Bass (fish)

“ Bass fishing on the Bay of Quinte is famous for its excellence. Not only is there abundance of fish, but they are exceptionally gamey. Their vigour and eagerness to be caught is illustrated by the member of this tribe that jumped into our boat. Every one has heard of the Florida mullet that, attracted by the light in a boat at night, came jumping over the sides in such numbers that they sank the boat and imperilled the lives of those on board. But a bass is no such fool fish as a mullet. If they do any jumping it is usually away from the boat, not towards it. ”

“ I have known bass to be caught on a bare bright hook, and the funny stories one laughs at about wintergreen berries and fish scales proving attractive bait are not so much out of probability.
In the Southern States a belief exists that bass are always on the feed when the moon is above the horizon, particularly at rise and set; many old experienced fishermen will only fish during the last quarter until the new moon. The same variety of ideas exist regarding rain; one angler believes that bass will not bite before a rain, another during a rain, and still another after a rain. ”

“ The bass in the lake are innumerable, but they are more difficult to catch than those in the stream, a fact which pleases the true fisherman, who fishes to match his skill and science against the instinct and cunning of the fish, rather than with the one sole intention of making his bag larger than that of any preceding angler.
Remember the lake bass want sport more than food, and the bait must be handled in a lively manner to bring success. ”

“ Bass are freaky fish, and one never knows just when they will take a notion to scorn all efforts at their capture. One day Sue and the writer drove over to the lake, and those bass took everything that was offered. In a little sandy bay, where the water was not over four feet deep, we anchored and began fishing with minnows. So eager were the fish that both of us were kept busy hauling in the victims and putting on fresh bait. The Senior decided to try a gaudy, artificial fly, and the bass grabbed it with utter disregard of the fact that it resembled nothing which they had ever seen before. ”

“ The black bass loves bright, pure, lively water, not as cold as the trout streams of our spring-producing hills and mountains, but free from foul matters held suspended [257] in it, and with motion either of current or from the winds. It deposits its eggs on rocky or pebbly ledges. The parents guard and protect their nests till the young are hatched, and even watch over the latter till they can take care of themselves. The fish generally selected for transfer are from one to three years old, measuring from three to twelve inches in length. ”

“ Both species occasionally ascend rivers, and attempts have been made to cultivate British bass in freshwater ponds with success. Two species of black bass (Microptĕrus salmoides and M. dolomieu) , American freshwater fishes, are excellent as food and give fine sport to the angler. The former is often called the large-mouthed black bass, from the size of its mouth. Both make nests and take great care of their eggs and young. The Centropristis nigricans, an American sea-fish of the perch family, and weighing 2 to 3 lb., is known as the sea-bass. ”

“ After a time, if I am catching shiners and no bass, and Jonathan doesn’t seem to be moving, I infer that his luck is better than mine, and drift along toward him. Or it may be the other way around, and he comes to look me up. Bass are the most uncertain of fish, and no one can predict when they will elect to bite, or where. Sometimes they are in the still water, deep or shallow according to their caprice; sometimes they hang on the edges of the rapids; sometimes they are in the dark, smooth eddies below the great boulders ”

“ A little distance above a rustic bridge spans the stream, under and on either side of which, just in the shadow line, a dozen or more fine bass, weighing up to four pounds each, may be seen at any time. As one crosses the bridge they raise their weather-eye and look up, but do not move, whilst hundreds of young bass, an inch or two in length, shoot from the innumerable crevices like so many fresh-water shiners. The very foundation of the bridge seems to be alive with them. There are also a number of giant sun-fish here which seldom refuse a bait. ”

“ Black-bass fishing combines, in a measure, the heroic potentialities of salmon fishing with the charms of trout fishing. The leap of the bass is no less exciting than that of the salmon, and is oftener repeated, while in stream fishing the pastoral features of trout fishing are experienced and enjoyed. ”

