186 SPINY-FINNED FISHES 



THE SEA BASS FAMILY 



Ser-ran'i-dae 



In the ocean and its dependencies there exists a Family 

 which, in general form, and anatomy also, so closely re- 

 sembles the fresh-water Bass Family that it is almost impos- 

 sible to base distinctive characters upon skeletal differences. 

 The Sea Bass Family, of North American waters, contains 

 one hundred and four species, some of which are of colossal 

 size. Whenever you go a-fishing in tropical or subtropical 

 waters, and catch a large, thick-bodied, big-scaled fish that 

 you cannot name, it is generally a safe hazard to call it a Sea 

 Bass. 



The great JEWFISH, or BLACK SEA BASS/ of Santa Cata- 

 lina anglers, is one of the largest of the spiny-finned fishes. 

 During the last ten years it has become celebrated because it 

 permits itself to be outwitted so easily by the amateur angler. 

 A very large fish can be caught with rod and line that seem 

 absurdly light for such work. 



What must we think of the courage of a 300-pound fish 

 which will permit itself to be caught and gaffed on a line 

 which will break under a strain of 50 pounds dead weight? 



With heavy tackle, the catching of a large Jewfish would 

 be no more of an event than would the pulling in of a Green- 

 land halibut; but to go with one companion miles out from 

 shore in a boat weighing from 125 to 150 pounds, catch a 

 300-pound fish on a 16-ounce rod, and kill it, without even 



1 Ster-e-o-le'pis gi'gas. It should be remembered that in another genus of this 

 Family, called Cen-tro-pris'tes, there is another species, found along our Atlantic 

 coast, that is also called the Black Sea Bass. 



