Game Birds and Game Fishes of the Pacific Coast

by Harry Thom Payne

Black bass are prolific breeders and rapid growers. A case is on record where eight males and seven females were planted in a pond in May and during the November following over 37,000 young fish were taken from the same pond, each from three to four inches long.

The black bass is a short, deep fish with a double dorsal fin; the front half being stiff and spiney and the latter half soft and rayed. The color is variable, but always dark and from a dirty green to a blackish brown on the back, shading to a dirty white on the belly. The gill covers are pointed at the back, with a darker spot on the point. In the small-mouthed variety the end of the upper bone of the mouth does not quite reach to the back edge of the eye, this with the scales on the cheek numbering from 16 to 18, can always be relied upon as a distinguishing diagnosis from the large-mouthed variety.

LARGE-MOUTHED BLACK BASS

(Micropterus salmoides)

There is but little difference in the habits of the large and small-mouthed black bass, and but little difference in their appearance, but the distinguishing features may easily be known. The end of the upper bone of the mouth of the large-mouthed variety extends behind the eye, and the rows of scales on the cheek number only 10 or 12.

While both species seem to do well any place, the large-mouthed are better adapted to muddy bottomed ponds and sloughs and brackish waters. The average weight of the adults of either species is about three pounds, though individuals are often taken weighing from six to seven. It is reported that specimens have been taken in the state of California that have weighed eight and three-quarters and nine pounds.

Tackle and Lure—The black bass will take any lure from the artificial fly to the plebeian angleworm. In trolling, a medium sized, Kewell spoon is to be preferred. I have always found, however, that the best sport is to be had by casting with a large trout fly—the color varying with the season—close to the edge of lily pads or tules. The tackle for fly-fishing should be the same as for trout. For trolling the rod should be shorter and stiffer.

SACRAMENTO PIKE

(Ptychocheilus oregonensis)

The Sacramento pike, known also by the names chappaul and squawfish, and as lake trout in the San Joaquin Valley, while but little sought after by the angler, can rightfully be classed as a game fish, for it rises to the fly as readily as a trout and often gets cursed for doing so. It is a very common fish in many of the lakes and streams from Washington south to the San Joaquin Valley. Like nearly all fish its size depends very much upon the waters in which it is found. In Washington it has been known to reach a length of four feet, but it is more commonly met with from eight to twenty inches. In shape it resembles a trout, but with a slimmer and more pointed head. The dorsal fin is large and located about midway between the snout and the end of the tail; ventral fins, slightly in front of the dorsal and not as large as the anal which is set about its length from the ventrals; tail, strongly forked.