SEABASS, WHITE
Despite its name, the White Seabass is not a sea bass but a member of the Croaker and Drum family. The family is named after the croaking sound emitted by the fish by vibrating the air bladder. The White Seabass is the largest species of Croaker in California waters.
The body of the White Seabass is elongate, and somewhat compressed. The head is pointed and slightly compressed. The mouth is large, with a row of small teeth in the roof; the lower jaw slightly projects. The color is bluish to gray above, with dark speckling, becoming silver below. The young have several dark vertical bars. The White Seabass is closely related to the California corbina, but is the only California member of the croaker family to exceed 20 pounds(9.07kg) in weight. The largest recorded specimen was over 5 feet(1,5m), 93.1pounds(42.22kg). They are most easily separated from other croakers by the presence of a ridge running the length of the belly.
White Seabass are fished primarily with live bait in relatively shallow water, but they will also take a fast-trolled spoon, artificial squid or bone jig. Live squid appear to be the best bait for a White Seabass, but large anchovies and medium-size sardines are also good. White Seabass enjoy larger amounts of food, and the 2-squid combination is hard for them to resist. This kind of bait oftentimes attracts larger White Seabass, so make sure you are using a line that can hold at least 40 pounds (18 kg).At times, large White Seabass will bite only on fairly large, live Pacific mackerel. The young of this species are exceptionally vulnerable to sport anglers for two reasons: The first is that as juveniles they inhabit shallow nearshore areas, bays, and estuaries, and the second is that they are not easily recognized as White Seabass by the average angler.
Internationally
White Seabass are found off the Pacific coast from the San Francisco Bay to Magdalena Bay in Baja California and in the upper Gulf of California in Mexico’s Sea of Cortez. However, warmer sea surface temperatures may bring White Seabass as far north as Alaska.