The White Sea-bass 23 
of a grayish golden color above, merging into 
silver upon the belly. About the head, the scales 
were iridescent, flashing all the hues of a pea- 
cock, blue and green, a dazzling creature when 
seen just from the water. The fish was well 
proportioned, long, fairly slender, a noble fish, 
and well named Cyzosczon nobis (Ayres), the 
weakfish of California. 
This bass represents a genus well known in 
American waters, about twenty species having 
been described. It ranges the coast of California 
even to Canada, and is most common from south 
of Magdalena Bay to Santa Barbara; but it is 
very uncertain in its movements, and equally so 
in biting. The season may, theoretically, be said 
to be from May 1 to July, or even August, but 
some seasons the fish is very rare and will not 
bite; again it comes in numbers and affords 
sport long to be remembered. 
~ On the first of May, 1899, with a fellow-angler 
ten of these fishes, all over fifty pounds in weight, 
were taken between nine and twelve o'clock, not 
one hundred feet from the beach in Avalon Bay. 
A large school entered the bay and remained ten 
days, affording excellent sport. In our boat, my 
companion and I each hooked a large fish at the 
