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Largemouth Bass Micropterus Salmoides.
Largemouth Bass Micropterus salmoides The large-mouth black-bass was also first described by the French ichthyologist Lacepede, in 1802, from a drawing and description sent to him from South Carolina by M. Bosc, under the local name of " trout-perch." Owing to the vernacular name, he gave it the specific name of salmoides, " salmon-like " or " trout-like." Thirty years before, pressed skins of the large-mouth bass had been sent to Linnaeus by Dr. Garden from Charleston, South Carolina, under the name of "fresh water trout," but Linnaeus failed to describe or name it. The black-bass is called " trout " to this day in the Southern states.
The large-mouth black-bass is very similar in appearance to the small-mouth bass. It is not quite so trimly built, being somewhat more " stocky " and robust. Its mouth is larger, the angle reaching behind the eye. It has larger scales, and those on the cheeks are not much smaller than those on the body, while in the small-mouth bass the cheek scales are very small compared with its body scales. The large-mouth is more muscular, and has a broader and more powerful tail.
Its distribution is perhaps wider than that of any other game-fish, its range extending from Canada to Florida and Mexico, and, through transplantation, from the Atlantic to the Pa cific. It has also been introduced into Germany, France, Russia, and the Netherlands, where it is greatly esteemed both as a game-fish and food fish.
The coloration of the large-mouth bass is often of the same hue as the small-mouth bass, though usually it is not so dark, being mostly bronze green, fading to white on the belly. When mark ings are present, they tend to form longitudinal streaks of aggregated spots, and not vertical ones, as in the small-mouth.
Its habits of feeding, spawning, etc., are very similar to those of the small-mouth. It prefers stiller water, and is more at home in weedy situations, and will thrive in quiet, mossy ponds with muddy bottom where the small-mouth would eventually become extinct; on the other hand, the large-mouth can exist wherever it is possible for the small-mouth to do so. It is better able to withstand the vicissitudes of climate and tem perature, and has a wonderful adaptability that enables it to become reconciled to its environ ment. The feeding habits of the two black basses are much the same, though they differ as to their haunts. The large-mouth favors weedy rather than rocky places, and though its food is also much the same, the large-mouth is per haps more partial to frogs and minnows, in the absence of crawfish, which, like the other species, it prefers.
In the Northern states it hibernates, and reaches a maximum weight of six or eight pounds, while in the Gulf states, where it is ac tive the year round, it is taken weighing twenty pounds or more. In Florida I have taken it on the fly up to fourteen pounds, and up to twenty pounds with natural bait. In waters where it coexists with the small-mouth bass there is no difference in their excellence as food-fish. I have often eaten the large-mouth bass from the clear water lakes of Utah and Washington, that, with the single exception of the whitefish of Lake Superior, were the best of all fresh-water fishes. And I can truly say the same of those from some of the large rivers of Florida, notably the St. Lucie, St. Sebastian, and New rivers.
It prefers to spawn on gravel or sand, but if such situations are lacking, it makes its nest on a clay or mud bottom, or on the roots of water plants; or in ponds of very deep water without shallow shores, it will spawn on the top of masses of weeds, in order to get near enough to sunlight. In other respects its breeding habits are similar to its cousin the small-mouth, the time of incubation and the guarding of the eggs and young being about the same.
As to the much-mooted subject of the game ness of the large-mouth bass I have no hesitation in saying, from an experience of nearly forty years, covering all sections of the country, that where the two species coexist there is no differ ence in their game qualities. The large-mouth is fully the equal of the small-mouth where they are exposed to the same conditions. Many anglers profess to think otherwise, but their deductions are drawn from a comparison of the two species when subject to totally different environment; for it is altogether a matter of environment and not of physical structure or idiosyncrasy that in fluences their game qualities. A small-mouth bass in a clear, rocky stream, highly aerated as it must be, is, as a matter of course, more active than a large-mouth bass in a quiet, weedy pond.
