of his majesty, care for 
little of other sport. 
‘Ichthyologists make a distinction between the red 
drum, channel bass or redtish and the black drums.— 
Editor. 
