THE CISCO

(_Argyrosomus artedi sisco_)

The cisco, or so-called "lake-herring," was first described by the French ichthyologist, Le Sueur, in 1818, from Lake Erie and the Niagara River. He named it in honor of Petrus Artedi, the a.s.sociate of Linnaeus, and the "Father of Ichthyology." The variety _sisco_ was described and named by Dr. David Starr Jordan, in 1875, from Lake Tippecanoe, Indiana.

It was for a long time supposed to exist only in Lake Geneva. Wisconsin, except in the Great Lakes, and an absurd opinion was prevalent that there was an underground communication between that lake and Lake Superior by which the cisco entered it. Soon after Dr. Jordan had discovered it in Tippecanoe Lake I found it in several lakes in Wisconsin, as La Belle, Oconomowoc, and Okauchee. The cisco is somewhat smaller than the lake-herring, but otherwise it is about the same. It is almost elliptical in outline, the body being compressed. The mouth is rather large, with the jaws more projecting than in the lake white-fishes. The coloration is bluish or greenish on the back, with silvery sides and white belly. The scales are sprinkled with black specks. It is a very pretty fish, is gregarious, swimming in large schools, and feeds on the minute organisms found in lakes of good depth.

It remains in deep water most of the year, but resorts to shallower water in the summer, preparatory to sp.a.w.ning. From the last of May to June, when the May-fly appears in vast swarms on the western lakes, the cisco approaches the surface to feed on them. It is at this time that they take an artificial fly of a grayish hue. It grows to a length of ten or twelve inches, and is highly esteemed as a food-fish.

At Lake Geneva, when the May-fly appears, crowds of anglers a.s.semble to cast the artificial fly and the natural "cisco-fly," as the May-fly is called. A very light trout fly-rod with corresponding tackle can be utilized for cisco, with gray hackle, gray drake, or green drake, on hooks Nos. 8 to 10. The fishing is done from boats or the sh.o.r.e. In using the natural fly the same sized hooks mentioned will answer. As the May-fly alights on every object, the boat and clothing of the angler as well, the supply of bait is constant and convenient.

The cisco can be caught in winter, through the ice, in water from fifty to seventy-five feet deep, and many are taken in this way from the lakes near Oconomowoc, Wisconsin. A small white or bright object is used as a decoy to attract the fish, which is kept in motion near the baited hook, and on a separate line. The bait may be a very small bit of white bacon or ham fat, or fish flesh, though insect larva is better.

When the talismanic words, "The cisco is running," are p.r.o.nounced, crowds of anglers from Chicago, Milwaukee, and all intermediate points, with a unanimity of purpose, rush as one man to the common centre of Lake Geneva, in eager antic.i.p.ation of the brief but happy season of "ciscoing." Anglers of every degree--armed with implements of every description, from the artistic split-bamboo rod of four ounces to the plebeian cane pole or bucolic sapling of slender proportions, and with lines of enamelled silk, linen, or wrapping cord--vie with one another in good-natured rivalry in the capture of the silvery cisco. Very little skill is required to fill the creel, as the schools are on the surface of the water in myriads, and the most bungling cast may hook a fish.

Though the etymology of the cisco is unknown, it is a veritable ent.i.ty, whose name is legion during the month of June at Lake Geneva.

The cisco is a localized variety of the so-called lake-herring of the Great Lakes, and holds the same relation to it that the landlocked salmon does to the Atlantic salmon. Being confined to small lakes, the cisco does not grow so large as the lake herring. Before the Chicago and Milwaukee railway was built, in Wisconsin, there was a plank road extending from Milwaukee to Watertown, and thirty miles west of Milwaukee this road crossed the outlet of Oconomowoc Lake. Within fifty yards or so of the bridge there stood a roadside tavern where the freight wagons stopped at noon on their way from Lake Michigan to Watertown. I have been informed by old residents of that section that in the fall of the year, about the sp.a.w.ning period of the cisco, boxes of fresh fish were frequently carried by these wagons, some of which were cleaned and dressed for dinner on the bank of the outlet of the lake, and the offal thrown into the stream. It is not unlikely, inasmuch as the fish were so recently caught, that the eggs and milt of the cisco thus became commingled, fertilizing the eggs, which were subsequently hatched. This opinion is supported by the fact that the cisco is found in that locality only in the chain of lakes composed of Oconomowoc, Okauchee, and La Belle lakes, all of which are connected by Oconomowoc River. It is possible that Lake Geneva was stocked in a similar manner from Racine or Kenosha. If it is objected that eggs from dead fish would not be fertilized, there is still a tenable theory: When the fish are taken from the nets alive, many of them are so ripe that the eggs and milt ooze from them. Under these circ.u.mstances some of the eggs would become fertilized without a doubt, and by adhering to the fish when placed in the boxes for transportation, they might be carried to the place mentioned, and there deposited in the stream in the manner related.