“ And when the bass seizes your bait, and you have fixed the hook by one sharp blow, you must be gentle and moderate, only using severe measures where they are absolutely necessary. If the blue-fish comes, and he does not carry away your hook at the first snatch, reel him in as quickly as his indomitable pluck and vigor will permit. He is not game when you are bass-fishing. If the ungainly flounder, exhibiting unexpected activity, shall chase and grasp your bait, lug him out by main force, treating him, though excellent to eat, like the vulgar commoner he is. ”

“ BASS FISHING AT THE LAND’S END Two fishermen strained at the creaking oars, and held the boat in the tide-race close under the Longships lighthouse, whilst I grasped the taut line, at the end of which a sand-eel was spinning. We could see the bass in their play break the surface some twenty yards astern, and every instant I expected that the bait would be seized. What sport those big fish would have given in the strong current! But no, the bass refused to bite at the silvery lure spinning under their very nose. We changed the bait—tried pilchard, squid, ray’s liver, spider-crab ”

“ For bait fishing, it really does not appear to make much difference what weather is around, so that the wind is not a cold or chilly one. The fish in deep water are not so easily affected as those in the shallows, and very good sport may be had even in a stiff breeze, if moderately warm and fine. In fact some wind is necessary for black bass fishing, and it is better to have too much than none at all. One reason for this is, that wind ruffles the surface of the water and renders it more difficult for the fish to see the angler. ”

“ The Sea Bass exists in a great many varieties and has been given many names, such as Black-fish, Rock Bass, Black Will, Black Bass, etc. The favorite haunts of Sea Bass are the rocky bays and sounds of the Atlantic coasts. It feeds at the bottom and rarely comes to the surface, being fond of lying under loose stones and in rock cavities. Its food is made up of crabs, squids, small fish, etc. ”

“ Fly-fishing for speckled trout always, and deservedly, takes the lead. Bass fishing usually comes next, though some writers accord second place to the lake trout, salmon trout or land-locked salmon. The mascalonge, as a game fish, is scarcely behind the small-mouthed bass and is certainly more gamy than the lake trout. The large-mouthed bass and pickerel are usually ranked about with the yellow perch, I don't know why: they are certainly gamy enough. ”

“ As the black bass is a fly-taking fish and a strong fighter, it is as valuable to the angler as a trout and is highly esteemed. Bass-flies are sui generis, but incline more to the nature of salmon-flies than trout-flies. An artificial frog cast with a fly-rod or very light spinning-rod is also a favourite lure. For the rest the fish will take almost anything in the nature of worms or small fish, like its cousin the perch. A 4 lb bass is a good fish, but five-pounders are not uncommon. ”

“ In the years to come, will that lad exult over the capture of a mighty tuna or giant tarpon with as much genuine joy and enthusiasm as over that string of bass? Well, hardly. And as the boy is father to the man, and as we are all but children of larger growth, the black-bass angler never outlives that love and enthusiasm of his younger days—younger only as reckoned by the lapse of years. ”

“ It is generally conceded that the best time for bass fishing is at night, especially if the moon be bright. The most favorable wind is a southwesterly one, strong enough to make a good ripple on the water, and the right time of tide from half-ebb to half-flood. ”

“ The rock-bass is an attractive-looking fish, and for its size is very pugnacious. It will take the artificial fly, or natural or artificial bait. It bites freely at small minnows, grubs, grasshoppers, cut-bait, or angle-worms. It is capable of affording considerable sport with light tackle, owing to its large and strong fins, and its habit of curling its sides in opposition to the strain of the rod.
With a light fly-rod of four or five ounces, and corresponding tackle, and trout flies on hooks Nos. 5 to 7, the rock-bass is not a mean adversary. ”

“ A horse, cow, dog, or fowl will shake the head violently to rid its mouth of an offending object. But a fish, having no neck to speak of, can only shake his head by shaking his body, and that only in a lateral direction. As a bass cannot shake himself energetically enough beneath the water to dislodge the hook, owing to the resistance of the denser medium, he naturally leaps into the air for that purpose ”

