he second,
and they are seldom found in the same waters. As the black bass is a
fly-taking fish and a strong fighter, it is as valuable to the angler
as a trout and is highly esteemed. Bass-flies are _sui generis_,
but incline more to the nature of salmon-flies than trout-flies. An
artificial frog cast with a fly-rod or very light spinning-rod is also
a favourite lure. For the rest the fish will take almost anything in
the nature of worms or small fish, like its cousin the perch. A 4 lb
bass is a good fish, but five-pounders are not uncommon. Black bass
have to some extent been acclimatized in France.

The _ruffe_ or _pope_ (_Acerina vulgaris_) is a little fish common in
the Thames and many other slow-flowing English rivers. It is very
like the perch in shape but lacks the dusky bars which distinguish
the other, and is spotted with dark brown spots on a golden olive
background. It is not of much use to the angler as it seldom exceeds
3 oz. in weight. It takes small worms, maggots and similar baits
greedily, and is often a nuisance when the angler is expecting better
fish. Allied to the perches is the pike-perch, of which two species
are of some importance to the angler, one the wall-eye of eastern
America (_Stizostedion vitreum_) and the other the zander of Central
Europe (_Sandrus lucioperca_). The last especially is a fine fighter,
occasionally reaching a weight of 20 lb. It is usually caught by
spinning, but will take live-baits, worms and other things of that
nature. The Danube may be described as its headquarters. It is a fish
whose sporting importance will be more realized as anglers on the
continent become more numerous.

_Cyprinidae_.--The carp family (_Cyprinidae_) is a large one and its
members constitute the majority of English sporting fishes. In America
the various kinds of chub, sucker, dace, shiner, &c. are little
esteemed and are regarded as spoils for the youthful angler only, or
as baits for the better fish in which the continent is so rich. In
England, however, the _Cyprinidae_ have an honoured place in the
affections of all who angle "at the bottom," while in Europe some of
them have a commercial value as food-fishes. In India at least one
member of the family, the mahseer, takes rank with the salmon as a
"big game" fish.

_Carp, Tench, Barbel, Bream_.--The family as represented in England
may be roughly divided into two groups, those which feed on the bottom
purely and those which occasionally t