bass as non-migratory, they appear to have taken on new habits with their Pacific culture, and authentic information is at hand claiming the true Atlantic striped bass, Roccus sineatus, have been recently taken at Point Conception, on the south, and Shoal Water bay, on the north.

On the eastern coast striped bass range the entire distance from the Mississippi to the St. Lawrence river, and the famous stalls of Fulton market, New York, occasionally boast of immense specimens that tip the beam at one hundred pounds and over. They are seined in the southern bayous and expressed to northern dealers for the winter holiday trade.

These fish are abundant about Cape Hatteras, Chesapeake bay and Delaware bay, but apparently during the months of June, July and August more genuine sport is enjoyed with rod and reel in surf fishing for striped bass at the various fishing clubs located along the shore from Naversink Light, New York har

bor, to Cape Cod, than in any other locality.

Among the most famous resorts that have their feet in ocean brine are the West Island Club, with a membership limited to thirty, and an admission fee of one thousand dollars; the Newport, at Newport, Rhode Island; the Cuttyhunk, the Pasque Island and the last of the Elizabeth island organizations, the modest and lucky Squibnocket Club, located on the Gunning point rocks some three miles from Gay Head lighthouse, on Martha's Vineyard. As the bass appear to congregate in the waters controlled by these clubs in the months mentioned, when sportsmen strike out for an outing, it follows naturally that the click and hum of the reel should start their blood into healthy action, and the play of the single stick bamboo rod, which requires strength and skill, should renew vitality and prepare them for their return to strenuous brain work.

Nearly all of the eastern club mem

out between the back tendons which lay flat and conceal the long hook shank. He then takes two half-hitches of the line over all the sinews just below and including the ball on the shank of the hook, drawing the hitches tight, thus making the bait perfect. Or if menhaden are used he scales the fish, then cuts flat from tail to gills all the flesh clean to the back bone on each side, this provides two flaps each about six inches long by four inches wide. One flap is then scored down the long center to the skin, which forms an admirable "cache" for the hook, and on its being hitched in the same manner as the lobster bait is attached, the fisherman is ready for marine visitors, always premising he is an old hand at the reel.

As there's "many a slip between cup and lip," so there is a proverb among bassmen that "the stronger the novice the greater the overrun, "which means that the tyro in his ambitious haste to get there throws so much muscular action into the first part of his intended cast that the reel revolves faster than the half-pound bait at the end of the line can carry it out, so that the line becomes hopelessly entangled and overrun, often requiring the reel to be taken apart before another attempt can be made.

A wise beginner trusts his helper to do the casting, and when the tempting bait has been whirled into the seething waters, one hundred and fifty feet from his station, he takes his rod and patiently waits for a strike, and when a bass strike does occur there is no time for sentiment, it's all business.

The writer recalls with never-failing pleasure a delightful July morning in the early 70's, when quietly meditating on fisherman's luck while occupying an outlying rock station located between two fishing stands on Pasque island. On one was seated the jolly and venerable safe manufacturer, Mr. Silas C. Herring; on the other Mr. Thomas E. Tripler, while a gaffman was within call on the beach. Suddenly there came a jolt upon the reel, which converted it instantly into an imitation buzzsaw. On all sides was heard and contributed many words of encouragement, while the angler both heard and painfully felt the rumpus; for, having neglected to provide the usual and

almost indispensable leather drag, blood was spurting from both thumbs in an effort to check the fast-disappearing line. "Give him the butt hard!" came over the water from one counsellor.

"Check him harder," roars another, while a third shrieks: "It's a shark, let him go!"

Finally when the barrel of the reel began to show, indicating that over two hundred yards of eighteen-thread Highland mills bass line extended from the pole to something huge and muscular, fighting its level best for dear life, the coat lappels were brought into play to reinforce the wounded thumbs, and the outgo was gradually checked. Then ensued an anxious quarter of an hourreeling, loosing and again reeling under heavy strain, enlivened by many suggestions from the three who had by this time waded out to the rock. Then slack line and the shadow of failure fell upon the group.

