THE BASS FAMILY (_CONTINUED_)
(_Serranidæ_)
In addition to the fresh-water species of this family and those of the
East Coast are the groupers, cabrillas, etc., of Florida waters, to be
noticed later. The family name is founded on Cuvier's genus _Serranus_,
from the Latin _serra_, or "saw," in allusion to the serrated edge of
the cheek-bones, common to all fishes of this family.
_Roccus lineatus._ The Striped-bass. Body rather elongate,
little compressed; head 3-1/4; depth 3-1/2; eye 6; D. IX-I, 12;
A. III, 11; scales 8-67-11; back little arched; head
subconical; mouth large, maxillary reaching middle of orbit;
lower jaw projecting; teeth on base of tongue in two parallel
patches; preorbital entire; preopercle weakly serrate; margin
of subopercle entire; suprascapula entire; gill-rakers long and
slender, 4 + 15; dorsal fins separate; caudal fin forked.
_Morone americana._ The White-perch. Body oblong, ovate, the
back moderately elevated; head 3; depth 2-1/2; eye 4; D. IX-I,
12; A. III, 8; scales 8-50-12; head depressed above eyes; snout
rather pointed; mouth small, maxillary not reaching middle of
orbit; preorbital entire; base of tongue without teeth; head
scaled; dorsal fins connected at base; gill-rakers 4 + 16.
_Centropristes striatus._ The Sea-bass. Body robust, elevated
anteriorly, somewhat compressed; head 2-2/3; depth 2-2/3; eye
5; D. X, 11; A. III, 7; scales 5-55-17; head large and thick,
naked on top; mouth rather large, lower jaw projecting; teeth
in broad bands, the canines small; preopercle serrate;
gill-rakers long, about _x_ + 18; scales on cheeks in 11 rows;
caudal fin double concave or three-lobed.
THE STRIPED-BASS
(_Roccus lineatu_)
The specific name _lineatus_, or "striped," was bestowed by Bloch in
1792. North of the Delaware River it is universally called striped-bass,
but in more southern waters it is known as rock or rockfish, from its
habit of foraging on rocky shores in search of crustaceans and small
fishes. From this vernacular name comes the generic name _Roccus_. It is
found from the Gulf of St. Lawrence to Florida, but is most abundant
from Buzzards Bay to Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. It has been
successfully transplanted to the Pacific coast, where it is now common
near San Francisco.
The form of the striped-bass varies considerably with age. Young
specimens are rather slender and symmetrical in outline, the depth being
about a fourth of the length. The depth increases with the weight of the
fish, while the back becomes more arched, and the belly more
pendulous. The head equals in length the depth of the body usually.
The mouth is large, opening obliquely; the snout is rather sharp, and
the lower jaw projects. The color is olivaceous, often bluish on the
back, sides with silvery lustre, fading to white on the belly. There are
six to eight horizontal rows of dark spots, forming interrupted stripes,
four or five running from head to caudal fin, with three shorter ones
below; the fins are pale and usually unmarked. It is found within the
range given during the entire year, though it frequents certain situations
at different seasons. The largest fish resort to the rocky shores of the
bays and indentations of the coast between the shores and outer
reefs, those of smaller size frequent the estuaries and tideways,
and still smaller ones seek the shallower and quieter waters.
[Illustration SURF-FISHING FOR BASS]
It spawns in the spring, usually in May, in both fresh and brackish
water. Large schools ascend rivers for long distances in the spring,
more particularly those rivers resorted to by the shad, which they seem
to follow, perhaps for the purpose of feeding on shad spawn, as they are
said to do. Others follow the smelt up certain rivers farther north. A
large female will deposit from a million to two million eggs, which are
about one-seventh of an inch in diameter, are free, transparent, and
semi-buoyant, and hatch in a few days. Owing to a large oil-drop in the
front part of the yolk-sac, the young fry at first swim with the head
toward the surface of the water, and not in the horizontal position
usual with the fry of most fishes.
Its food consists of small fishes, crabs, lobsters, shrimps, squids,
sandworms, and other marine invertebrates. It grows to a very large
size, being frequently taken by anglers from thirty to sixty pounds, and
in the nets of fishermen as heavy as one hundred pounds or more. In the
city of Baltimore, in boyhood days, I often went to the fish markets on
Saturdays to see and admire the various kinds of fishes. On one occasion
there were several large rockfish being weighed on the old-time balance,
consisting of a beam and two large, flat, wooden scales supported by
chains. The largest fish did not weigh quite two fifty-six-pound
weights. A man then asked me how much I weighed, and I replied one
hundred and three pounds. I was then placed on the scale instead of the
weights, with the result that the fish outweighed me perhaps a pound or
two. At all events it weighed between one hundred and three and one
hundred and twelve pounds--probably one hundred and five pounds. It was
as long as an average man.
