Commonly known as Black Bass. This fish inhabits the lakes and rivers of the Middle and New England States, including the Niagara and St. Lawrence Rivers. They are sought for from May to July, and again in September and October. August is their spawning time, when the fish are in poor condition. Among the denizens of our inland waters, with the single exception of Trout, no fish are such favorites with anglers. Their capture affords much sport, and the kitchens delight in their presence. Black fresh-water Bass are active, muscular, and free biters. They harbor frequently on bars and shoals, near rocks. Usual weight from two to four pounds.

For tackle use rod of from nine to twelve feet; line, fly tapered, of from one hundred to two hundred and fifty feet; silkworm-gut leader of four or five feet; hook, small Bass size. For trolling use rod from eight to eleven feet, with click-reel, and spoon or other artificial bait. For bait use worm, frog, crawfish, and small live fish. The respective merits of the Brook Trout and the Black Bass as a game fish have long been a question for debate between anglers, and the result has been the publication of much valuable information upon the respective fish. Their habits from their birth to their capitulation are now thoroughly understood, but where they most abound is not so well known, and fishermen who may happen to alight upon good ground generally conceal its location.

Lake Gagebic and other waters in Michigan are noted for their plenitude of Black fresh-water Bass. There are no fish in Gagebic save the two species of Bass, the small mouth and the large mouth (Oswego) ; the former predominate as about four to one. They appear in schools covering acres in extent and playing near the surface of the water.

In two hours a party took seventy Bass, of which forty were returned to the water uninjured, as being under weight, while all weighing upward of one pound and a half were preserved, the largest barely reaching the four-pound notch on the scale.

The lure in general use is a No. 4 troll-ing-spoon. When once this fish grasps the triple hook in his ravenous manner, he is fatally impaled in both jaws, and rarely escapes. The favorite bait is live minnows, pieces of fins, artificial helgramite, or any other decoy that can be used on a single hook. The supply of Bass in Gagebic is inexhaustible, and any person can at any time take all the fish he wants legitimately with hook and line.