CHAPTER III. The Bass Family (_continued_)

THE BASS FAMILY (CONTINUED)

(Serranidæ)

In addition to the fresh-water species of this family and those of the East Coast are the groupers, cabrillas, etc., of Florida waters, to be noticed later. The family name is founded on Cuvier's genus Serranus, from the Latin serra, or "saw," in allusion to the serrated edge of the cheek-bones, common to all fishes of this family.

Roccus lineatus. The Striped-bass. Body rather elongate, little compressed; head 3-1/4; depth 3-1/2; eye 6; D. IX-I, 12; A. III, 11; scales 8-67-11; back little arched; head subconical; mouth large, maxillary reaching middle of orbit; lower jaw projecting; teeth on base of tongue in two parallel patches; preorbital entire; preopercle weakly serrate; margin of subopercle entire; suprascapula entire; gill-rakers long and slender, 4 + 15; dorsal fins separate; caudal fin forked.

Morone americana. The White-perch. Body oblong, ovate, the back moderately elevated; head 3; depth 2-1/2; eye 4; D. IX-I, 12; A. III, 8; scales 8-50-12; head depressed above eyes; snout rather pointed; mouth small, maxillary not reaching middle of orbit; preorbital entire; base of tongue without teeth; head scaled; dorsal fins connected at base; gill-rakers 4 + 16.

Centropristes striatus. The Sea-bass. Body robust, elevated anteriorly, somewhat compressed; head 2-2/3; depth 2-2/3; eye 5; D. X, 11; A. III, 7; scales 5-55-17; head large and thick, naked on top; mouth rather large, lower jaw projecting; teeth in broad bands, the canines small; preopercle serrate; gill-rakers long, about x + 18; scales on cheeks in 11 rows; caudal fin double concave or three-lobed.

THE STRIPED-BASS

(Roccus lineatu)

The specific name lineatus, or "striped," was bestowed by Bloch in 1792. North of the Delaware River it is universally called striped-bass, but in more southern waters it is known as rock or rockfish, from its habit of foraging on rocky shores in search of crustaceans and small fishes. From this vernacular name comes the generic name Roccus. It is found from the Gulf of St. Lawrence to Florida, but is most abundant from Buzzards Bay to Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. It has been successfully transplanted to the Pacific coast, where it is now common near San Francisco.

The form of the striped-bass varies considerably with age. Young specimens are rather slender and symmetrical in outline, the depth being about a fourth of the length. The depth increases with the weight of the fish, while the back becomes more arched, and the belly more pendulous. The head equals in length the depth of the body usually. The mouth is large, opening obliquely; the snout is rather sharp, and the lower jaw projects. The color is olivaceous, often bluish on the back, sides with silvery lustre, fading to white on the belly. There are six to eight horizontal rows of dark spots, forming interrupted stripes, four or five running from head to caudal fin, with three shorter ones below; the fins are pale and usually unmarked. It is found within the range given during the entire year, though it frequents certain situations at different seasons. The largest fish resort to the rocky shores of the bays and indentations of the coast between the shores and outer reefs, those of smaller size frequent the estuaries and tideways, and still smaller ones seek the shallower and quieter waters.

It spawns in the spring, usually in May, in both fresh and brackish water. Large schools ascend rivers for long distances in the spring, more particularly those rivers resorted to by the shad, which they seem to follow, perhaps for the purpose of feeding on shad spawn, as they are said to do. Others follow the smelt up certain rivers farther north. A large female will deposit from a million to two million eggs, which are about one-seventh of an inch in diameter, are free, transparent, and semi-buoyant, and hatch in a few days. Owing to a large oil-drop in the front part of the yolk-sac, the young fry at first swim with the head toward the surface of the water, and not in the horizontal position usual with the fry of most fishes.

Its food consists of small fishes, crabs, lobsters, shrimps, squids, sandworms, and other marine invertebrates. It grows to a very large size, being frequently taken by anglers from thirty to sixty pounds, and in the nets of fishermen as heavy as one hundred pounds or more. In the city of Baltimore, in boyhood days, I often went to the fish markets on Saturdays to see and admire the various kinds of fishes. On one occasion there were several large rockfish being weighed on the old-time balance, consisting of a beam and two large, flat, wooden scales supported by chains. The largest fish did not weigh quite two fifty-six-pound weights. A man then asked me how much I weighed, and I replied one hundred and three pounds. I was then placed on the scale instead of the weights, with the result that the fish outweighed me perhaps a pound or two. At all events it weighed between one hundred and three and one hundred and twelve pounds--probably one hundred and five pounds. It was as long as an average man.