CHAPTER VIII

THE DRUM FAMILY

(_Sciaenidae_)

The drumfish or croaker family is quite a large one, comprising nearly one hundred and fifty species, inhabiting the sandy sh.o.r.es of the seas or the brackish water of the bays and estuaries, sometimes ascending tributary rivers to fresh water; the fresh-water drum, hereafter to be described, however, is the only species permanently residing in fresh water. The members of this family have usually an elongate body, with rough-edged (ctenoid) scales; the dorsal fin is deeply notched, or in some species separated into two fins, with the soft-rayed portion, or the second dorsal, composed of many rays, while the spiny-rayed portion has but few; some have barbels, but all have large ear-bones; the air-bladder is usually large and complicated, and is supposed to be the source of the drumming, croaking, or grunting sounds common to most of the species.

_Cynoscion regalis._ The Weakfish. Body elongate, somewhat compressed; head 3-1/8; depth 4-1/4; eye 6; D. X-I, 27; A. II, 12; scales 6-56-11; mouth large, maxillary reaching beyond pupil; teeth sharp, in narrow bands, canines large; soft dorsal and a.n.a.l fins scaly, the scales caducous; gill-rakers long and slender, _x_ + 11.

_Cynoscion nothus._ The b.a.s.t.a.r.d Weakfish. Body elongate, slightly compressed; head 3-1/2; depth 3-3/4; eye 4; D. X-I, 27; A. II, 9 or 10; scales 6-60-7; mouth moderate, maxillary reaching posterior margin of pupil; snout short; body rather deep and more compressed than above species; back somewhat elevated; caudal fin weakly double concave; gill-rakers long and slender, 4 + 9.

_Menticirrhus saxatilis._ The Kingfish. Body elongate, but little compressed; head 4; depth 4-1/2; eye small 7; D. X-I, 26; A. I, 8; scales 7-53-9; mouth large, maxillary reaching middle of eye; spinous dorsal elevated; pectoral fins long; teeth villiform; snout long and bluntish; scales all ctenoid.

_Micropogon undulatus._ The Croaker. Body rather robust, the back somewhat elevated and compressed; head 3; depth 3-1/3; eye 5; D. X-I, 28; A. II, 7; scales 9-54-12; mouth rather large, maxillary reaching front of eye; profile rounded; snout convex, prominent; preopercle strongly serrate; a.n.a.l under middle of soft dorsal; caudal fin double truncate; gill-rakers very short and slender, 7 + 16.

_Leiostomus xanthurus._ The Lafayette. Body oblong, ovate, the back compressed; head 3-1/2; depth 3; eye 3-1/2; D. X-I, 31; A. II, 12; back in front of dorsal high, convex and compressed to a sharp edge; profile steep and convex, depressed over the eyes; mouth small and inferior, maxillary reaching to below pupil; snout blunt; pharyngeals with three series of molars posteriorly; teeth in upper jaw minute, none in lower jaw in adult; gill-rakers short and slender, 8 + 22; caudal long and forked.

THE WEAKFISH

(_Cynoscion regalis_)

The weakfish, or squeteague, was first described by Bloch and Schneider, in 1801, from the vicinity of New York. They named it _regalis_, or "royal." In the Southern states it is called gray-trout and sea-trout.

The name weakfish is doubtless derived from the Dutch, and is said to have originally meant a soft fish. Jacob Steendam, in a poem in "Praise of New Netherland," in 1661, has

"Weekvis, en Schol, en Carper, Bot, en Snoek,"

meaning weakfish, plaice, carp, turbot, and pike. The name squeteague is of Indian origin.

The natural habitat of the weakfish is along the Atlantic coast south of Cape Cod, occasionally straying to the Gulf of Mexico. It is most abundant between Buzzards Bay and Chesapeake Bay. It is a handsome, shapely fish, resembling somewhat the salmon in outline. It has a robust body, with a depth of about one-fourth of its length. It has a long, pointed head, nearly as long as the depth of the body. The mouth is large, with projecting lower jaw. The teeth are sharp, in narrow bands, with several fanglike canines in front of the upper jaw. The dorsal fins are but slightly separated, and the caudal fin is almost square.