Suddenly Mr. Herring shouted:

"Heavens, look yonder!" as he pointed to a transparent incoming roller, and under the wave crest appeared as in a block of crystal a monster bass still struggling with the predestined hook, with extended fins and fiercely sculling tail. The slack line having meanwhile been reeled in and tension again established, it was not long before the fish turned side up within reach of gaff, wielded by Mr. Tripler. As the gaff fastened to the prize Mr. Herring dashed neck deep into the surf, clasped it in his arms, exclaiming as he waded to the beach:

"Hail Columbia, what a beauty! He is high hook' for the club to date, boys. We'll christen him in champagne."

It was done, and the christening death entry reads:

"Bass forty-two pounds; four feet, two inches; high hook," on the Pasque island record.

The following year a son of Mr. Herring struck and captured a sixty-twopound bass from the same rock, which matched the Cuttyhunk record to that date.

The high hook record for striped bass caught with rod and reel on the Atlantic coast is held by Mr. William Post, who captured one weighing seventy pounds

at Graves point, Newport, Rhode Island. The largest one taken in weir, fyke or seine between the capes of Virginia and Cod was taken at Orleans, MassaMassachusetts, in the town cove, and weighed one hundred and twelve pounds.

Each club keeps a record of size, weight and condition of all bass taken during the season, which extends from June 1st to October 1st.

Jointed rods and gut leaders are of no value in surf fishing for striped bass. It requires the heaviest tackle to overcome not only the great inherent strength of the fish, but also the additional pull of the heavy undertow, which a hooked bass invariably takes advantage of.

Dr. Blanding, a high authority on pisciculture, estimates that an adult bass produces the enormous quantity of two million two hundred and forty thousand eggs each spawning season, which occurs on the Atlantic seaboard in the spring and early summer, some in rivers, others probably in deep water at sea.

Bass are voracious feeders, taking greedily all kinds of small fish, crustacea and clams thrown up in the surf or that have their abiding places in the seaweed covered rocks, therefore their rate of growth is very rapid. Captain Gavitt of Westerly, Rhode Island, caught striped bass in June that weighed from eight ounces to one pound. These fish he placed in a pond and the following October on being weighed they averaged six pounds each.

The whole shore line of the Bay of San Francisco, especially between the points within forty feet of the beach, from Alviso through the bay to San Pablo, Carquinez straits and well up into the San Joaquin and Sacramento rivers, around the islands about the mouth of the Sacramento river and continuing along the west shore of Suisun bay, past Benicia and Mare island, embracing all the sloughs diverging from Napa and Petaluma rivers until the Golden Gate is reached, over five hundred miles of good troll and bait fishing ground will have been passed over where bass are sought and caught.

Both still fishing from shore or boat with clam bait and trolling with a spinning or darting lure, known as a spoon among fishermen, from a boat have their

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followers. Trolling is preferred by many who can spare but one day for the sport, and they strike out for near-by places, reaching the grounds at Alviso, Tiburon, Rodes, Brickyard and Angel island within the hour from San Francisco. The Wilson bass spoons, Nos. 4, 5, 6 and 7, are pronounced favorites, their motion in the water, submerged by a light lead, placed six feet above the hook, resembles the struggles of a crippled fish, thus attracting the attention of predatory gormandizers of the finny tribe. The Breidenstein spoon also has many advocates, and the new darting spoon that has made havoc with salmon in Puget Sound is claiming attention.

The favorite resorts for bait fishing. and for trolling are the various sloughs that permeate the expansive marshes around San Francisco, San Pablo and Suisun bays. Prominent among them, as the record locality for large bass and large catches, stands Petaluma slough. The recently deceased and worthy companion, Mr. F. H. Bushnell, here caught the record striped bass for rod and reel in California to date. The club register reads twenty-nine pounds, length forty-two inches, and the accompanying illustration displays it. On that same slough Mr. E. P. Farnesworth, after having been thoroughly coached in basscatching lore, met his first Waterloo with rod and reel, opposed to a scaly warrior who won the tug, which sad experience nerved him on to other battles and finally to victory over a hard-fighting twelvepound bass, that was served up to a sportsman's taste, and the same day he, with the writer, captured on one tide seventeen bass that weighed ninety pounds.