The striped-bass is a food-fish of fine quality, and the markets of the eastern cities are well supplied with it during summer and fall, and to a certain extent during the winter. It is very active from early spring until late in the fall, when it resorts to the back-waters and bayous of tidal rivers for the winter. It is said by some to hibernate, but this is doubtful. The opinion is probably due to the fact that it is more sluggish and listless while in winter quarters, and refuses to respond to the wiles of the angler.

That the striped-bass is a game-fish of high degree goes without saying. It is rated by some enthusiastic anglers as being superior even to the salmon in game qualities. This opinion, however, is hardly correct when the two are compared weight for weight. In surf-fishing the first rush of a large fish, upon feeling the hook, is something to be remembered. It is probably longer and stronger than that of a salmon of equal weight, for the reason that while the latter fish is leaping from the water in its efforts to escape, the bass is making his furious dash for liberty beneath the surface, and exerting every ounce of his muscular fibre in the effort. But this immense strain cannot long be continued, and as he seldom breaks water like the salmon, and does not sulk, he resorts to strategy and finesse to free himself.

After making several desperate but ineffectual rushes to escape, he may endeavor to chafe or part the line against sharp rocks, or to foul it among the kelp or sea-weeds. Sometimes, but not often, he dives toward the angler to obtain slack line, which is a dangerous move if the reel does not respond quickly in taking up the loose line. When it is considered that all of these manoeuvres of a monster bass to free himself occur amidst the rolling and tumbling of the surf, or in the dashing of foam-crested combers, while the angler often has but a precarious footing on a slippery rock, and perhaps with a half gale of wind blowing, some idea may be formed of the skill and good judgment required to subdue and land so valorous a fish. And under such conditions it is very natural for the angler to rank his noble quarry with the salmon.

When a Baltimore boy I thought there was no better sport than still-fishing for rockfish running from a half to a pound or two, on the flats off Fort McHenry, the Lazaretto, or up the Patapsco River near the Long Bridge. It was good sport, too, for the fish were plentiful in those days, and from an anchored boat, with light cane rod and shrimp bait, I was often on the ground to catch the young flood tide at sunrise, or before, on summer mornings, and seldom failed to be rewarded with a full basket of small striped-bass.

Still-fishing in summer is best practised in comparatively shallow water in the estuaries, at the edge of the tideways, near the mouths of rivers, or up streams of good size as far as the tide reaches. In some cases the fishing may be done from bridges, piers, wharves, or from the bank, but usually from an anchored boat. In the estuaries and at the mouths of rivers the first of the flood and the last of the ebb are usually the best stages of the tide. In the shallow bays and lagoons, or far up the rivers, the full tide is the most favorable time. For this fishing the rod should be light, pliable, and not more than nine feet in length. A black-bass rod can be utilized to good advantage. The best rod for the purpose, however, is the "Little Giant," a modification of the Henshall black-bass rod. It is in two pieces, seven and one-half feet long, and weighs eight ounces in ash and lancewood, or seven ounces in split bamboo. It is stiffer than the Henshall rod, so that a two or four-ounce sinker can be used with it whenever necessary. A good multiplying reel must be employed with black-bass rods. The line should be fifty yards of braided linen, smallest size, with a three-foot leader of single gut; Sproat or O'Shaughnessy hooks Nos. 1 or 2 on gut snells are large enough for bass up to two or three pounds. A small float is useful on grassy bottom with shrimp or crab bait, and sinkers of weights in accordance with the strength of the tidal current must be employed, also a landing-net.

Shrimps, soft or shedder crabs, soft-shelled clams, sandworms, small minnows, silversides, spearing or killifishes, are all good baits in their season. Shrimp is perhaps the best all-round lure. It should be hooked under the back plates, and a single shrimp is sufficient for small bass. Shedder or soft crab should be cut in small pieces. The scallop is likewise an attractive bait, especially in the fall, when clam bait may also be used to advantage. Early in the spring shad roe may be used in quiet waters, or at slack tide, but it is a difficult and unpleasant bait to handle.