The striped-bass is a food-fish of fine quality, and the markets of the
eastern cities are well supplied with it during summer and fall, and to
a certain extent during the winter. It is very active from early spring
until late in the fall, when it resorts to the back-waters and bayous of
tidal rivers for the winter. It is said by some to hibernate, but this
is doubtful. The opinion is probably due to the fact that it is more
sluggish and listless while in winter quarters, and refuses to respond
to the wiles of the angler.
That the striped-bass is a game-fish of high degree goes without saying.
It is rated by some enthusiastic anglers as being superior even to the
salmon in game qualities. This opinion, however, is hardly correct when
the two are compared weight for weight. In surf-fishing the first rush
of a large fish, upon feeling the hook, is something to be remembered.
It is probably longer and stronger than that of a salmon of equal
weight, for the reason that while the latter fish is leaping from the
water in its efforts to escape, the bass is making his furious dash for
liberty beneath the surface, and exerting every ounce of his muscular
fibre in the effort. But this immense strain cannot long be continued,
and as he seldom breaks water like the salmon, and does not sulk, he
resorts to strategy and finesse to free himself.
After making several desperate but ineffectual rushes to escape, he may
endeavor to chafe or part the line against sharp rocks, or to foul it
among the kelp or sea-weeds. Sometimes, but not often, he dives toward
the angler to obtain slack line, which is a dangerous move if the reel
does not respond quickly in taking up the loose line. When it is
considered that all of these manoeuvres of a monster bass to free
himself occur amidst the rolling and tumbling of the surf, or in the
dashing of foam-crested combers, while the angler often has but a
precarious footing on a slippery rock, and perhaps with a half gale of
wind blowing, some idea may be formed of the skill and good judgment
required to subdue and land so valorous a fish. And under such
conditions it is very natural for the angler to rank his noble quarry
with the salmon.
When a Baltimore boy I thought there was no better sport than
still-fishing for rockfish running from a half to a pound or two, on
the flats off Fort McHenry, the Lazaretto, or up the Patapsco River
near the Long Bridge. It was good sport, too, for the fish were plentiful
in those days, and from an anchored boat, with light cane rod and shrimp
bait, I was often on the ground to catch the young flood tide at sunrise,
or before, on summer mornings, and seldom failed to be rewarded with
a full basket of small striped-bass.
[Illustration CATCHING SEA-BASS OFF NEWPORT]
Still-fishing in summer is best practised in comparatively shallow water
in the estuaries, at the edge of the tideways, near the mouths of
rivers, or up streams of good size as far as the tide reaches. In some
cases the fishing may be done from bridges, piers, wharves, or from the
bank, but usually from an anchored boat. In the estuaries and at the
mouths of rivers the first of the flood and the last of the ebb are
usually the best stages of the tide. In the shallow bays and lagoons, or
far up the rivers, the full tide is the most favorable time. For this
fishing the rod should be light, pliable, and not more than nine feet in
length. A black-bass rod can be utilized to good advantage. The best rod
for the purpose, however, is the "Little Giant," a modification of the
Henshall black-bass rod. It is in two pieces, seven and one-half feet
long, and weighs eight ounces in ash and lancewood, or seven ounces in
split bamboo. It is stiffer than the Henshall rod, so that a two or
four-ounce sinker can be used with it whenever necessary. A good
multiplying reel must be employed with black-bass rods. The line should
be fifty yards of braided linen, smallest size, with a three-foot leader
of single gut; Sproat or O'Shaughnessy hooks Nos. 1 or 2 on gut snells
are large enough for bass up to two or three pounds. A small float is
useful on grassy bottom with shrimp or crab bait, and sinkers of weights
in accordance with the strength of the tidal current must be employed,
also a landing-net.
Shrimps, soft or shedder crabs, soft-shelled clams, sandworms, small
minnows, silversides, spearing or killifishes, are all good baits in
their season. Shrimp is perhaps the best all-round lure. It should be
hooked under the back plates, and a single shrimp is sufficient for
small bass. Shedder or soft crab should be cut in small pieces. The
scallop is likewise an attractive bait, especially in the fall, when
clam bait may also be used to advantage. Early in the spring shad roe
may be used in quiet waters, or at slack tide, but it is a difficult and
unpleasant bait to handle.
