THE BASS FAMILY
(_Serranidæ_)
The bass family is composed mostly of marine fishes, nearly all of which
are good game and food-fishes. These will be described among the fishes
of the East Coast and Florida in subsequent pages. It is the most
typical group among the percoid (perchlike) fishes. Only two species of
the family inhabit fresh water,--the white-bass and the yellow-bass.
The fishes of this family are characterized by an oblong body, large
mouth, brushlike or bristlelike teeth, sometimes with canines; one or
two dorsal fins, the first always composed of spiny rays; the anal fin,
always with three spines; scales adherent and rough (ctenoid);
preopercle usually serrate; opercle with flat points or spines; cheeks
and opercles always scaly; premaxillary protractile; dorsal and ventral
outlines do not always correspond; caudal fin not deeply forked; its
peduncle stout.
THE WHITE-BASS
(_Roccus chrysops_)
_Roccus chrysops._ The White-bass. Body oblong, deep, and
compressed; head 3-1/2; depth 2-1\2; eye 5; D. IX-I, 14; A.
III, 12; scales 10-60-15; mouth moderate, maxillary reaching
middle of pupil; a patch of teeth at base of tongue, and a
patch on each side; preopercle serrate; subopercle with a deep
notch; lower jaw somewhat projecting; dorsal fins separate;
gill-rakers long and slender, _x_ + 14.
_Morone interrupta._ The Yellow-bass. Body oblong, ovate, the
back arched; head 3; depth 2-2/3; eye 4-1/2; D. IX-I, 12; A.
III, 9; scales 7-50-11; dorsal fins slightly joined; jaws
subequal; no teeth on base of tongue; gill-rakers moderate, _x_
+ 13 to 16; preorbital and suprascapula serrate.
The white-bass was first described by Rafinesque in 1820 from the falls
of the Ohio River, near Louisville, Kentucky. He named it _chrysops_, or
"gold eye," owing to the golden hue of the iris. It is known also as
white lake-bass and fresh-water striped-bass. It is abundant in Lake
Erie, Lake Michigan, and upper Mississippi River, especially in Lake
Pepin, and in Lake Winnebago, Wisconsin. It was formerly not uncommon in
the Ohio River, but is now rare. Its body is compressed and rather deep,
with the back arched; its head is rather small, but the mouth is large,
with the lower jaw protruding; the eye is large; teeth brushlike,
without canines. The color is silvery white, greenish above, golden
below, with six or more narrow dusky lines along the body, most
conspicuous above the lateral line; those below broken, or not
continuous. The white-bass is found in water of moderate depth,
preferring those that are clear and cool, as it does not resort to weedy
situations. It is essentially a lake fish, except in spring, when it
undergoes a semi-migration, entering the tributaries of lakes in large
schools. It spawns usually in May. It feeds on small fishes, crawfish,
insects, and their larvæ, etc. Its usual size is a pound or a little
less, but occasionally it grows to three pounds. It is a food-fish of
much excellence, its flesh firm, white, flaky, and of good flavor.
It is one of the best fresh-water game-fishes, being a bold biter, and
on light and suitable tackle affords much sport to the appreciative
angler. For fly-fishing, the best season is during the spring, when it
enters the tributary streams of lakes. At this time the fly-fisher will
be successful at any hour of the day. He may fish from the bank or from
an anchored boat, the latter plan being the best. As the fish are
swimming in schools, either headed up or down stream, no particular
place need be selected, though off the points at the edge of the
channel, or in the narrowest portions of the streams, are perhaps the
best. In the summer and fall the fish are in the lakes or deeper water,
when the fishing will be more successful during the late afternoon hours
until sundown, and the angler may be guided by the conditions followed
in black-bass fly-fishing, as mentioned in a previous chapter.
A trout fly-rod of six or seven ounces, with the usual trout click reel
and corresponding tackle, will subserve a good purpose. When the fish
are running in the streams the most useful flies are gray drake, green
drake, stone fly, brown hackle, gray hackle, Henshall, and Montreal, of
the usual trout patterns, on hooks Nos. 5 to 7.
For bait-fishing, a light black-bass or trout rod, with multiplying
reel, braided silk line of the smallest caliber, a leader of small gut
three feet long, and hooks Nos. 3 or 4 tied on gut snells, will answer
well. The best and in fact the only bait that can be successfully used
is a small minnow, hooked through the lips. The fishing is done from an
anchored boat on lakes or the deep pools of streams, either by casting
or still-fishing.
No fish will rise to the artificial fly except in comparatively shallow
water, or when near the surface, and this is especially true of the
white-bass when it resorts to the depths after the spring run is over. I
remember a striking instance of this that once occurred in Wisconsin. I
was fishing for black-bass in the Neenah channel of Lake Winnebago
during the May-fly season, when the black-bass were taking the
artificial fly right along, being near the surface feeding on the
natural flies, though the water was quite deep, with a rocky bottom. A
party of bait-fishers anchored near my boat, and began fishing with
heavy sinkers, as the water was very swift, and with small minnows for
bait. The white-bass were not slow in taking the proffered minnows, and
they caught a goodly number, but not a single black-bass; nor did I take
a single white-bass during several hours of fishing, for they were lying
among the rocks at the bottom.
