Page:British Reptiles, Amphibians, and Fresh-water Fishes.djvu/127

RUFFE AND BASS Ruffe is not a very interesting species, but its flesh is quite good eating, although it used to annoy me (the fish not the flesh) in days gone by when I used to catch scores of Daddy-Ruffe's, as we boys called them, and rarely anything else. Spawning takes place in early Spring, when the fish make their way to weedy margins or shallows. It has acquired its name because of the roughness of the scales, but it is difficult to throw any light on the alternative name of Pope.

Bass,—Morone labrax (Fig. 62). This species is both a salt and fresh-water inhabitant. It is a marine relative of the Perch, but differs from the members of that family by having three spines instead of one or two on the anal fin. It is quite a nice-looking fish, and a 10 to 15 pounds Bass may be looked upon as a rare prize. It exceeds that weight, but a specimen of a few pounds is a good capture. It is more or less silvery in colour, with the prickly dorsal fin resembling that of the Perch, except that the spines are fewer. It resorts to the sea until it is 109