The bait should be from one to three feet above the bottom, and should
be kept in motion. Even crab bait should not be allowed to lie on the
bottom, as some anglers advise. To maintain the proper position and
depth of the bait the angler may employ a float, with or without a
sinker, as the exigencies or conditions demand.
Very often hand-lines or stiff cane poles are used in estuary fishing,
and the bass, even when of several pounds in weight, are yanked out of
the water into the boat at once. But with the tackle recommended above
the pleasure of the angler is enhanced, and the fish given a chance for
his life in the brief struggle that follows.
In trolling for fish of from three to ten pounds a natural bamboo rod,
eight or nine feet long, answers well with one hundred yards of braided
linen line, size E or F, and Sproat hooks No. 2-0 to 3-0 on gut snells.
Where the bass run larger, two hundred feet of line, size E, with hooks
Nos. 5-0 to 6-0 may be required, also a heavier rod. The baits for
trolling are bloodworms of large size, a minnow hooked through the
lips, the natural squid or an eel-tail; also the artificial squid of
bone or block tin, or a trolling-spoon or spinner with a single hook.
When the spoon or artificial squid is used it is not necessary or
advisable to add sandworms or other natural bait, as is often done.
Employ one or the other, but never both in combination. The artificial
baits are sufficiently attractive in themselves, and the additions
mentioned do not enhance their effectiveness. The boat should be rowed
alongshore, or over rocky reefs or shoals, and about the eddies of rock
pools. As the fish always hooks itself in trolling, it only remains for
the angler to play and land his quarry in good form, always having a
large landing-net or gaff in the boat.
Casting menhaden bait from the rocky shores of the coast requires tools
and tackle of great excellence and strength, as the largest bass are
taken in this way. The most approved rod is a first-class split-bamboo,
eight or eight and one-half feet long, and weighing from twelve to
sixteen ounces. A more serviceable rod, that is, one that will admit of
harder usage, is made of greenheart, lancewood, or bethabara, of the
same length, but somewhat heavier. A cheaper rod, but one that will
give good satisfaction, and withal is lighter than a wooden rod, is made
of natural male Calcutta bamboo, and is known as a "chum" rod. Rods of
eight or eight and one-half feet in length should be made in two or
three pieces, or if not exceeding seven and one-half feet may be made of
one six-foot piece with a handle of eighteen inches. They should have
double bell-mouth guides and funnel top. The more expensive rods should
have the guides, or at least the funnel top, lined with agate.
The reel must be a first-class multiplier, made expressly for
surf-fishing, with jewelled or steel bearings, with a capacity of two
hundred yards of from twelve to eighteen-thread Cuttyhunk line. The
hooks should be knobbed Sproat or O'Shaughnessy, Nos. 5-0 to 7-0, and
attached to the line by two half-hitches, the loose end turned up and
secured by another half-hitch. A long-handled gaff-hook of good steel
and very sharp is indispensable. A chum knife and spoon are also
necessary, and a woollen thumb-stall will be needed for thumbing the
reel, or a piece of leather may be affixed to one of its bars as a
brake.
The bait for casting may be the tail of a lobster, cleaned of every
vestige of shell, but menhaden bait is generally used. After scaling the
fish, a slice of several inches is cut from its side, tail end, and
scored on the flesh side longitudinally with a sharp knife, to admit of
its being more readily folded along the hook, which it should envelop
completely. The small end of the bait is affixed to the head of the hook
by a half-hitch or two, its bend and barb being concealed by the broader
end of the bait. This is the conventional method of baiting, though I
have had good success in more southern waters by using an entire bait of
mullet or other silvery fish, five or six inches in length, and hooked
through the lips.
The residue of the menhaden, after the baits are cut off, is chopped
fine, and is known as "chum." This is thrown in the water to attract the
bass. It is called "chumming," and causes an oily "slick" that spreads
over the surface for a long distance. The pieces of cut fish thrown in
are soon swallowed by scup, cunners, bass, and other fishes, leaving
nothing but the oily slick on the surface. The bluefish, being a surface
feeder, is probably attracted by the slick, but it is questionable if
it is noticed by the striped-bass, a bottom and mid-water feeder. And
even if the common belief were true, it is not likely that the bass
would be tolled directly toward the angler through a slick covering many
acres. The real attraction is in the chopped menhaden that sinks below
the surface.
