Bass, Pike, Perch, and Others

CHAPTER XVII. The Channel Fishes

THE CHANNEL FISHES

THE GRUNT FAMILY, Hæmulidæ 321

The Black Grunt, Hæmulon plumieri 323

The Yellow Grunt, Hæmulon sciurus 326

The Margate-fish, Hæmulon album 328

The Sailor's Choice, Hæmulon parra 330

The Pig-fish, Orthopristis chrysopterus 331

The Pork-fish, Anisotremus virginicus 334

THE SNAPPER FAMILY, Lutianidæ 336

The Yellow-tail, Ocyurus chrysurus 338

The Lane Snapper, Lutianus synagris 339

The Red Snapper, Lutianus aya 342

The Dog Snapper, Lutianus jocu 344

The Schoolmaster, Lutianus apodus 345

THE PORGY FAMILY, Sparidæ 347

The Jolt-head Porgy, Calamus bajonado 348

The Saucer-eye Porgy, Calamus calamus 350

The Little-head Porgy, Calamus proridens 352

The Grass Porgy, Calamus arctifrons 353

CHAPTER XVIII. Miscellaneous Fishes

MISCELLANEOUS FISHES

The Lady-fish, Albula vulpes 355

The Ten-pounder, Elops saurus 361

The Snook, Centropomus undecimalis 366

The Triple-tail, Lobotes surinamensis 370

The Cobia, Rachycentron canadus 373

The Spotted Weakfish, Cynoscion nebulosus 376

The Deep-sea Weakfish, Cynoscion thalassinus 381

The Bermuda Chub, Kyphosus sectatrix 382

The Angel-fish, Chætodipterus faber 384

The Pinfish, Lagodon rhomboides 386

The Squirrel-fish, Holocentrus ascensionis 388

The Turbot, Balistes carolinensis 390

INDEX 401

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

PAGE

OSWEGO (LARGE-MOUTH) BASS 36

THE SMALL-MOUTH BLACK-BASS. THE LARGE-MOUTH BLACK-BASS. THE ROCK-BASS 62

SURF-FISHING FOR BASS 96

CATCHING SEA-BASS OFF NEWPORT 100

THE SEA-BASS. THE MASCALONGE. THE PIKE 114

THE MASCALONGE OF THE WEEDS. TROLLING WITH HANDLINE 120

THE EASTERN PICKEREL. THE WESTERN PICKEREL. THE PIKE-PERCH. THE YELLOW-PERCH 140

THE ARCTIC GRAYLING. THE MICHIGAN GRAYLING. THE MONTANA GRAYLING 174

THE MORE SPORTSMANLY WAY OF CATCHING MASCALONGE 200

THE WEAKFISH. THE KINGFISH. THE GERMAN CARP 226

THE CHANNEL-CATFISH. THE SHEEPSHEAD. THE CUNNER 244

FISHING FOR CUNNERS 250

THE FLOUNDER. THE SMELT. THE SPANISH MACKEREL 264

THE BONITO. THE NIGGER-FISH. THE POMPANO 280

CATCHING SPANISH MACKEREL ON THE EDGE OF THE GULF STREAM 300

THE BLACK GRUNT. THE RED SNAPPER 322

THE JOLT-HEAD PORGY. THE LADY-FISH. THE COBIA 348

TAKING BONITO BY TROLLING OFF BLOCK ISLAND 350

THE ANGEL-FISH. THE TURBOT 384

BASS, PIKE, AND PERCH

CHAPTER I. The Sunfish Family (_centrarchidæ_)

THE SUNFISH FAMILY (Centrarchidæ)

The sunfish family is composed entirely of fresh-water fishes. They are characterized by a symmetrically-shaped body, rather short and compressed; mouth terminal; teeth small, without canines; scales rather large; cheeks and gill-covers scaly; scales mostly smooth; border of preopercle smooth, or but slightly serrated; opercle ending in two flat points, or in a black flap; a single dorsal fin, composed of both spiny and soft rays; anal fin also having both spines and soft rays; the dorsal spines varying from 6 to 13 in the different species, with from 3 to 9 in the anal fin; sexes similar; coloration mostly greenish.

GENUS MICROPTERUS

Micropterus dolomieu. Small-mouth Black-bass. Body ovate-oblong; head 3; depth 3; eye 6; D. X, 13; A. III, 10; scales 11-73-17; mouth large, the maxillary reaching front of eye; scales on cheek minute, in 17 rows; teeth villiform.

Micropterus salmoides. Large-mouth Black-bass. Body ovate-oblong; head 3; depth 3; eye 5; D. X, 13; A. III, 11; scales 8-68-16; scales on cheek large, in 10 rows; mouth very large, maxillary extending beyond the eye; teeth villiform.

GENUS AMBLOPLITES

Ambloplites rupestris. Rock-bass. Body oblong, moderately compressed; head 2-3/4; depth 2-1/2; eye 4; D. XI, 10; A. VI, 10; scales 5-40-12, with 6 to 8 rows on cheeks; mouth large, maxillary extending to posterior part of pupil; teeth small, single patch on tongue; gill-rakers 7 to 10, on lower part of arch; preopercle serrate near its angle; opercle ends in 2 flat points.

GENUS ARCHOPLITES

Archoplites interruptus. Sacramento Perch. Body oblong-ovate, compressed; head 2-2/3; depth 2-1/2; eye 4; D. XII, 10; A. VI, 10; scales 7-45-14; 8 rows on cheeks; mouth very large, maxillary extending beyond pupil; teeth numerous and small, with 2 patches on tongue; gill-rakers 20; opercle emarginate; most of the membrane bones of head serrate.