With others the opinion is merely a matter of prejudice or hearsay, a prejudice that is, indeed, difficult to account for. It does not make the small-mouth bass a gamer fish by disparaging the large-mouth. As I have said elsewhere, if the large-mouth bass is just as game as the small mouth, the angler is just that much better off.
As prejudice and ignorance go hand in hand, we are not surprised when we hear persons I do not style them anglers call the small-mouth the "true" black-bass, implying that the large mouth is not a black-bass, but is, as they often say, the Oswego bass, which is, of course, absurd. I am glad to add, however, that the prejudice against the large-mouth bass is dying out among observant anglers, who know that a trout in a clear stream is more vigorous than one in a weedy, mucky pond.
From my own experience I am prepared to say that the large-mouth bass is more to be relied on in rising to the fly than the small-mouth, which fact should be taken into consideration when the gameness of the two species is compared. The remarks concerning fly-fishing for the small-mouth bass are also applicable to the large-mouth, as both are fished for in the same way, and with the same tackle, except that the rod may be a little heavier. For the large bass of the Gulf states the rod should be fully eight ounces in weight, and the flies a trifle larger, on hooks Nos. 2 to 6 ; other wise the tackle should be the same. Minnow-casting for the large-mouth need not differ from that described for the small-mouth bass. The tackle likewise may be the same, though for the heavy bass of Florida the rod may be eight, or even nine ounces, if preferred. Hooks may also be employed of a larger size, say Nos. I to i-o, or even 2-0, as larger minnows are used for bait.
Some anglers of the Middle West have adopted a very short rod of six feet or less for casting the live frog or pork-rind overhead, in the same way as casting a fly. This is a very primitive style of bait-casting, being the same as practised by bu colic boys and Southern negroes using a sapling pole without a reel. The frog is reeled up to within a few inches of the tip and propelled like a wad of clay from a slender stick as we were wont to do as boys. The frog is projected with great accuracy, but not without a smack and splash on the water. With such a rod most of the pleasure of playing a bass to a finish is lost. Presumably the end justifies the means, but this method does not appeal to the artistic angler. If bait must be used, a small minnow, lightly cast from a suitable rod, is more in accordance with the eternal fit ness of things and the practice and traditions of the gentle art. In very weedy ponds and lakes, however, where there is not open water enough to play a bass, and where it must be landed as soon as possible, this rod and style of casting answer a good purpose.
Still-fishing is the same for either species of black-bass, but as it is usually done from an anchored boat on Northern lakes, where the large mouth bass is of greater size and weight than the small-mouth bass, somewhat heavier tackle may be used than recommended for the small-mouth.
Trolling with the live or dead minnow, or a small spoon with a single hook, is a very success ful method on lakes, pfonds, and broad, still rivers. A greater length of line can be utilized in trolling, whereby the fish is not so apt to see the angler. More ground can also be covered than in any other style of fishing. The boat should be pro pelled slowly along the borders of rushes and weed patches, over shoals and gravelly banks, and near projecting points of the shore. Consid erable care should be exercised to move as noise lessly as possible, avoiding splashing with the oars or paddle, or making any undue noise with the feet or otherwise in the boat, as such sounds are conveyed a long distance in so dense a medium as water. In trolling, the line may be lengthened to fifty yards, if necessary, though from twenty to thirty yards will usually be sufficient, especially when a good breeze is blowing.
Bobbing for the large-mouth bass is much in vogue in the Gulf states, but is more often practised in Florida. The conventional "bob" is formed by tying a strip of deer's tail, with or without a piece of red flannel, around a triangle of hooks, the hairs completely investing the hooks. A single hook, however, answers fully as well or better. The hook is of large size, Nos. 3-0 to 5-0. The method of procedure is as follows : The boat is propelled by a single-bladed paddle, the paddler being seated in the stern. The boat is moved silently and cautiously, skirting the edges of water-lilies and bonnets, which grow thickly along the margin of the channels. The angler is seated in the bow with a very long cane rod, to which is affixed a short line of a few feet, not to exceed six. As the boat advances, the angler dances the bob as far ahead as possible. It is held a few inches or a foot above the water, into which it is " bobbed " at short intervals. Some times the bass leaps from the water to seize it. When hooked, the fish is landed without any cere mony and as soon as possible, keeping it mean while on the surface, to prevent its taking to the weeds. Bartram described bobbing as practised in Florida, for black-bass, nearly a century and a half ago.