Casting the menhaden is quite an art. It is somewhat in the nature of
casting a minnow for black-bass as described on a previous page, though
the rod is a two-handed one and the bait much heavier. The bait is
reeled up to within a foot or two of the rod tip, and the rod grasped by
both hands, one just above and one below the reel, with the thumb of the
lower hand resting on the spool of the reel, and protected by a woollen
or leather thumb-stall. With the rod at one side, it is given a
preliminary whirl, or swing or two, and the bait cast, underhand, much
like striking at a hip-high or shoulder-high ball with a bat. The cast
is made from either side, and while some anglers place the right hand
below in casting from both sides, it is not the best way. In casting
from the right side the left hand should be below, and the reel
controlled by the left thumb; while in casting from the left side the
right hand should be below. The thumb should maintain a gentle and
uniform pressure on the spool as it revolves, to prevent backlashing,
and by a stronger pressure stop the revolution of the spool as the bait
reaches the water.
As long a cast is made as possible, and when the bait settles it should
be reeled in again very slowly and the cast repeated until the bait is
taken by a bass. When the water is very rough, so as to churn the bait
and keep it in constant motion, fewer casts are necessary, as the bait
can be left in the water for a longer time before making a new cast.
When the fish is hooked and starts on his initial rush, line should be
given, the thumb always on the spool to check him when it can be done
without endangering the tackle. His first rush will probably be his
strongest, and he must then be killed on the rod and reeled in to the
gaffer. During the struggle of playing the fish, great care must be
observed to prevent the cutting or chafing of the line against sharp
rocks, and to keep the fish away from weeds, timbers, or other
obstructions.
As the bass may weigh anywhere from ten to fifty pounds, the utmost
skill and precaution are necessary to land him safely. Very often the
angler has not only to contend with the fish, but with the strength and
undertow of the tide and the tossing of breakers--factors that are by no
means to be despised or neglected. But once fairly gaffed, the angler
may feast his eyes on the grand fish, weighing, perhaps, thirty pounds
or more, and congratulate himself on a great achievement.
When the bass are running far up the fresh-water streams in the spring,
they will often take the artificial fly. As the fish do not run much
heavier than black-bass, the rod and tackle used in fly-fishing for that
fish can be utilized, employing such flies as oriole, polka, coachman,
red ibis, or other showy creations. The fishing is more successful about
sundown.
Many years ago the striped-bass was planted in the waters of the Pacific
coast by the United States Fish Commission. It has multiplied
exceedingly, so that bass-fishing is now a favorite sport with San
Francisco anglers, who fish the neighboring bays, rivers, and sloughs
with great success. The baits commonly used are clams and the
trolling-spoon. The sport has culminated in the formation of several
striped-bass clubs, with quite a large membership.
THE WHITE-PERCH
(_Morone americana_)
The white-perch was described, but not named, by Shöpf, in 1788, from
the waters near New York. From his description Gmelin named it, in the
same year, _Perca americana_, or "American perch." The genus _Morone_
was established for it in 1814 by Dr. Mitchill, as owing to structural
differences it could not properly be placed in the genus _Perca_.
The white-perch is one of the most abundant fishes of the brackish
waters on the Atlantic coast, its range extending from Nova Scotia to
South Carolina, but more especially from Cape Cod to Cape Hatteras. It
is also landlocked in fresh-water ponds at various places along the
coast.
It is a handsome fish, symmetrical in outline, and well proportioned.
Its body is compressed, its depth is not quite a third of its length.
Its head is as long as the depth of the body, depressed above the eyes,
and with a somewhat pointed snout. The mouth is rather small; the teeth
are small, without canines; there are a few teeth on the edge of the
tongue, but none on its base. There are two dorsal fins, though they
are connected at the base.
Its color is olivaceous, or green of various shades on the head and
back, with silvery or greenish sides, and silvery white belly. Sometimes
the color is bluish on the back and head. Those confined in ponds are
always darker in hue.
The white-perch is one of the best and most esteemed pan-fishes of the
eastern coast. It grows to a foot or more in length, occasionally
weighing three pounds; but the usual size is from six to nine inches,
and from one-half to a pound in weight in brackish water. Smaller ones
ascend the streams to fresh water. It is usually found associating with
small striped-bass, and their habits are much alike, feeding on the same
food, as small minnows, young eels, shrimp, etc. It spawns in the
spring, usually in May, in shallow, weedy situations in both fresh and
brackish water. The eggs are quite small, about forty thousand to a
fish, and hatch in three or four days.
