WHITE SEA BASS AND WEAKFISH 



out of it a splendid peacock-blue, almost iridescent, especially 

 about the head. The belly is a rich silver. 



The Gulf of California species is plentiful near the bores of 

 the Eio Colorado. It enters the little bays or indentations north 

 of Tiburon, especiaUy near Altar, following up the tidal bores to 

 feed upon the small fry. Colonel C. P. Morehous of the Tuna 

 Club informed me that he cast for them from the beach here and 

 took specimens that ran up to one hundred pounds. I caught 

 them in the lagoon off the Eio Yaqui, though not of this size, 

 and had some interesting contests "with them along the picturesque 

 coast north of Guaymas. The Hon. C. G. Conn, who has made 

 the trip in his yacht Comfort from Santa Catahna to the GulE 

 several times, is, doubtless, more famiUar with this fish at its 

 largest size than any other American angler. His photographs 

 show some extraordinary fishes, both as to size and weight ; 

 bass that required heavy tackle, muscle and endurance to play 

 and bring to gaff. 



It is more than useless to attempt to compare the game 

 qualities of various fishes, hence I can but say that the white 

 sea bass of the Santa Catahna Channel averages well with the 

 yellowtail. In several instances, I have taken five of these fishes 

 in a single forenoon, not one hundred feet from the shore of 

 Avalon Bay, each fish weigMng fifty pounds, and each fish 

 giving me a play beyond criticism. Again, I have troUed and 

 cast over a school of twenty, thirty, forty, fifty pounders for days 

 and never had a strike. StiU again, I have heard anglers say 

 that taking the white sea bass was like ' logging.' 



The moral of all this is that no two fishes are alike, and no 

 two of any kind agree in fighting or other qualities. I have 

 fought hours with a tuna, and the following year saw a man, 

 who had never taken a fish larger than a trout, land a tima in 

 ten minutes, a catch which convinced him that all thri stories 

 about the desperate playing of this fish were pigments of the 

 imagination. The explanation is that a certain fish may be sick, 

 starved, weak from spawning, or incapacitated for a struggle 



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