In the rocky coves about the Bass Islands of Put-in-Bay, on Lake Erie, I
have had really good sport, in the summer months, bait-fishing for
white-bass, with light tackle, the fish running about two pounds; but
with the fly my success was generally _nil_, as they were in deep
water, and nothing but minnows would attract them. But in the upper
Mississippi, notably on Lake Pepin, the case was different. About the
rocky points of that beautiful lake, and in the clear water of the river
below, I have enjoyed royal sport fly-fishing for white-bass. This was
years ago. Afterward I made a trip in a steam yacht from Cincinnati to
St. Paul, traversing the Mississippi from Cairo to the head of
navigation, and also going up the St. Croix River to Taylor's Falls. On
this trip the white-bass fishing was not so good as in former years,
though the black-bass seemed to have held their own pretty well. I might
remark, in passing, that the upper Mississippi is one of the most
beautiful and scenic rivers in the world, and is unsurpassed for
black-bass fly-fishing. At one time the islands of that river furnished
superb woodcock shooting in summer, which could be varied with fine
fishing.
THE YELLOW-BASS
(_Morone interrupta_)
The yellow-bass was first described by Dr. Theodore Gill in 1860. His
type specimens were from the lower Mississippi River in the vicinity of
St. Louis and New Orleans. He named it _interrupta_, in allusion to the
broken or "interrupted" lines along its sides. It is also known as
brassy-bass. It belongs to the same genus as the white-perch of the East
Coast. It is found only in the lower Mississippi River and its
tributaries, sometimes extending its range a short distance up the Ohio
River.
The yellow-bass might be called a cousin of the white-bass, though it
belongs to a different genus. It takes the place of that fish in the
lower Mississippi Valley. Compared with the white-bass it has a somewhat
longer head, with a body not quite so deep; otherwise the general shape
is much the same. The mouth is a little larger, though the snout does
not project quite so much, and the profile of the head is straighter,
and it has a larger eye. The posterior border of the cheek-bone is
finely serrated.
The general color is brassy or yellowish, darker on the back and lighter
on the belly. There are about half a dozen very distinct and black
longitudinal lines along the sides, the lower ones broken or
"interrupted," the posterior portions dropping below the anterior, like
a "fault" in a stratum of rocks.
It is fond of the deeper pools in the rivers and clear-water bayous,
and the foot of rapids and riffles. It is partial to the same character
of food as the white-bass, small minnows constituting the greater part.
It likewise spawns in the spring, and grows to a pound or two in weight,
sometimes reaching three pounds. It is an excellent food-fish.
I have had good sport with the yellow-bass on St. Francis River in
Arkansas, and at the head of the Yazoo Pass, in Mississippi, with the
same tackle and by similar methods as recommended for the white-bass on
a prior page. As with the two black-basses and the two crappies, the
white-bass and yellow-bass having similar habits and kindred tastes, the
same tackle and the same modes of angling are as well suited for one as
for the other. This will apply to both fly-fishing and bait-fishing.
I was once, one autumn, with a party on a river steam yacht on the lower
Mississippi when geese, ducks, deer, and turkeys were more plentiful
than they are now. Up the St. Francis River, in the "sunk lands" of
Arkansas, the yacht was moored at Cow Bayou, near a steep clay bluff, on
the top of which was a dilapidated tent occupied by a young man and his
wife, who were building a shanty boat in which to float down to sunnier
climes for the winter, as the man was "nigh gone" with consumption. One
morning I was out early fishing for yellow-bass after a rainy night. As
I was landing a fish I saw the woman at the top of the bluff, looking
for a way down to the yacht. She was quite a fresh and comely-looking
woman, too. She started down very carefully, for the wet clay was quite
slippery. I became interested to see how she would succeed. Suddenly her
bare feet slipped from under her, and she came down with a rush, her one
garment, as I soon discovered, an old calico gown, slipping back over
her head, disclosing her nude form, which appeared very white in
contrast to the red clay. Then I looked the other way just as she
flopped over from a prone to a supine position. When she reached the
river side she looked like a sculptor's model in clay. She quietly
adjusted her gown as if nothing unusual had occurred, and asked: "Has
you-uns got any matches? We-uns' matches all got wet in the drizzle last
night, and I want to cook my old man's breakfus." I pulled ashore and
handed her my matchbox, and scarcely knowing what to say, I remarked.
"You had better change your dress before you cook breakfast." She
replied, "I hain't got another one."
While the boys were eating their breakfast of fried fish, deer steak,
and broiled duck, I related the "toboggan" episode, and mentioned the
"one frock." When the meal was concluded the boys overhauled their
belongings and chipped in several pairs of slippers, long woollen
stockings, underclothing, and blankets, and the "skipper" threw in some
calico and muslin from the yacht's stores. These were made into bundles
and carried to the top of the bluff by a more circuitous route.
Proceeding to the tent they deposited their offerings, together with
some ducks and venison. The man and woman were overcome with gratitude,
but the boys said they were glad to get rid of the stuff. The skipper
had taken his camera along to get a snap-shot at the tent and its
occupants, which being made known to them the woman said. "Wait a
minnit!" She went into the tent, but immediately reappeared wearing a
large sun-bonnet, in which she was "took" with her "old man." I have
often wondered since why she put on that sun-bonnet. My excuse for this
digression may be found in the memorable words of George Dawson, "It is
not all of fishing to fish."