Black Sea Bass

Another occasional catch for us in the bay is the Black Sea Bass. It is protected in California waters. We catch a handful of these a year from juvenile to about 50#. We net these fish, never lift them out of the water, and leave them better than we found them! How so you ask? Well, for some reason these fish get a lot of arthropod (think rolley polley) parasites on their fins. These parasites chew on the fins until eventually the fish has no fins, possibly gets an infection and dies. Doing this ensures their success upon release. We snap a quick picture in the net, revive it and send it back!