Sunfish, Carp, Catfish And Suckers

( Originally Published 1912 )

WRITERS on the subject of fishing commonly group the various fish under their family heads, the classification of the naturalists being used. I have not followed this rule and the only way I can bring these above named fish all under one head is to class them as "common fishes." It is by this title that this group of fish is generally known.

The sunfish family comprises many species. Our gamey black bass, both the large and small mouthed kinds, belong to it. The others are the rock bass, the common sunfish, the calico bass, the crappie, the blue sunfish, the long eared sun-fish, the warmouth perch, etc. These are also known in localities under many other names, which is confusing. As the mode of fishing for all of these is about the same, I will first describe the fish separately and then tell how to catch them.

The common sunfish, often known as the pumpkin seed, is found throughout the Eastern States, the Great Lakes region, and the northern-central states. It is a small, flat fish, being "most as wide as long" and has many colors on its scaley sides. The predominating colors are blue and yellow, being bluish on the back and yellow or golden color beneath, the dorsal fin which is very large, being yellow with blue rays; the ear tip is black with a scarlet border, and the iris of the eye is also scarlet. It is such a common fish that al-most everybody in the East who has ever done any fishing is familiar with it. It is seldom more than four or five inches long, though it is said that it sometimes attains a length of eight inches.

The rock bass is also known as goggle-eye and red eye It is found all through the northern and central states and farther south. It looks a little like a black bass but is broader, and is much smaller, seldom weighing more than a pound and usually only half as much. It shows a number of colors, dark olive-green and yellow predominating. The iris of the eye is red, and there is a black spot on the gill cover. Rows of small, dark spots run along the sides.

The strawberry bass or calico bass, also known as the northern crappie and many other names, is found in the region south of the Great Lakes and throughout the Missisisppi Valley; also in the streams of all of the Atlantic Coast states from New Jersey southward. It has the typical sunfish shape, but has a flatter and thinner body than the others. It seldom reaches a length of more than ten inches, or a greater weight than one pound, but much larger ones are said to exist in some waters. The general color is olive-green, dark on the back and pale beneath. The sides are covered all over with dark sports;. the fins are mottled.

The crappie supplants the calico bass in the south. It resembles the latter fish very much, but when specimens of each are compared a difference will be noted. The best way to distinguish them is by counting the. spines in the dorsal fin (on back) ; the crappie has six of these and the calico bass has seven. It is also of a paler color.

The blue sunfish is found almost all over the eastern, central and southern states. In Ohio, and other of the central states, it is known as the blue-gill and in the South as blue bream and coppernosed bream. It is larger than the common sunfish and sometimes attains a weight of a pound or a pound and a half, but usually is lighter. The coloring is greenish or bluish, sometimes a slate color, lighter on the sides, and the under parts are copper colored or red. The ear cover is dark or black.

The long eared sunfish is found throughout the Mississippi Valley, and in the east coast streams ; also in the Gulf States. It gets its name from the large ear flap. It has a red iris eye, in common with the other true sunfish. It is bluish on the back and orange, brown or yellow on the under parts. The ventral and anal fins (fins on under parts) are blue, and the dorsal fin is orange color with blue rays. It is about the same size as the common sunfish.

The warmouth perch is also a sunfish, and is sometimes called the black sunfish. In appearance it resembles some-what a black bass but is broader in proportion to length, more like the rock bass. It is found in the South and also in the northern part of the Mississippi Valley. It is a dark olive-green on the back, lighter on the sides, with orange or red and blue spots, and greenish yellow on the under parts. It never weighs more than a pound. As a game fish it is quite a favorite and takes either a fly or natural bait.

All of the sunfish spawn in spring and early summer. The nest is made in a bed of sand or gravel in shallow water and is carefully guarded by the parent fish. After the fry make their appearance they are guarded by the male fish until several days old. Their food consists of insects, larvae, crustaceans, the fry and eggs of other fish, worms, etc.

Sunfish of nearly all kinds will rise to a fly. The best fishing is to be had in late afternoon and evening, when a light breeze is blowing. The tackle should be a light fly rod, the lighter the better, a small single action reel, smallest enameled silk line, light single gut leader, three feet long, and small trout flies.