GENUS CHÆNOBRYTTUS

Chænobryttus gulosus. Warmouth Perch. Body heavy and deep; head 2-1/2; depth 2-1/4; eye 4; D. X, 9; A. III, 8; scales 6-42-11; 6 to 8 rows on cheeks; teeth small and numerous; gill-rakers 9; preopercle entire; mouth very large; opercle ends in a black convex flap.

GENUS LEPOMIS

Lepomis pallidus. Blue Sunfish. Body short and deep, compressed; head 3; depth 2; eye 3-1/2; D. X, 12; A. III, 12; scales 7-46-16; 5 rows on cheeks; mouth small, maxillary barely reaching eye; teeth small and sharp; opercular flap without pale edge; gill-rakers x + 11 to 13.

Lepomis megalotis. Long-eared Sunfish. Body short and deep, the back arched; head 3; depth 2; eye 4; D. X, 11; A. III, 9; scales 5-40-14; 5 rows on cheeks; mouth small and oblique; opercular flap long and broad, with red or blue margin; gill-rakers x + 8 or 9.

Lepomis auritus. Red-breast Sunfish. Body elongate; head 3; depth 3; eye 4; D. X, 11; A. III, 9; scales 6-45-15; mouth large, oblique; palatine teeth present; gill-rakers x + 8 or 9, quite short; opercular flap very long and narrow; scales on breast very small; 7 rows scales on cheeks.

GENUS EUPOMOTIS

Eupomotis gibbosus. Common Sunfish. Body short and deep, compressed; head 3; depth 2; eye 4; D. X, 11; A. III, 10; scales 6-45-13; 4 rows on cheeks; mouth small, oblique, maxillary scarcely reaching front of eye; pharyngeal teeth paved and rounded; gill-rakers soft and small, x + 10; opercular flap rather small, the lower part bright scarlet.

GENUS POMOXIS

Pomoxis sparoides. Calico-bass. Body oblong, elevated, much compressed; head 3; depth 2; D. VII, 15; A. VI, 17; scales 40 to 45; 6 rows on cheeks; mouth large, maxillary reaching to posterior edge of pupil; snout projecting; fins very high, anal higher than dorsal.

Pomoxis annularis. Crappie. Body rather elongate; head 3; depth 2-1/3; D. VI, 15; A. VI, 18; scales 36 to 48; 4 or 5 rows on cheek; mouth very wide; fins very high, but lower than sparoides.

THE SMALL-MOUTH BLACK-BASS

(Micropterus dolomieu)

The generic name Micropterus was given to the small-mouth black-bass by the French ichthyologist Lacépéde, in 1802, who was the first to describe it. The name Micropterus, which means "small fin," was bestowed on account of the mutilated condition of the dorsal fin of the specimen, a few of the posterior rays of the fin being detached and broken off, giving the appearance of a short and separate fin. The specimen was sent to Paris from an unknown locality in America, and is still preserved in the Museum of Natural History at Paris, where I personally examined it. It is a fine example, about a foot in length, and is remarkably well preserved. As there was no known genus to which the specimen with the curious dorsal fin could be referred, Lacépéde created the new genus Micropterus. He gave it the specific name dolomieu as a compliment to his friend M. Dolomieu, a French mineralogist, for whom the mineral dolomite was also named.

Originally, the small-mouth black-bass was restricted to the Great Lake region, parts of the Ohio and Mississippi valleys, and along the upper reaches of streams flowing from the Alleghany Mountains in the Southern states. It has, however, been introduced into all of the New England and Middle states, and into many Western states. It has a compressed, rather elliptical body, the dorsal and ventral outlines being nearly equal; it becomes deeper with age.

As its range, or distribution, is so great and extensive, and the waters it inhabits are so different in hue and character, the coloration of the small-mouth bass varies from almost black to the faintest tinge of green, in different sections of the country. The coloration is so variable that it differs even in fish in the same waters. It is influenced mostly by the hue of the water, character of the bottom, the presence or absence of weeds about the haunts of the bass, and, moreover, the changes in color may occur in a very short time when subject to these various conditions. The general color, however, is greenish of various shades, always darker on the back, and paling to white or whitish on the belly. When markings are present, they form vertical patches or bars, never horizontal. Three bronze streaks extend from the eye across the cheeks. All markings, however, may become obsolete with age.

The natural food of both species is crawfish, which might be inferred from the character of their teeth and wide-opening mouth. There is a popular belief that they are essentially and habitually piscivorous; but this is an error; they are not so black as they are painted. They feed on minute crustaceans and larval forms of insects when young, and afterward on crawfish, minnows, frogs, insects, etc., as do most fishes that have teeth in the jaws. But the teeth of the black-bass are villiform and closely packed, presenting an even surface as uniform as the surface of a tooth-brush. Such teeth are incapable of wounding, and merely form a rough surface for holding their prey securely. All truly piscivorous fishes have fewer, but sharp, conical teeth, of unequal length, like the yellow-perch, pike-perch, mascalonge, and trout, or lancet-shaped teeth like the bluefish.

The black-bass is far less destructive to fish life than any of the fishes mentioned; on the contrary, it suffers the most in a mixed community of fishes, and is the first to disappear. There are small lakes in Canada and Michigan where the brook-trout and black-bass have coexisted from time immemorial without jeopardy to the trout. There are small lakes in Wisconsin where black-bass and cisco, with other species, have coexisted for all time; and while the cisco is as numerous as ever, the black-bass has almost disappeared. It does not follow, however, that black-bass should be introduced in trout waters; far from it. Brook-trout are being exterminated fast enough, owing to the changed natural conditions of the streams and their surroundings, without adding another contestant for the limited supply of food in such waters.

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