110 CHANNEL ISLANDS OF CALIFORNL^. 



see this colossal fish moving slowly about not fifteen 

 feet below, browsing, as it were, along the sides of 

 this mountain of the sea. I have seen these fishes 

 in the act of biting, standing on their heads literally, 

 toying with the bait, taking it up to drop it, and when 

 they felt the hook, dashing away with a force which 

 tossed the heavy leaves of kelp about like chaff. 



In winter the bass doubtless go offshore to some of 

 the banks or into deep water, from which they are 

 often hooked and caught. They are common around 

 the Coronados. Mr. C. G. Conn, who has a sea bat 

 twenty-five feet across to his credit, found them in 

 great numbers about the islands of the Gulf of Cali- 

 fornia, and made some record catches in 1908-09. 



The young of this fish are edible, but the flesh of 

 the large fishes is extremely dry, — a fact which was 

 discovered several years ago by some one who began 

 to catch the black sea bass as a commercial commodity. 

 The big bass was cut up and canned as "boneless 

 cod," and for months people wondered what had 

 happened to the codfish; it could not be chewed beyond 

 a certain stage. 



The black sea bass when alive is a handsome fish 

 of the black-bass type, fin for fin. In the water he 

 looks blue, but is, in reality, a dark mahogany tint 

 above, lighter beneath. The eye is large, and blue. 

 All in all, the fish is a dignified and attractive fellow. 



It would seem impossible that a woman could land 

 such a fish with rod and reel, but numbers of notable 

 catches have been made by women, notably that of 

 Mrs. A. W. Barrett, of Los Angeles. 



The Tuna Club recognizes the game qualities of the 

 black sea bass by offering various cups and medals 