“ The favorite haunts of the Striped Bass, whence his provincial name of Rock Fish, are stony, gravelly, or rocky reefs, or sunken piers and dams which cause eddies, in the vicinity of which his prey are to be found darting about in the greatest abundance, and in such localities he is often taken with the rod and reel in great numbers, running from two and a half to seven pounds in weight, which is the best size for the table. ”

“ Bearing in mind that the portions of a stream mostly used by grayling are the sandy and gravelly pools in swift, smooth water, they are fished for in much the same way as trout, except that the flies are allowed to sink below the surface, very much as in black-bass fishing. It is very important that the line and leader are always taut, inasmuch as the rise of the fish is not always seen, except as a quick flash or shadow beneath the surface. ”

“ The bass were plentiful, and rushing from their lairs in the weeds close to the shore, darted out after the boat had passed, and devoured our baits. Although quite large, they gave feeble play, turning over and over in the water, and rarely jumping with the vigor of fish brought up in cooler latitudes; in fact, the river and lake bass differ so greatly as to seem almost to belong to different species. The river fish, which lie in the discolored water where long weeds grow from a bottom of deep mud, are yellow{262} in color, have a large head, and a yellow iris to the eye. ”

“ Last season I only met three strangers at the lake, but they never seemed to catch anything beyond eels, turtles, sun-fish, and a few two inch bass, the name of which they did not even know, and I got into their bad graces by telling them they ought to return the bass into the lake. They thought I was a crank, in fact one of them told me so. These men were salt-water sports, and one man who came there from Newark, N. J., was actually baiting with shrimps for fresh-water bass and had no less than eight hooks upon his line, all baited with shrimps. ”

“ As teachers of patience [Pg 131] in fishing, black bass are at the head of the list. They are so whimsical that the angler never knows whether on a certain day they will take small live fish, worms, frogs, crickets, grasshoppers, crawfish or some other outlandish bait; and he soon learns that in the most favorable conditions of wind and weather they will frequently refuse to touch bait of any kind. In their intercourse with fishermen, especially those in the early stages of proficiency, they are the most aggravating and profanity-provoking animal that swims in fresh water. ”

“ The Striped Bass in the South is known as the Rock Fish, or the Rock. This fish is particularly common in the open stretches of large rivers. It is a popular food fish and it is estimated that over 200,000 pounds of Striped Bass are eaten each year in the United States. They are voracious feeders and when in the rivers they prey upon small fishes. They frequent the surf of ocean beaches and rocky shores. The fisherman holds this fish in deservedly high esteem. They are caught in creeks, using shrimps or clams for bait. When fishing for these in the swift [156] tideways, menhaden bait is used. ”

“ The bass are attracted by casting chopped menhaden upon the water. An oil gathers upon the surface of the water and the fish swim toward the fishermen.
The White Bass.
The White Bass, or Striped Lake Bass, is often mistaken for the Striped Bass. It is common in the Great Lakes region and especially the Ohio. It is found chiefly in lakes, ponds, and deeper parts of rivers. It feeds upon small fish. As food it is highly prized. ”

“ Hundreds of perch, bream and young bass sport in the shallow parts, and are easily caught with rod and line, the water being so clear that you can watch the fish gorging the bait, and strike when the entire hook disappears. ”

“ A black-bass rod, or the Little Giant rod of eight ounces, is light enough, as a heavier fish than the lady-fish is apt to be hooked. A good multiplying reel and fifty yards of braided linen line, size F, and Sproat hooks, No. 1 or 2, on gut snells, will be found eminently suitable. No sinker is needed, as the fishing is done on the [358] surface, though a small brass box-swivel may be used to connect the snell and line, as in black-bass fishing. A leader is not necessary, but it may be used if thought best. ”