It should be understood by all who read this book that what I describe as the "best" tackle is the kind I think best, and you may have different ideas on this subject. I would not expect anybody to buy a special fly outfit for catching sunfish, but I mean that this is what I consider most fitting, and if you have such tackle, use it, but if you have not got that kind, use what you have, for almost any kind of fish can be taken with almost any kind of tackle, if it is properly handled. You can catch sunfish with a long cane pole, a cotton line, ringed hook and bait, but will get more enjoyment out of your fishing if you have fine, light tackle to use for them. As a further illustration, large muskellunge, pike, and Atlantic salmon have been taken with a common light' trout fly rod and tackle, and the large and gamey ocean fish are sometimes taken on tackle as light as that sometimes used for black bass and such fish at the same time they are hauled in by fishermen using a heavy handline. Therefore, when I say that a rod of this kind, and that kind of a line, is the kind to use. I mean that if you have that kind, use it, or if you want to buy special tackle for that kind of fish, buy the kind described, otherwise, use what you have --be content with it and enjoy your fishing, for you will not enjoy it much if you are continually thinking of some other person's fine tackle, and the common outfit that you have to use.

For bait fishing you may use the fly outfit described, and snelled hooks of size 6, 8 or 10. For the crappie you can use a No. 4 or No. 5 hook. Snelled Carlisle hooks are about the best in my opinion, and a split shot sinker should be placed on the leader, or on the line if you do not use a leader. Or you may use the lightest bait rod, with a small reel, either single action or multiplier, an undressed or an oiled silk line of small size, or the lightest twisted linen line. I would prefer a very small silk line, like the Kingfisher Special Trout line, oiled or enameled. Or you can use a native cane rod and no reel, but the same line, hooks and sinker. You will get the most sport from using the lightest tackle, and I think you will get more fish also, but you should not use an outfit that is too weak to hold a large fish of some other kind, such as a black bass for instance, for you can never be sure what you will catch. The little silk line mentioned is no thicker than a coarse button thread, but will stand a strain of ten pounds, and that is strong enough for almost any ordinary fresh water fish if it is handled in the right way.

The larger sunfish, such as rock bass and crappies, may be taken on a live minnow bait; the very small minnows with a stripe on the side, those about two inches long, are the ones to use. Hook them lightly just under the dorsal fin. Cast the bait and let it sink well down, then reel in very slowly. After all there is nothing better than the common angle-worm. Use the smaller ones and bait the hock so that the worm can wiggle. Soft-shelled crawfish, or the peeled tail of a hard shelled one also makes good bait. A single gut leader should always be used, and a split buckshot for a sinker. I don't think it necessary to mention the various places they are likely to be found at certain times, and other such information, for the angler will soon learn this if he fishes often in the same waters, and nothing that I could tell would be of any special value.

Another very common fish is the yellow perch, or ringed perch. It is found in eastern Canada, the region immediately north of the Great Lakes, the upper Mississippi Valley, Michigan,. Indiana, Ohio, and all of the states bordering on the Atlantic ocean. It is a nicely shaped fish, a little wide in proportion to length, with a high back and rather small head. The back is olive and the sides yellow, lighter beneath, and over the back and sides are some six or seven dark vertical bands, like finger prints.

The yellow perch reaches, in some waters, a weight of two pounds, though it is usually under a pound in weight. It is a gamey fish, and an excellent food fish when taken from good waters.

Perch may be caught by still fishing, with the same outfit described and recommended for sunfish. Baits are the same as for sunfish, but almost any kind of bait will do. A small casting spoon will also catch them, and sometimes they rise well to a fly.

The white perch is a sea fish, but is caught in the brackish waters on the Atlantic coast, at the river mouths It does very well when transplanted to fresh water and sometimes ascends the streams quite a distance. It grows a little larger than the yellow perch. It is caught with the same kind of tackle and the same bait, also shrimp, shedder crab, small eel, etc.

The white bass is one of the true basses, and one of the two that live in fresh water, for most of the bass are sea fish. It is found in certain waters in the upper Mississippi Valley; also in Lake Michigan and Lake Erie. Its usual weight is about a pound, but specimens of two pounds or more have been taken. The fish takes a fly well and may be caught with trout fly tackle; also with bait such as for sunfish. Like sunfish, these fish go in schools, and when you find a school, or when the fish come your way you can expect good sport until they have moved on again.

The yellow bass is found only in the lower Mississippi and its tributaries. It resembles the white bass very much, and is caught in the same way, with the same kind of bait.

A fish that interests many because it is so abundant and grows to a large size, and yet is very difficult to catch, is the carp. They are not a good food fish, but may be eaten if properly prepared and cooked. They should be skinned so that the "muddy taste" will be removed. At the best they are a coarse and flavorless fish.

The carp is not a native of this country, but was introduced from Europe. At first it was kept only in private ponds, but it was not long in finding its way into the streams, where it increased in numbers at a rapid rate. At present it is found in the lakes and streams of almost all parts of the United States. 'Carp are abundant in Lake Erie and are netted in large numbers for the market, finding a ready sale in the Jewish quarters of the large cities.

The carp usually, when full grown, weighs five or six pounds, but specimens of ten or even fifteen pounds have been taken. The fish does best in stagnant, mud-bottomed, and weedy streams and ponds. It feeds on the bottom, in deep water usually, eating both vegetable and animal food.