As a boy I was very fond of fishing for white-perch, which were then
very abundant in the Spring Garden branch of the Patapsco River, at
Baltimore, from Ferry Bar to the mud-flats near the Long Bridge, and
also above the bridge on the main river in brackish water. Being
gregarious, it was found in large schools, and was a free biter at
shrimps, shedder-crab, small minnows, and earthworms. At the time of
which I write it was very plentiful at the mouths of all tidal rivers
emptying into Chesapeake Bay. I have seen great wagon loads brought
ashore in one haul of a long market seine. And in camping along the Bay,
during my summer vacations, they seemed to be as plentiful as
blackberries. There was never any dearth of fried white-perch or other
fishes in our camp, and we never tired of them. We feasted on them
daily, with terrapin, soft-shelled crabs, oysters, green corn, tomatoes,
cantaloupes, and watermelons, and all to be had for the mere catching or
asking.
Any light rod may be used for white-perch, with or without a small
multiplying reel, with a line of braided linen, smallest size, and hooks
Nos. 6 to 8. Most anglers use two or three hooks, but I would advise a
single hook for all kinds of fishing. A short leader of single gut,
about three feet long, is an advantage, and hooks should be tied on gut
snells.
In quiet water, with small, live minnows for bait, a sinker or float
need not be used. In tidal waters a sinker is necessary to keep the bait
at mid-water, or a few feet from the bottom, especially when shrimp,
crab, or earthworms are used for bait. The weight of the sinker must be
adapted to the strength of the tide. The best season is during late
summer or autumn in brackish water, from an anchored boat, at half-flood
or half-ebb tide; up the tidal rivers at high tide. At low water they
must be looked for in the deep holes, among the rocks. Wherever found
the white-perch will not disappoint the angler, but is ever ready to
respond to his baited hook.
It rises pretty well to the artificial fly, especially when landlocked
in ponds, or far up the streams. Trout tackle and trout flies are just
right, on hooks Nos. 7 or 8; and as the most favorable time for fishing
is toward dusk, light-colored flies are the best, as coachman, gray
drake, red ibis, oriole, etc.
I was once fishing for white-perch on Gunpowder River, in Maryland, with
a companion who happened to lose one of his hooks through a defective
snell, which, however, he soon recovered by catching the perch that had
stolen it. We were perfectly sure that it was his, as he had tied his
hooks himself with a peculiar shade of sewing silk. He then marked the
fish by clipping off a portion of one of the spines of the dorsal fin,
and returned it to the water, only to be retaken three times, twice by
my friend and once by myself. The lips of the perch being then quite
ragged from the frequent hooking, it was humanely killed and deposited
in the basket.
From my experience with both wild and domesticated fish I am quite sure
that cold-blooded animals, like fishes and batrachians, are not very
sensitive to pain. Owing to the very small brain and the gelatinous
character of the spinal marrow of fishes, it is very doubtful if they
suffer much, if any, pain from the infliction of so slight an injury as
the pricking of a fish-hook. If it were otherwise, I do not think a
hooked fish would offer so much resistance and pull so hard upon the
hook if it caused much pain. Nor does it seem reasonable that a fish
would repeatedly subject itself to the same experience if its mouth felt
at all sore, as all experienced anglers know they do, time and again.
The mouth and throat of a fish cannot be very sensitive when it is
considered that it swallows, whole, such prey as sunfish and catfish
fry, bristling with sharp fins and spines, and those of the catfish are
always erect, even if swallowed head first. Marine fishes also swallow
crabs, lobsters, prawns, besides mollusks, sea-urchins, and other
creatures that would be exceedingly irritating and painful to a
sensitive throat.
[Illustration THE SEA-BASS]
[_Centropristes striatus_]
[Illustration THE MASCALONGE]
[_Esox nobilior_]
[Illustration THE PIKE]
[_Esox lucius_]
THE SEA-BASS
(_Centropristes striatus_)
The sea-bass is known in various localities as black sea-bass, black
will, black harry, hannahills, humpback, and also by names belonging
rightly to other well-known fishes, as blackfish, bluefish, and
rock-bass. The name sea-bass, however, is in most general use, and is
the most distinctive and appropriate. Linnæus described it briefly, in
1758, and named it _striatus_, or "striped." He afterward received
specimens from South Carolina, which in 1766 he named _atraria_, or
"blackish," but the older name must hold according to the law of
priority.
