456 
BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH COMMISSION. 
the Atlantic Coast. In May, 1890, a 6-pound fish was taken in Russian River with 
a minnow bait. In May, 1894, some weighing 4 pounds and upward were caught 
with minnows in Suisun Bay Slough. Other captures might be reported, but the 
number taken has been out of proportion to the trials made. Whether they do not 
bite so readily as in its native writers or whether the California fishermen have not 
used the proper gear, at the proper time, and in the proper places, is not known. 
STATISTICS OF THE CATCH OF STRIPED BASS. 
Following is a statement of the quantities of striped bass caught and sold by 
California fishermen in 1889, 1890, 1891, and 1892, as determined by Mr. W. A. Wilcox, 
field agent of the United States Fish Commission. The values given represent the 
gross prices received by the fishermen. 
Summary of the striped-bass catch of California in 1889, 1890, 1891, and 1893. 
Years. 
Pounds. 
Value. 
1889 
16, 296 
*4, 073 1 
1890 
20, 119 
4, 021 
1891 - 
30, 674 
4, 602 : 
1892 
56, 209 
6, 488 
Complete figures for later years are not available, but the catch for 1893 and 1894 
may be approximately determined by the receipts of these fish by the San Francisco 
dealers. In 1893 the estimated yield of striped bass was 90,000 pounds, valued at 
$10,000, and in 1894 it was not less than 170,000 pounds, for which the fishermen were 
paid $16,100. 
The aggregate value of the striped bass taken in California up to and including 
the year 1894 was between $45,000 and $50,000. The practical importance of the 
introduction of this fish to the Pacific is further emphasized when the foregoing figures 
are contrasted with the cost of its acclimatization. The entire expense connected with 
the matter was only a few hundred dollars. The investment now yields an annual 
return of $15,000 or more, and may be expected to greatly increase from year to year. 
Few achievements of fish-culture in public waters are comparable to the financial 
success of this experiment. 
FOOD QUALITIES OF THE STRIPED BASS. 
The very high price which the striped bass commanded, even after it ceased to 
be a curiosity in the San Francisco market, is evidence of the esteem in which it is 
held in California. It is generally regarded as one of the choicest fish of the State, 
and its addition to the food-fish supply is much appreciated by the public, the fisher- 
men, and dealers. It is in demand throughout California and is consumed along the 
entire Pacific Coast of the United States and in most of the interior States of the West. 
Mr. Babcock furnishes the interesting information that in May, 1895, Mr. J. P. 
Haller, manager of the Sacramento River Packers’ Association, canned several hundred 
pounds of striped bass as an experiment. The fish were selling at 2 cents a pound at 
Black Diamond, and 500 to 600 pounds could have been obtained daily from salmon 
fishermen making Black Diamond their headquarters, while the fishermen above that 
place took many more fish than the Black Diamond men. The manager reported to 
Mr. Babcock that he was much pleased with the canned bass; that it was fully equal 