The only successful way of catching carp with hook and line is by the old-time English method. A very light, but strong line is used, and a six-foot single gut leader. The hook should be very small, about 10 or 12, and the sinker is a single split buckshot. A quill float is used. It is not necessary to have a reel, and the rod may be of common cane, but a bait rod and reel may be used. The sinker is placed about six or eight inches above the hook and the quill float so placed that the sinker will just reach the bottom when the line is stretched up. This outfit is prepared and the feeding place of the fish looked up in advance of the actual fishing, and the place is well baited the evening before to get the carp to working there. Green corn, angleworms, minced meat, bread and small dough balls are used for baiting the water, and for baiting the hook a red worm or a pill of half baked dough, or a piece of clam may be used. The hook should be well covered so that the fish cannot feel it when he takes the bait, or he will eject it. Early in the morning and late in the evening are the best times to fish for carp. Approach cautiously and drop the bait at the proper place with as little noise and disturbance of the water as possible. Then place the rod in the rests, which should also be placed there beforehand, and retire to a little distance where you can see the float and not be seen or heard by the fish. When the float goes under water go and get your fish. If you have a reel on your rod you can handle him easily, but otherwise you should have a limber cane or wood rod, so that the line or leader will not be so likely to break. It is well also to have a landing net or a gaff hook.

And now we come to the catfish, the homeliest fish that inhabits our fresh waters, but highly esteemed by many anglers nevertheless, and generally regarded as a good food fish if we forget out prejudice and let some other person dress and cook him.

The common bullhead or horned pout has a wide distribution, being found over all parts of the eastern half of the United States, and I understand also in parts of the West. It sometimes, though rarely, reaches a length of eighteen inches and a weight of four pounds. The usual length is from ten to fourteen inches. It is an ugly fish, having a very large flat head, a large mouth, with long streamers or barbels hanging from the jaws. It has no scales, but a tough, shiny skin like an eel. The anal fin is very large, and the pectoral fins (behind the gills) have stout, sharp spines, which make ugly wounds, and the "cat" can use them much as a boxer uses his fists. The color is brown on the back, shading to yellow on the sides and light beneath.

The bullhead loves quiet, deep water, where the bottom is muddy and he thrives best there. He seems to be more at home in warm water than in cool, and you will find him active and enjoying life when all of the other fishes are seeking the cool waters and will not take a bait. But your cat-fish is ever eager to take any bait that is offered to him, providing that you put it down where he can get it without rising, for though he is not particular what he eats he does not like any unnecessary exertion on his part.

To catch bullheads, all you need is a long cane rod; a line about the same length, and a light linen line will answer as well as any other; a No. 4 hook, preferably one with a long shank, as it renders extraction easier; and a small lead sinker about ten inches above the hook. If you like you may also use a cork float to tell you when the fish is biting. You can use only one pole, or two or three, as you like for they are "set" in rests provided on the bank. After setting the rods you can light up and take things easy until a cork goes out of sight, then haul in your fish. You needn't be afraid of hurting him and he will try his best to hurt you while you are removing the hook, so look out for his spines on the pectoral fins.

For bait you may use angleworms, soft shelled crawfish, or the tail of a shelled one, a piece of liver, a mussel, or what is probably better than anything else, a strip of fresh beef. In quiet, mud bottomed water, where weeds and lilies grow, is the best for bullheads. You can catch them at any time of day, but evening or after dark is best. It is always good after a thunder shower.

Besides the bullheads there are abolit thirty other kinds of catfish found in this country. The largest is the Mississippi catfish or blue cat. It is found in the Mississippi river, and others rivers of the South; also the Great Lakes. It sometimes reaches a weight of 100 pounds, or even more.

These large ones are taken only on trot lines with large hooks baited with pieces of meat or liver.

The channel cat is a much smaller fish and though it is said to reach a weight of twenty pounds sometimes, the usual weight is five or six pounds. It is a nicer appearing fish than the other members of the family, being more slender and having a head smaller in proportion to body. The tail is forked and the anal fin is very large. It shades from dark slate on the back to white on the under side and shows a number of small black spots on the sides. It is found throughout the Mississippi Valley and the Great Lake region; also in other rivers of the Southern States. The channel cat, unlike the bullhead and other members of the catfish family, prefers running, clear, cool water, where the bottom is gravelly or stony. It is a better fish than any of the others, and takes almost any kind of natural bait, even live minnows, if they are not moved too rapidly. The tackle for this fish may be the same as for the bullhead except that line and hooks should be stronger. If desired, a black bass bait outfit can be used.

Catfish of all kinds are very tenacious of life. Fish caught in late evening will sometimes live out of water over night. It is best, though, to kill them as soon as caught more humane and they make better food. In dressing they must be skinned, and are best if soaked a few hours in salt water before cooking. Properly prepared they are very good.

