Black Sea Bass

Black Sea Bass (Centropristis striata) are debatably the best eating fish you can catch in Rhode Island. They are relatively small bottom fish, averaging anywhere from 6 to 20 inches in length, and as their name implies they are predominantly black in color. The larger males sport small patches of beautiful blue and green patterns along with a sizable hump on the back of their heads, earning them the nickname knot heads. The current Rhode Island state records weigh in at 8 lbs, 7.25 oz with a length of 26 inches. This was caught in 1981 off Block Island by a man named K McDuffie. In my opinion, this record has the potential to be beaten in the near future.

A cool fact about these fish is that they are actually considered “protogynous hermaphrodites”, meaning that they begin their life as females but can later switch their gender to male to help with population balance. This advantage looks like it paid off as their populations seemed to have exploded in recent years, giving anglers a great chance to bring home a delicious meal for the family. I typically do not target these fish for sport (I find their strength underwhelming), but do target them when I’m looking to fill my freezer.