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The bass is similar in appearance to its relative the hapuku, but grows larger, has a stouter body, larger eye, and shorter lower jaw. These fish grow in excess of 200kg, but an average size is more like 20-30kg. They tend to deeper (200m-800m) and more northern waters than hapuku, but their ranges and habitat overlap to a large degree. A popular table fish, bass is not commercially distinguished from hapuku, and is recreationally caught by deepwater bottom fishing with large strip baits on 24kg or 37kg tackle. While hardly classed as sportfish, these large powerful fish are hard to move off the bottom, but often embolise in mid-water and float up the rest of the way.
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