Fish House Recipes, 1940s

The Bass Species

Sea bass is a stout bodied fish, about three times as long as deep, rather high back, flat topped head, moderately pointed nose, a large oblique mouth, eye set high up, and a sharp flat spine. The scales are rather large, but the top of the head is naked. In color sea bass vary widely, like most fish that lie on rocky bottom, ranging from smoky gray to dusky brown or almost black, sometimes with a bluish cast and usually more or less mottled. The belly is but slightly paler than the sides. The average length in New England is about fifteen inches; average weight 1-1/2 pounds, but at times they grow to a length of two feet or longer. Northern specimens are rarely heavier than four pounds. Average waste is about sixty per cent. When not filleted they are generally called panfish, and are served whole, fried, broiled, baked and boiled.

The height of its spawning season falls in June along Southern New England and it produces buoyant eggs. West of Cape Cod sea bass is one of the important ground fish but it is steadily decreasing on the southern shores of New England. They are also caught at Barnstable and Sagamore, and are generally found near land on rocky bottom, or around ledges in water less than ten to fifteen fathoms deep, where they spend much of their time hidden in crevices among stones. Sea bass are caught in traps, pound nets, and some by hand line. Season: from May to October at Woods Hole, most abundantly in July, August, and September.

Sea bass feeds chiefly on crabs, lobsters, shrimp and various mollusks. Too rare to be of any importance in the Gulf of Maine, but are very valuable food fish and a good game fish in more southern waters.

The sea bass is easily distinguished from its near relatives, the striped bass and white perch, by the fact that the spinous and soft-rayed portions of its dorsal fin are continuous, so that there is but one long fin instead of two short separate fins. In this it is similar to the scrip; rosefish, cunner and tautog.

Related Recipes
Bass Fillet, Beverly Style
Filet Of Haddock

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