It is confined to the Atlantic coast, with range extending from Cape Cod
to Florida, but it is most abundant along the coast of New Jersey. It
has a robust body, its depth not quite a third of its length; the back
is elevated over the shoulder, the "hump" being more prominent in males
during the breeding season. The head is large and thick, with a large,
oblique mouth, leathery lips, and projecting lower jaw. The fin rays are
long and slender, and the caudal fin is double concave.
Its color is bluish black, sometimes greenish black or dusky brown on
the back and top of the head, lighter on the sides and belly. The edges
of the scales being dark, give a mottled, streaked, or reticulated
appearance. The dorsal fin has several series of bluish white elongated
spots; the other fins are bluish or dusky, and are more or less mottled.
Young specimens have a broad dusky band or stripe along the sides, which
later becomes broken up, forming cross shades.
The sea-bass, as its name implies, is a sea fish, seldom entering
brackish water. It congregates in large schools about the offshore rocky
reefs and shoals, and about old wrecks, feeding on crabs, shrimps, and
other marine organisms, often in company with the tautog and porgy. It
is a deep-water fish, and of course a bottom feeder. It spawns in
summer, between May and August, depending on the temperature of the
water, but usually in June. The eggs are quite small, about twenty-five
to the inch, and hatch in from four to six days. Its usual weight is
from one-half to two or three pounds, occasionally weighing ten or
twelve pounds. It is very voracious and will take almost any kind of
bait that is offered. It is taken in large numbers by market fishermen
on hand-lines and clam bait. It commands a ready sale, being a good
food-fish, with firm, flaky flesh of a fine savor, and is highly valued
for chowders. It is a hard-pulling fish on the line, boring toward the
bottom with vicious tugs.
A light cane chum rod is very suitable, or perhaps the Little Giant rod
is better. It is seven and one-half feet long and weighs eight ounces,
and will bear the strain of such sinkers as must be used. The line
should be braided linen of small caliber, and a multiplying reel should
always be used. A short leader of three or four feet, and Sproat hooks,
Nos. 1-0 to 3-0, on silkworm fibre and a sinker adapted to the strength
of the tide, make up the rest of the tackle. As the fishing is done from
an anchored boat a landing-net should be provided. With the tackle just
mentioned, at slack tide, and with clam, shedder-crab, sandworms, or
shrimp bait, the angler can enjoy a good measure of sport with the
sea-bass. Where the tide runs very strong, compelling the use of heavy
sinkers of from three to six ounces, a striped-bass rod should be
employed, especially in water from fifteen to thirty feet deep.
Great crowds of men, women, and children patronize the excursion boats
from New York and Philadelphia, in the summer season, to catch bass,
porgies, tautog, and flounders on the various fishing banks off the
Jersey coast, where they use hand-lines and clam bait. While such
fishing is greatly enjoyed by the uninitiated, it does not appeal to the
angler.
THE SOUTHERN SEA-BASS
(_Centropristes philadelphicus_)
This species was described by Linnæus in 1758, and named
_philadelphicus_, under the impression that his specimen was from the
vicinity of that city. Afterward he received specimens from the South
Carolina coast, which, in 1766, he named _trifurca_, meaning
"three-forked," in allusion to its "triple-tail." The older name,
unfortunately, must stand.
Its color is olive-gray, darkest on the back, whitish below, with seven
oblique dusky and diffuse bars along the upper portion of the sides. The
three-forked appearance of the caudal fin is more pronounced than in the
northern sea-bass; otherwise there is no structural difference, except
in coloration. Its habits are similar. The same remarks apply equally to
the following species, except that it has a few less gill-rakers than
the northern species. They may eventually all prove to be the same
species, or geographical varieties. The directions as to fishing apply
as well to both these southern forms as to the northern sea-bass.
THE GULF SEA-BASS
(_Centropristes ocyurus_)
This species was described from the "snapper banks," off Pensacola, by
Jordan and Evermann in 1886, who named it _ocyurus_, or "swift tail." It
has not been recorded from any other locality. It agrees with the
northern sea-bass, except as mentioned, and in its coloration, which is
grayish or pale olive, darker on the back, with three longitudinal rows
of black blotches along the sides. It is called "tally-wag" by the
snapper fisherman.