The bait should be from one to three feet above the bottom, and should be kept in motion. Even crab bait should not be allowed to lie on the bottom, as some anglers advise. To maintain the proper position and depth of the bait the angler may employ a float, with or without a sinker, as the exigencies or conditions demand.

Very often hand-lines or stiff cane poles are used in estuary fishing, and the bass, even when of several pounds in weight, are yanked out of the water into the boat at once. But with the tackle recommended above the pleasure of the angler is enhanced, and the fish given a chance for his life in the brief struggle that follows.

In trolling for fish of from three to ten pounds a natural bamboo rod, eight or nine feet long, answers well with one hundred yards of braided linen line, size E or F, and Sproat hooks No. 2-0 to 3-0 on gut snells. Where the bass run larger, two hundred feet of line, size E, with hooks Nos. 5-0 to 6-0 may be required, also a heavier rod. The baits for trolling are bloodworms of large size, a minnow hooked through the lips, the natural squid or an eel-tail; also the artificial squid of bone or block tin, or a trolling-spoon or spinner with a single hook. When the spoon or artificial squid is used it is not necessary or advisable to add sandworms or other natural bait, as is often done. Employ one or the other, but never both in combination. The artificial baits are sufficiently attractive in themselves, and the additions mentioned do not enhance their effectiveness. The boat should be rowed alongshore, or over rocky reefs or shoals, and about the eddies of rock pools. As the fish always hooks itself in trolling, it only remains for the angler to play and land his quarry in good form, always having a large landing-net or gaff in the boat.

Casting menhaden bait from the rocky shores of the coast requires tools and tackle of great excellence and strength, as the largest bass are taken in this way. The most approved rod is a first-class split-bamboo, eight or eight and one-half feet long, and weighing from twelve to sixteen ounces. A more serviceable rod, that is, one that will admit of harder usage, is made of greenheart, lancewood, or bethabara, of the same length, but somewhat heavier. A cheaper rod, but one that will give good satisfaction, and withal is lighter than a wooden rod, is made of natural male Calcutta bamboo, and is known as a "chum" rod. Rods of eight or eight and one-half feet in length should be made in two or three pieces, or if not exceeding seven and one-half feet may be made of one six-foot piece with a handle of eighteen inches. They should have double bell-mouth guides and funnel top. The more expensive rods should have the guides, or at least the funnel top, lined with agate.

The reel must be a first-class multiplier, made expressly for surf-fishing, with jewelled or steel bearings, with a capacity of two hundred yards of from twelve to eighteen-thread Cuttyhunk line. The hooks should be knobbed Sproat or O'Shaughnessy, Nos. 5-0 to 7-0, and attached to the line by two half-hitches, the loose end turned up and secured by another half-hitch. A long-handled gaff-hook of good steel and very sharp is indispensable. A chum knife and spoon are also necessary, and a woollen thumb-stall will be needed for thumbing the reel, or a piece of leather may be affixed to one of its bars as a brake.

The bait for casting may be the tail of a lobster, cleaned of every vestige of shell, but menhaden bait is generally used. After scaling the fish, a slice of several inches is cut from its side, tail end, and scored on the flesh side longitudinally with a sharp knife, to admit of its being more readily folded along the hook, which it should envelop completely. The small end of the bait is affixed to the head of the hook by a half-hitch or two, its bend and barb being concealed by the broader end of the bait. This is the conventional method of baiting, though I have had good success in more southern waters by using an entire bait of mullet or other silvery fish, five or six inches in length, and hooked through the lips.

The residue of the menhaden, after the baits are cut off, is chopped fine, and is known as "chum." This is thrown in the water to attract the bass. It is called "chumming," and causes an oily "slick" that spreads over the surface for a long distance. The pieces of cut fish thrown in are soon swallowed by scup, cunners, bass, and other fishes, leaving nothing but the oily slick on the surface. The bluefish, being a surface feeder, is probably attracted by the slick, but it is questionable if it is noticed by the striped-bass, a bottom and mid-water feeder. And even if the common belief were true, it is not likely that the bass would be tolled directly toward the angler through a slick covering many acres. The real attraction is in the chopped menhaden that sinks below the surface.

