ii6 Bass, Pike, and Perch 



a third of its length ; the back is elevated over 

 the shoulder, the " hump " being more prominent 

 in males during the breeding season. The head 

 is large and thick, with a large, oblique mouth, 

 leathery lips, and projecting lower jaw. The fin 

 rays are long and slender, and the caudal fin is 

 double concave. 



Its color is bluish black, sometimes greenish 

 black or dusky brown on the back and top of the 

 head, lighter on the sides and belly. The edges 

 of the scales being dark, give a mottled, streaked, 

 or reticulated appearance. The dorsal fin has 

 several series of bluish white elongated spots ; 

 the other fins are bluish or dusky, and are more 

 or less mottled. Young specimens have a broad 

 dusky band or stripe along the sides, which later 

 becomes broken up, forming cross shades. 



The sea-bass, as its name implies, is a sea fish, 

 seldom entering brackish water. It congregates 

 in large schools about the offshore rocky reefs 

 and shoals, and about old wrecks, feeding on 

 crabs, shrimps, and other marine organisms, 

 often in company with the tautog and porgy. 

 It is a deep-water fish, and of course a bottom 

 feeder. It spawns in summer, between May and 

 August, depending on the temperature of the 