The color of the back and top of the head is bluish or bluish gray, with silvery sides and white belly, and with purple and golden iridescence. A series of dark, diffused spots or blotches form transverse or oblique streaks, more p.r.o.nounced on the upper part of the body, from whence they run downward and forward. The cheeks and gill-covers are silvery and chin yellowish; the ventral and a.n.a.l fins are orange; dorsal fin dusky; pectoral fins yellowish; caudal fin with upper part dark and lower part yellowish.

The weakfish is a warm-water fish, visiting the coast and bays during the spring, summer, and fall, though more abundant in the summer. They are surface feeders, and swim in large schools in quest of menhaden, scup, and other small fishes. They are more numerous some seasons than others, probably owing to certain conditions affecting their food, temperature of water, and the abundance or scarcity of their enemy, the bluefish. They seldom, if ever, ascend the streams to fresh water, but remain about the outer beaches, entering the inlets and estuaries on the flood tide in pursuit of their prey, and go out again with the ebb; at least this is the habit of the largest fish, known as "tide-runners."

Smaller fish probably remain in the bays and bayous, resorting to deep holes at low water.

Its breeding habits are not well understood, though it sp.a.w.ns in the bays in early summer, about May or June. The eggs are quite small, about thirty to the inch, are buoyant or floating, and hatch in a few days, usually in two. I have taken many hundreds in Chesapeake Bay in August, but do not remember ever catching one containing roe during that month.

It is an excellent food-fish if perfectly fresh, but soon deteriorates, becoming quite soft and losing its characteristic flavor when out of the water a few hours. It is quite an important commercial fish during summer in the eastern markets. Small ones, below a pound in weight, are delicious pan-fish; larger ones should be baked. Its usual weight is two or three pounds, and its maximum ten or twelve; occasionally they are taken still heavier--twenty or twenty-five pounds.

Being a surface feeder it is a good game-fish on light tackle, taking bait or an artificial fly with a rush and snap that reminds one of a trout, and for a short time it resists capture bravely. Its first spurt, when hooked, is a grand one, and when checked darts in various directions, making for the weeds if any are near, or toward the bottom, or rushing to the surface leaps out, shaking itself madly to dislodge the hook. It must be handled carefully and gingerly, for it has a tender mouth from which the hook is apt to be torn if too much strain is exerted at first.

A very light striped-ba.s.s rod may be utilized, but the most suitable is the "Little Giant" rod of seven and one-half feet and eight ounces in ash and lancewood. A good multiplying reel with fifty yards of braided linen line, size G, a three-foot leader, and snelled hooks, Sproat the best. Nos. 1-0 to 3-0 for the tide-runners, and Nos. 1 or 2 for school fish, together with a landing-net, const.i.tute the rest of the tackle.

The most satisfactory mode of fishing for weakfish is from a boat anch.o.r.ed near the channel, or tied to a pier or wharf in a tideway. The time for fishing is on the flood tide, from half flood to half ebb, as the tide-runners are going in or out in large schools. As little noise as possible should be made by any necessary movements in the boat, as the fish are easily frightened. Long casts should be made toward the advancing or retreating fish, and the bait kept in motion by being reeled in. No sinker or float is required, as the bait must be kept near the surface. Menhaden or minnows, shedder-crab, lobster, bloodworms, clam, and shrimp are all good natural baits. A small spinner, or a small mother-of-pearl squid, if reeled in rapidly, often proves very taking; also a large, gaudy fly, as the red ibis, soldier, silver doctor, Jock Scott, royal coachman, etc., can be used with good effect when the fish are running strongly and in goodly numbers.

Still-fishing, with a float, and a sinker adapted to the strength of the tidal current, can be practised in the eddies of the tide, or at slack water near deep holes, using the natural baits mentioned. Another method is casting with heavy hand-line in the surf from the outside beaches, using block tin or bone squids, and hauling the fish in, when hooked, by main strength. The largest fish are taken in this way; but while it is in a degree exciting, it can only be said to be fishing, not angling.

Many anglers, however, prefer it to any other mode of fishing. Another favorite method, but a tame one, is drifting with the wind and tide, following a school of fish and taking them by trolling with hand-line.

If suitable rods and tackle were used, it would not be objectionable.

Next to the striped-ba.s.s the weakfish is the most important game-fish of the East Coast, and to judge from the greater number of anglers who pursue "weakfishing," it is far and away the favorite with the majority.