Casting the menhaden is quite an art. It is somewhat in the nature of casting a minnow for black-bass as described on a previous page, though the rod is a two-handed one and the bait much heavier. The bait is reeled up to within a foot or two of the rod tip, and the rod grasped by both hands, one just above and one below the reel, with the thumb of the lower hand resting on the spool of the reel, and protected by a woollen or leather thumb-stall. With the rod at one side, it is given a preliminary whirl, or swing or two, and the bait cast, underhand, much like striking at a hip-high or shoulder-high ball with a bat. The cast is made from either side, and while some anglers place the right hand below in casting from both sides, it is not the best way. In casting from the right side the left hand should be below, and the reel controlled by the left thumb; while in casting from the left side the right hand should be below. The thumb should maintain a gentle and uniform pressure on the spool as it revolves, to prevent backlashing, and by a stronger pressure stop the revolution of the spool as the bait reaches the water.

As long a cast is made as possible, and when the bait settles it should be reeled in again very slowly and the cast repeated until the bait is taken by a bass. When the water is very rough, so as to churn the bait and keep it in constant motion, fewer casts are necessary, as the bait can be left in the water for a longer time before making a new cast. When the fish is hooked and starts on his initial rush, line should be given, the thumb always on the spool to check him when it can be done without endangering the tackle. His first rush will probably be his strongest, and he must then be killed on the rod and reeled in to the gaffer. During the struggle of playing the fish, great care must be observed to prevent the cutting or chafing of the line against sharp rocks, and to keep the fish away from weeds, timbers, or other obstructions.

As the bass may weigh anywhere from ten to fifty pounds, the utmost skill and precaution are necessary to land him safely. Very often the angler has not only to contend with the fish, but with the strength and undertow of the tide and the tossing of breakers--factors that are by no means to be despised or neglected. But once fairly gaffed, the angler may feast his eyes on the grand fish, weighing, perhaps, thirty pounds or more, and congratulate himself on a great achievement.

When the bass are running far up the fresh-water streams in the spring, they will often take the artificial fly. As the fish do not run much heavier than black-bass, the rod and tackle used in fly-fishing for that fish can be utilized, employing such flies as oriole, polka, coachman, red ibis, or other showy creations. The fishing is more successful about sundown.

Many years ago the striped-bass was planted in the waters of the Pacific coast by the United States Fish Commission. It has multiplied exceedingly, so that bass-fishing is now a favorite sport with San Francisco anglers, who fish the neighboring bays, rivers, and sloughs with great success. The baits commonly used are clams and the trolling-spoon. The sport has culminated in the formation of several striped-bass clubs, with quite a large membership.

THE WHITE-PERCH

(Morone americana)

The white-perch was described, but not named, by Shöpf, in 1788, from the waters near New York. From his description Gmelin named it, in the same year, Perca americana, or "American perch." The genus Morone was established for it in 1814 by Dr. Mitchill, as owing to structural differences it could not properly be placed in the genus Perca.

The white-perch is one of the most abundant fishes of the brackish waters on the Atlantic coast, its range extending from Nova Scotia to South Carolina, but more especially from Cape Cod to Cape Hatteras. It is also landlocked in fresh-water ponds at various places along the coast.

It is a handsome fish, symmetrical in outline, and well proportioned. Its body is compressed, its depth is not quite a third of its length. Its head is as long as the depth of the body, depressed above the eyes, and with a somewhat pointed snout. The mouth is rather small; the teeth are small, without canines; there are a few teeth on the edge of the tongue, but none on its base. There are two dorsal fins, though they are connected at the base.

Its color is olivaceous, or green of various shades on the head and back, with silvery or greenish sides, and silvery white belly. Sometimes the color is bluish on the back and head. Those confined in ponds are always darker in hue.