Although bass fishing dates back to the middle of the eighteenth century, when bobbing, skittering, and still-fishing were common methods in the extreme Southern states for the large-mouth bass, and though the dawn of the nineteenth century saw bait-fishing and fly-fishing for the small mouth bass in Kentucky, it is surprising how little was known in the Northern and Eastern states about the black-bass and bass fishing a century after Bartram described bobbing for that game fish in the narrative of his travels. Even so late as 1871, when the Forest and Stream was estab lished, very little appeared in its pages anent bass fishing. Indeed, a few years later, a discussion lasting a year or more appeared in its columns from week to week, as to whether the black-bass would rise to the fly. Previous to the publication of the writer's " Book of the Black-bass "in 1881, no work on angling gave any but the most mea gre account of black-bass or bass fishing. The "American Angler's Guide," published in 1849 by John J. Brown, states that the black-bass has rows of small teeth, two dorsal fins, and a swallow
tail. In the same work the large-mouth bass of the Southern states is classified under the head of " brook trout," the author being misled appar ently by its Southern name of " trout," and goes on to say that they "grow much larger than Northern trout," and that they "are fished for with the same arrangement of tackle as the striped bass or salmon." A contributor to the work, however, from Buffalo, New York, treats briefly and vaguely of still-fishing with minnows and crawfish. Brief notes also from Southern and Western anglers give fair descriptions of the ap pearance and habits of both species of black-bass. Frank Forester (Henry W. Herbert) knew no more of the black-bass than Mr. Brown, and acknowledges that he never caught one. That old Nestor of angling, Uncle Thad Norris, in his "American Angler's Book," 1864, gives the de scriptions of Louis Agassiz and Dr. Holbrook for the black-bass, and then relates his only ex perience as follows, " I have taken this bass in the vicinity of St. Louis, on a moonshiny night, by skittering a light spoon over the surface of the water, while standing on the shore." Genio C. Scott in his " Fishing in American Waters," 1869, has less to say, and evidently knew less of the black-bass than any of the earlier writers. He gives just three lines concerning black-bass fishing, saying, " This fish is taken by casting the artificial fly, or by trolling with the feathered spoon, with a minnow impaled on a gang of hooks, and forming spinning tackle." Of all the angling authors prior to 1870, Robert B. Roosevelt is the only one who knew anything about black-bass or black-bass fishing, having fished for it in the St. Lawrence basin. He says, " They will take minnows, shiners, grasshoppers, frogs, worms, or almost anything else that can be called a bait." Also, " They may be captured by casting the fly as for salmon or trout, and this is by far the most sportsmanlike way, but the most destructive and usually resorted to is trolling." The only per sonal experience he gives of black-bass fishing, unfortunately, is by trolling with large flies. In his "Game Fish of the North," 1862, he devotes five pages to the black-bass, but apparently does not discriminate between the two species. In "Superior Fishing," 1865, he devotes two pages to the black-bass of Canada and the Great Lakes, in a general way, but gives two instances of fishing as follows, " Pedro soon hooked a splendid black bass, and landed him after a vigorous struggle of half an hour; he weighed three pounds an three-quarters, and was thoroughly game." An again, " That evening was again devoted to the black-bass, which took both the fly and spoon greedily."
During the period covered by the author named, from 1849 to 1869, the anglers of th South and Middle West were using light cane rods, Kentucky reels, and the smallest sea-gras lines for bait-fishing, and trout fly-rods and trout tackle for fly-fishing, rods and tackle as light, to say the least, as those in use to-day.
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