Bait fishing either from boat or bank requires the same prerequisites for success under the blue sky and charming conditions of our favored state that it does where the torrid and humid heat paralyzes all effort and destroys the pleasure of sport.

The most favorable time in slough fishing for bass is the last half of the ebb and the first half of the flood tide, for the reason that the fish then assemble in the deep holes where their food concentrates.

Fishermen here favor the jointed steel

rod for both bait fishing and trolling, as it is more flexible than the split bamboo, and if wound with silk from reel seat to tip and plugged to prevent salt water from getting into and rusting the joints, are thought to be equally serviceable. They are seven to nine feet in length and weigh ten to fifteen ounces. Multiplying reels are used carrying from three hundred to six hundred feet of twelve and fifteen thread Kelso or Highland mills Cuttyhunk linen line, dyed and heavily paraffined to prevent tangling.

When there are no small fish on the feeding grounds bass take clam bait readily. The soft part of the longnecked clam is a favorite morsel for bass food, but a difficult part to fasten on a hook so that it will stay there when a vigorous cast is made.

In fisherman's parlance, when a bass strikes hard strike hard in return, and that speedily to imbed the hook, which should be a No. 6-0 O'Shaunessy, for the mouth of a bass is furnished with a very tough arch. Then get into your best fighting bib and tucker without delay, as there will be muscular work needing close attention. Hold the rod as near perpendicular as is possible in order that its spring may worry and tire out the fish, and use strong language to any who try to gaff a fish by striking down. A gaff should be lowered under the fish point up and pulled with a quick motion, or better still if inserted into the mouth or gills. The largest bass taken in seine on this coast was caught at the mouth of Petaluma river in 1891 and weighed fifty-eight pounds.

The day is at hand when ocean surf bass fishing will be enjoyed on the Pacific. Then sportsmen who now boast of having captured twenty-pound bass with ease on fly rods will have frequent opportunities for becoming rattled when they find the same sized fish in the surf swimming gaily away with their whole outfit.

The increase of striped bass in California was phenomenal until the year 1899, when the aggregate catch for that year was 1,234,320 pounds, yielding a commercial value at wholesale of $61,716.

But from that date it has become apparent that the germinating and feed

ing grounds of these valuable fish have become so polluted by noxious refuse from coal oil refineries and chemical works bordering on and discharging their waste products directly into our streams, combined with the wholesale slaughter of small bass by netmen, that the catch is gradually decreasing, and bids fair to become extinct, as it has in some localities on the Atlantic where the same conditions of water poisoning exist.

The welfare of this great adjunct to the prosperity of California demands that the laws on our statute books prohibiting the defilement of the waters should be rigidly enforced by resolute men without fear or favor.

In addition thereto, for the benefit of the whole people of the whole state who desire good and cheap food, the spawning months of striped bass, which are February, March and April, should be declared a closed season, and also some restriction should be placed upon indiscriminate seining during the open sea

son.

After many years supinely waiting for the world to head this way, we at last become aroused to the necessity of telling in type the possibilities of production our bountiful land holds out to tillers of the soil, the result is that home seekers are flocking hitherward in steadily increasing volume unknown since the palmy days of '49.

When sportsmen and pleasure seekers of the middle and eastern states as well are told in words none can gainsay that here, in the pathway to the teeming Orient, is found a surface of ocean, bay and river shore compassing a larger extent of feeding ground for a greater variety of accessible fish and game than elsewhere in Uncle Sam's dominions, where they can be sought and taken under pleasant climatic conditions every day in the year allowed by law, they will no longer seek the resorts where their fathers sought pastime for many decades, but will turn their faces toward and bring their tackle to the inflowing tide of the prolific and progressive West, thereby securing to themselves an outing or a home void of disappointment, and adding impulse to the wave of prosperity that is flooding our golden empire.