The white-perch is one of the best and most esteemed pan-fishes of the eastern coast. It grows to a foot or more in length, occasionally weighing three pounds; but the usual size is from six to nine inches, and from one-half to a pound in weight in brackish water. Smaller ones ascend the streams to fresh water. It is usually found associating with small striped-bass, and their habits are much alike, feeding on the same food, as small minnows, young eels, shrimp, etc. It spawns in the spring, usually in May, in shallow, weedy situations in both fresh and brackish water. The eggs are quite small, about forty thousand to a fish, and hatch in three or four days.

As a boy I was very fond of fishing for white-perch, which were then very abundant in the Spring Garden branch of the Patapsco River, at Baltimore, from Ferry Bar to the mud-flats near the Long Bridge, and also above the bridge on the main river in brackish water. Being gregarious, it was found in large schools, and was a free biter at shrimps, shedder-crab, small minnows, and earthworms. At the time of which I write it was very plentiful at the mouths of all tidal rivers emptying into Chesapeake Bay. I have seen great wagon loads brought ashore in one haul of a long market seine. And in camping along the Bay, during my summer vacations, they seemed to be as plentiful as blackberries. There was never any dearth of fried white-perch or other fishes in our camp, and we never tired of them. We feasted on them daily, with terrapin, soft-shelled crabs, oysters, green corn, tomatoes, cantaloupes, and watermelons, and all to be had for the mere catching or asking.

Any light rod may be used for white-perch, with or without a small multiplying reel, with a line of braided linen, smallest size, and hooks Nos. 6 to 8. Most anglers use two or three hooks, but I would advise a single hook for all kinds of fishing. A short leader of single gut, about three feet long, is an advantage, and hooks should be tied on gut snells.

In quiet water, with small, live minnows for bait, a sinker or float need not be used. In tidal waters a sinker is necessary to keep the bait at mid-water, or a few feet from the bottom, especially when shrimp, crab, or earthworms are used for bait. The weight of the sinker must be adapted to the strength of the tide. The best season is during late summer or autumn in brackish water, from an anchored boat, at half-flood or half-ebb tide; up the tidal rivers at high tide. At low water they must be looked for in the deep holes, among the rocks. Wherever found the white-perch will not disappoint the angler, but is ever ready to respond to his baited hook.

It rises pretty well to the artificial fly, especially when landlocked in ponds, or far up the streams. Trout tackle and trout flies are just right, on hooks Nos. 7 or 8; and as the most favorable time for fishing is toward dusk, light-colored flies are the best, as coachman, gray drake, red ibis, oriole, etc.

I was once fishing for white-perch on Gunpowder River, in Maryland, with a companion who happened to lose one of his hooks through a defective snell, which, however, he soon recovered by catching the perch that had stolen it. We were perfectly sure that it was his, as he had tied his hooks himself with a peculiar shade of sewing silk. He then marked the fish by clipping off a portion of one of the spines of the dorsal fin, and returned it to the water, only to be retaken three times, twice by my friend and once by myself. The lips of the perch being then quite ragged from the frequent hooking, it was humanely killed and deposited in the basket.

From my experience with both wild and domesticated fish I am quite sure that cold-blooded animals, like fishes and batrachians, are not very sensitive to pain. Owing to the very small brain and the gelatinous character of the spinal marrow of fishes, it is very doubtful if they suffer much, if any, pain from the infliction of so slight an injury as the pricking of a fish-hook. If it were otherwise, I do not think a hooked fish would offer so much resistance and pull so hard upon the hook if it caused much pain. Nor does it seem reasonable that a fish would repeatedly subject itself to the same experience if its mouth felt at all sore, as all experienced anglers know they do, time and again. The mouth and throat of a fish cannot be very sensitive when it is considered that it swallows, whole, such prey as sunfish and catfish fry, bristling with sharp fins and spines, and those of the catfish are always erect, even if swallowed head first. Marine fishes also swallow crabs, lobsters, prawns, besides mollusks, sea-urchins, and other creatures that would be exceedingly irritating and painful to a sensitive throat.

THE SEA-BASS

(Centropristes striatus)

The sea-bass is known in various localities as black sea-bass, black will, black harry, hannahills, humpback, and also by names belonging rightly to other well-known fishes, as blackfish, bluefish, and rock-bass. The name sea-bass, however, is in most general use, and is the most distinctive and appropriate. Linnæus described it briefly, in 1758, and named it striatus, or "striped." He afterward received specimens from South Carolina, which in 1766 he named atraria, or "blackish," but the older name must hold according to the law of priority.

