Today's Black Sea Bass Fishing Report

Image credit: Diane Rome Peebles, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Division of Marine Fisheries

Fishing for Black Sea Bass

The black sea bass inhabits the coasts from Maine to NE Florida and the eastern Gulf of Mexico. They are most abundant off the waters of New York. They can be found in inshore waters (bays and sounds) and offshore in waters up to a depth of 130 m. They spend most of their time close to the sea floor and are often congregated around bottom formations such as rocks, man-made reefs, wrecks, jetties, piers, and bridge pilings.

Black sea bass have the ability to adjust their color to blend in with the bottom. Their colors may take on a gray, brown, black or even a deep indigo hue. The sides of their body may have dark vertical bands. But most distinctive is their skin, when seen up close resembles a fishnet pattern, because of the dark color that appears in the margin of their scales contrasted with the lighter color underneath the scales.

The average sea bass weighs about 1½ lb (680 g). The world record bass is 9 lb 8 oz (4,309 g), but any sea bass above 5 lb (2.3 kg) is considered a large fish. As a sea bass matures, there are slight variations in their proportions. The smallest sea bass are often nicknamed "pin" bass. Larger fish are nicknamed "humpback" bass because as they grow larger they tend to bulk out just behind the head.

Black sea bass feed on crab, bluecrab, juvenile lobster, shrimp, mollusks, small fish, herring, menhaden and squid.

The Black Sea Bass goes by other names such as sea bass and blackfish.

Species: Centropristis striata

More about Black Sea Bass

List of all fish