The estuaries and bays of the Jersey coast, Long Island, and Staten Island, and along the Sound, afford good fishing in the season and at favorable stages of the tide. These localities are more frequented by anglers than any other section of the East Coast. While ideal angling can only be found on inland waters in casting the fly for salmon, black-ba.s.s, or trout, amidst the rural and pastoral scenes of hill and hollow, with the birds and sweet-scented blossoms ever near the rippling streams--a full measure of enjoyment is vouchsafed to the salt-water angler in the exhilarating sail to the fishing-banks, the sunlit crests of the incoming tide, and the health-giving ozone of the chlorinated breeze. Then follows the ready response of the gamy weakfish to the angler's lure, the brave fight and happy landing of the prize. This is surely sport galore, and not to be gainsaid by the most prejudiced.

THE b.a.s.t.a.r.d WEAKFISH

(_Cynoscion nothus_)

The b.a.s.t.a.r.d weakfish was first described by Dr. Holbrook, in 1860, from the coast of South Carolina. He named it _nothus_, meaning "b.a.s.t.a.r.d," in contradistinction to the well-known weakfish just described. It is a rare fish of the South Atlantic coast, preferring deep water, but otherwise of similar habits, and of the same general form as the weakfish of the northern waters. It differs from it in coloration, and has somewhat smaller scales, a smaller mouth, and more compressed body, which is also a little deeper and more elevated. Its color is grayish-silvery, thickly sprinkled with small, dark specks on the upper half of the body, and silvery below, a row of dark spots marking the division. There is another species inhabiting the Gulf coast which will be noticed later. Whenever met with they can be taken by the same methods and with the same tackle as recommended for the northern weakfish.

THE KINGFISH

(_Menticirrhus saxatilis_)

The kingfish is also known as barb and sea mink in the North, and in the South as whiting. It was first described by Bloch and Schneider, in 1801, from the vicinity of New York. They named it _saxatilis_, meaning "living among rocks," which by the way it does not do, as it prefers hard, sandy shoals. Its range extends along the Atlantic coast south of Buzzards Bay, occasionally straying to the Gulf of Mexico. It is most abundant, however, between Montauk Point and Cape Hatteras.

It has a long, rather round body, not much compressed, its depth being nearly a fourth of its length. The head is long, with a blunt snout projecting beyond the mouth, which is small, with tough, leathery lips, and with a single barbel on the chin. Both jaws have bands of small, brushlike teeth, the outer ones in the upper jaw somewhat longer. The upper angle of the caudal fin is sharp, the lower angle rounded.

Its color is gray with steely l.u.s.tre on the back, fading gradually to the belly, which is bluish white. There are several dark, oblique bands, running from the back downward and forward, and one extending from the nape downward, forming a broad "V" with the one next to it; along the border of the belly is a horizontal dark streak running from the middle of the body to the tail.

The kingfish is a bottom feeder, and as might be inferred from the character of the teeth is partial to crabs, shrimps, young lobsters, and mussels, but does not object to the sand-lance and other small fishes, and sandworms, and is found on the hard, sandy shoals where such organisms abound. It visits the sh.o.r.es from spring until November, but is more abundant in the summer, when it enters the bays and rivers. It is usually found in deep water, feeding along the channels. Although it seems to consort a good deal with the weakfish, its habits of feeding are quite different from that fish. It sp.a.w.ns in the summer, earlier or later, according to the temperature of the water, though but little is known of its breeding habits.

Its flesh is flaky, of firm texture, and has a delicious flavor when perfectly fresh, which, however, is lost when out of the water a short time. It is of small size, usually weighing from a half pound to two pounds, though occasionally reaching five or six pounds. But although so small it is justly esteemed and in great demand, the smaller ones as pan-fishes, for breakfast, and the larger ones for chowders, for which it is unexcelled by any other fish.

For its size, the kingfish is considered the gamest of all salt-water fishes. It bites savagely, suddenly, and with a vim and purpose that are sometimes startling to the unwary angler. And when he takes the proffered bait he stands not upon the order of going, but goes at once, and with a dash that is remarkable for its length in so small a fish.

When checked, he darts from side to side with amazing quickness, or makes straight for the surface, when the angler is surprised to find him of so small a size. He is _multum in parvo_,--a large soul in a small body.

In sheltered estuaries and bays where the tide does not run strongly or swiftly, or during the stages of slack water, the most suitable tackle consists of a black-ba.s.s bait-rod and reel, one hundred yards of fine braided linen line, a three-foot leader, and Sproat hooks, Nos. 1 or 1-0, on stout gut snells, the leader being connected with the line by a bra.s.s box-swivel or swivel-sinker of small size. Where the rush of the tide is greater, a natural bamboo chum rod or the Little Giant rod is appropriate, as a heavy sinker must be used to keep the bait near the bottom. To meet the varying conditions of the tide, sinkers of different weights are needed, and a landing-net should not be forgotten when the rod is a light one.