Of the suckers there are many, about seventy species I am told. Of these the common white sucker is the most important. Buffalo fish and red-horse are also classed as suckers.

The white sucker is found all over the eastern and central parts of the United States and Canada. It reaches a length of twenty inches in the Great Lakes and somewhat less when found in streams, growing larger in some streams than in others. It is a smooth, cylindrical fish with large fins and the characteristic sucker mouth. It is gray on the back, light ashy on the sides and white beneath. The sucker spawns in spring, about May, and ascends the streams for this purpose. About the Great Lakes there is a heavy run of these fish in the streams, at that time of year. At such times they are taken in gill nets stretched across the streams, also by slipping a brass wire snare over the fish when they lie in shallow water, and by spearing. They do not take a bait at such times, nor during the summer when the water is clear, except on rare occasions. They are caught mostly in early spring when the rains raise the water and discolor it. At such times they feed in the eddies of the streams, or muddy bottom, and may be caught by still fishing with a number of rods, which are set, in the same way as for carp. The rod should be a long native cane, or a wood rod. Sometimes a slender, dead, white pine is trimmed of branches and knots and the bark, also some of the wood shaved off, making a fairly good rod, though cane is better. The smallest cuttyhunk linen line, or an oiled silk line, or a light cotton line is all right. Two or three No. 10 or 12 snelled hooks are fastened to the line near the end, being placed about ten inches apart, and a sinker weighing from a half ounce to an ounce is tied to the end of the line. It is a common practice to attach the sinker by means of a weaker line, so in case it gets caught between stones the weak string instead of the line will be broken. A cork is also used. The hooks should be baited with angleworms, well bunched, with an end hanging loose to wriggle.

Instead of using rods, some fishermen use hand lines, and by means of the sinker throw the bait out into deep water. then fasten the other end of the line somewhere on shore Before using such rigs it is best to look up the fishing laws and see whether these lines may be used lawfully, also how many may be used by one person, and how many hooks may be used on a line.

The buffalo fish is found in the Mississippi and its branches. It grows to a weight of fifteen pounds. It is caught by still fishing with somewhat heavier tackle, baited with worms. The large mouthed buffalo is found in the Mississippi also, as well as in other large rivers of the South and central portion of the United States. It reaches a weight of fifty pounds. Heavier, stronger tackle must be used for them. The red horse is also called a mullet It resembles the white sucker somewhat but is brown in color. Suckers are not highly esteemed as food fish but the white sucker taken from swift, hard-bottomed streams is not at all bad.

The only other bottom-feeding fish that I will mention is the eel. This is the strangest fish inhabiting fresh water and appears to be the connecting link between the fishes and something else. It is long, slender and cylindrical, usually being about two and a half feet long and only one and a half inches in diameter at the thickest part. The dorsal, anal and candal fins are all in one, commencing about the middle of the back and running clear around the tail to the under side and well forward. It has no scales, but a very tough skin. The color is slaty on the back and white beneath Some are yellow on the sides and in under.

Contrary to the rule of sea-going fish the eel breeds in salt water and sojourns in the fresh streams in summer. They frequently go up stream 500 miles from the sea, perhaps farther. When found in clear streams they are excellent food fish.

Eels are voracious and eat all kinds of small fish, crustaceans, worms, etc. They are shy and are seldom seen by day as they retire under the stones or bore into the muddy bottom as soon as daylight appears, and do not as a rule come out again until nightfall, unless the day is dark or rainy and the water muddy, when they may be caught all day long.

The tackle mentioned for suckers is good for the eel, but only one hook, and that a larger one, about No. 1, should be used. It may be baited with a worm or a piece of fish, or any kind of raw meat, for the eel is not particular what he eats. He even eats carrion when it can be found in the streams, and for this reason many people will not eat eels. Fish for them on the bottom in deep water. You can also catch them at night if it is dark, but not when it lightnings, and you must not build a fire. They are also taken on trot lines or short rods set from the bank, with short strong twine lines and large hooks, baited with pieces of fish. When caught the eel puts up a desperate struggle, and for his size he possesses greater strength than any other fish. It is almost impossible for a strong man to hold in his bare hands an eel weighing but a pound and a half, for he squirms, winds his body about your wrists, and kicks as no other fish can. It is best to wear a woolen or canvas glove when handling them, as they are more easily held then.

When eels return to salt water in late summer they may be taken in fish baskets built in the streams, if the laws allow it. The basket consists of a number of sloping shelves of slats, which allow the water to run through but catch the fish. Wings of stones extend out on each side to guide the eels into the trap. I have known of over 400 eels being taken in one night in such a trap, when the stream was rising.