It is confined to the Atlantic coast, with range extending from Cape Cod to Florida, but it is most abundant along the coast of New Jersey. It has a robust body, its depth not quite a third of its length; the back is elevated over the shoulder, the "hump" being more prominent in males during the breeding season. The head is large and thick, with a large, oblique mouth, leathery lips, and projecting lower jaw. The fin rays are long and slender, and the caudal fin is double concave.

Its color is bluish black, sometimes greenish black or dusky brown on the back and top of the head, lighter on the sides and belly. The edges of the scales being dark, give a mottled, streaked, or reticulated appearance. The dorsal fin has several series of bluish white elongated spots; the other fins are bluish or dusky, and are more or less mottled. Young specimens have a broad dusky band or stripe along the sides, which later becomes broken up, forming cross shades.

The sea-bass, as its name implies, is a sea fish, seldom entering brackish water. It congregates in large schools about the offshore rocky reefs and shoals, and about old wrecks, feeding on crabs, shrimps, and other marine organisms, often in company with the tautog and porgy. It is a deep-water fish, and of course a bottom feeder. It spawns in summer, between May and August, depending on the temperature of the water, but usually in June. The eggs are quite small, about twenty-five to the inch, and hatch in from four to six days. Its usual weight is from one-half to two or three pounds, occasionally weighing ten or twelve pounds. It is very voracious and will take almost any kind of bait that is offered. It is taken in large numbers by market fishermen on hand-lines and clam bait. It commands a ready sale, being a good food-fish, with firm, flaky flesh of a fine savor, and is highly valued for chowders. It is a hard-pulling fish on the line, boring toward the bottom with vicious tugs.

A light cane chum rod is very suitable, or perhaps the Little Giant rod is better. It is seven and one-half feet long and weighs eight ounces, and will bear the strain of such sinkers as must be used. The line should be braided linen of small caliber, and a multiplying reel should always be used. A short leader of three or four feet, and Sproat hooks, Nos. 1-0 to 3-0, on silkworm fibre and a sinker adapted to the strength of the tide, make up the rest of the tackle. As the fishing is done from an anchored boat a landing-net should be provided. With the tackle just mentioned, at slack tide, and with clam, shedder-crab, sandworms, or shrimp bait, the angler can enjoy a good measure of sport with the sea-bass. Where the tide runs very strong, compelling the use of heavy sinkers of from three to six ounces, a striped-bass rod should be employed, especially in water from fifteen to thirty feet deep.

Great crowds of men, women, and children patronize the excursion boats from New York and Philadelphia, in the summer season, to catch bass, porgies, tautog, and flounders on the various fishing banks off the Jersey coast, where they use hand-lines and clam bait. While such fishing is greatly enjoyed by the uninitiated, it does not appeal to the angler.

THE SOUTHERN SEA-BASS

(Centropristes philadelphicus)

This species was described by Linnæus in 1758, and named philadelphicus, under the impression that his specimen was from the vicinity of that city. Afterward he received specimens from the South Carolina coast, which, in 1766, he named trifurca, meaning "three-forked," in allusion to its "triple-tail." The older name, unfortunately, must stand.

Its color is olive-gray, darkest on the back, whitish below, with seven oblique dusky and diffuse bars along the upper portion of the sides. The three-forked appearance of the caudal fin is more pronounced than in the northern sea-bass; otherwise there is no structural difference, except in coloration. Its habits are similar. The same remarks apply equally to the following species, except that it has a few less gill-rakers than the northern species. They may eventually all prove to be the same species, or geographical varieties. The directions as to fishing apply as well to both these southern forms as to the northern sea-bass.

THE GULF SEA-BASS

(Centropristes ocyurus)

This species was described from the "snapper banks," off Pensacola, by Jordan and Evermann in 1886, who named it ocyurus, or "swift tail." It has not been recorded from any other locality. It agrees with the northern sea-bass, except as mentioned, and in its coloration, which is grayish or pale olive, darker on the back, with three longitudinal rows of black blotches along the sides. It is called "tally-wag" by the snapper fisherman.