THE SEA-BASS OF SANTA CATALINA 



385 



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 resembles the fresh-water Bass 

 Family that it is almost impossible to base dis- 

 tinctive characters upon skeletal differences. The 

 Sea-Bass Family, of North American waters, con- 

 tains 104 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 Jewflsh, or Black Sea-Bass, 1 of 

 Santa Catalina anglers, is one of the largest of 

 the spiny-finned fishes. During the last ten 

 years it has become celebrated because it per- 

 mits itself to be outwitted so easily by the ama- 

 teur 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 Greenland 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 sixteen-ounce rod, and kill 

 it, without even getting upset, is a feat worth 

 while. If a large Sea-Bass possessed the cour- 

 age and fighting qualities, pound for pound, of 

 the fresh-water black bass, it would take a hawser 

 and a donkey engine to handle the line, a tug- 

 boat to withstand the shock, and a bomb-lance 

 to kill the fish when alongside. 



In the Tuna Club of Santa Catalina (southern 

 California), the holders of cups and records for 

 the capture of Sea-Bass during the past five 

 seasons were as follows: H. T. Kendall, Pasadena, 

 1902, 419 pounds; A. C. Thompson, Pomona, 

 1901, 384 pounds; F. S. Schenck, Brooklyn, 

 1900, 384 pounds; T. S. Manning, Avalon, 1899, 



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. 



370 pounds; and F. V. Rider, Avalon, 1898, 327 

 pounds. 



On our Atlantic coast, from Charleston to 

 Brazil, occurs another huge fish to which the 

 popular name "Jewflsh" is applied. It is 

 really the Black Grouper.- Its normal weight 

 is 500 pounds, and "only one specimen weigh- 

 ing less than 100 pounds" has been recorded. 

 (Jordan and Evermann.) I have reason to 



Photographed by Ironmonger. 



BLACK SEA-BASS. 



Caught at Santa Catalina. with rod and reel, by Mrs. 

 A. W. .Barrett, of Los Angeles. Weight, 416 pounds; 

 length, 7 feet 10 inches; girth, 5 feet 11 inches. Time, 

 2 hours and 15 minutes. 



know the appearance of this fish quite well. It 

 is a great, hulking, coarse-grained creature, un- 

 attractive to the eye, except that of the success- 

 ful light-tackle angler, and very inferior on the 

 table. In no point has it the look of a high- 

 class animal, for every line is coarse and plebeian ; 

 but it has the avoirdupois of a Wonder. 



The Striped Bass, 3 Rock-Fish, or Rock, 

 is the finest representative of the whole great 

 Family of Sea-Basses. It is a fish of handsome 



2 Gar-ru'pa ni-gri'ta. 3 Roc'cus lin-e-a'tus. 



