Spotted Gar (Lepisosteus oculatus)

The spotted gar is a member of an ancient family, Lepisosteidae, of predaceous fish. It is often confused with its close relative, the Florida gar. The spotted gar has good sporting virtues but is not widely pursued, and it is often caught incidental to other fishing activities. It is not considered a good food fish, and its roe is toxic to humans but not to other fish.

Identification

The body of the spotted gar is long and cylindrical, covered with hard, ganoid (diamond-shaped) scales. It has a single row of teeth in each jaw. The spotted and the Florida gar are the only two gar that have spots on the top of the head, as well as over the entire body and on the fins.

Albacore (Thunnus alalunga)

A member of the Scombridae family of tuna and mackerel, the albacore is an excellent light-tackle gamefish. It is called true albacore in some places, not to be confused with false albacore or little tunny.

Identification

The albacore has long pectoral fins that reach to a point beyond the anal fin, as well as small finlets on both the back and the belly that extend from the anal fin to the tail. The albacore is colored dark blue, shading to greenish-blue near the tail, and is silvery white on the belly. A metallic or iridescent cast covers the entire body. The dorsal finlets are yellowish, except for the white trailing edge of the tail, and the anal finlets are silvery or dusky.

Alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus)

A small herring, the alewife is important as forage for gamefish in many inland waters and along the Atlantic coast. It is used commercially in pet food and as fish meal and fertilizer, and it has been a significant factor in the restoration of trout and salmon fisheries in the Great Lakes.

Identification

Small and silvery gray with a greenish to bluish back tinge, the alewife usually has one small dark shoulder spot and sometimes other small dusky spots. It has large eyes with well-developed adipose eyelids. The alewife can be distinguished from other herring by its lower jaw, which projects noticeably beyond the upper jaw.

Greater Amberjack (Seriola dumerili)

The greater amberjack is the largest of the jacks, the most important amberjack to anglers, and, like most of its brethren, a strong fighter. It is high on the list of tropical marine fish suspected of causing ciguatera poisoning, although this problem may be isolated to certain areas.

Identification

This fish is greenish-blue to almost purple or brown above the lateral line and silver below the lateral line. A dark olive-brown diagonal stripe extends from the mouth across both eyes to about the first dorsal fin. A broad amber stripe runs horizontally along the sides. The fins may also have a yellow cast.

Lesser Amberjack (Seriola fasciata)

The lesser amberjack is the smallest amberjack, seldom encountered by, and relatively unknown to, anglers.

Identification

The lesser amberjack has an olive-green or brownish back above the lateral line and is silver below the lateral line. A dark olive-brown diagonal stripe extends from the mouth across both eyes to about the first dorsal fin. It is very similar in appearance to the greater amberjack but has a deeper body profile, proportionately larger eyes, and eight spines in the first dorsal fin.

Anchovies

Similar in appearance, these anchovies differ mostly in range, although the northern anchovy can be slightly longer. The northern anchovy is one of the most important forage fish in the Pacific and is used as bait for tuna and other large gamefish. A minor percentage of northern anchovies harvested are processed for human consumption, marketed in pickled or salted forms. The striped anchovy is also an important forage fish for game species, although it is too small and fragile to be used often for bait.

Identification

Anchovies are silvery fish that look like miniature herring. They have overhanging snouts and long lower jaws that extend behind the eyes. The striped anchovy has a ribbonlike stripe along each side and some yellow about the head. Anchovy species are difficult to differentiate, but the fin rays and the pattern of pigmentation on the striped anchovy distinguish it; it has 14 to 17 dorsal fin rays, 15 to 18 pectoral fin rays, and 20 to 24 anal fin rays, as well as melanophores outlining all its dorsal scales.

Queen Angelfish (Holacanthus ciliaris)

The queen angelfish is not widely sought by anglers, although it is an attractive incidental catch and is most popular as an aquarium fish.

Identification

The queen angelfish has a moderately large body that is deep and compressed. It can be distinguished from its nearest relatives, butterflyfish, by its stout spines, its blunter snout, and the spines on the gill cover. It has 14 dorsal spines, and the spine at the angle of the preopercle is relatively long.

Great Barracuda (Sphyraena barracuda)

An excellent gamefish, the great barracuda leads a list of marine fish that cause ciguatera when eaten, although small fish are apparently not poisonous. Not every barracuda causes ciguatera, but there is no safe or reliable way of recognizing toxic fish.

Identification

The great barracuda is long and slender, with a large, pointed head and large eyes. The dorsal fins are widely separated, and the first dorsal fin has five spines, whereas the second has 10 soft rays. In a large underslung jaw, the great barracuda has large, pointed canine teeth.

Pacific Barracuda (Sphyraena argentea)

The Pacific barracuda is the best known of the four types of barracuda found in Pacific waters and is one of California’s most prized resources.

Identification

The Pacific barracuda is slim-bodied, with a tapered head, a long thin snout, and large canine teeth in a lower jaw that projects beyond the upper jaw. It also has a forked tail, large eyes, and short, widely separated dorsal fins with five dorsal spines and 10 dorsal rays. The anal fins have two spines, followed usually by nine rays. Grayish-black on the back with a blue tinge, shading to silvery white on the sides and the belly, it has a yellowish tail that lacks the black blotches on the sides of the body that are characteristic of other barracuda. Large females have a charcoalblack edge on the pelvic and the anal fins, whereas the male fins are edged in yellow or olive.

Kelp (Calico) Bass (Paralabrax clathratus)

One of a large number of sea bass found in the eastern Pacific, the kelp bass is one of the most popular sportfish in Southern California, as a mainstay of party boat trips to the northern Baja. Because it is a powerful fighter and an excellent food fish, it is highly sought by anglers. Its popularity and nonmigratory status put kelp bass populations at risk from overfishing.

Identification

A hardy fish with the characteristic elongated and compressed bass shape, the kelp bass has a notch between its spiny and its dorsal fins. The longest spines in the first dorsal fin are longer than any of the rays in the second dorsal fin. It is brown to olive green, with pale blotches on the back and lighter coloring on the belly.

Striped Bass (Morone saxatilis)

An excellent sportfish that attains large sizes, the striped bass is a member of the temperate bass family (often erroneously placed with the sea bass family). It has been considered one of the most valuable and popular fish in North America since the early 1600s, originally for its commercial importance and culinary quality and in more recent times for its recreational significance.

Identification

A large fish with a large mouth, the striped bass is more streamlined than its close relative the white bass. It has a long body and a long head, a somewhat laterally compressed body form, and a protruding lower jaw. Of the two noticeably separate dorsal fins, the first one has 7 to 12 stiff spines, usually 9, which make this fin quite a bit higher than the second; the second dorsal fin has one sharp spine and 8 to 14, ordinarily 12, soft rays. The striped bass also has a forked tail and small eyes.

Batfish

Members of the Ogcocephalidae family, batfish are mostly small fish comprising nearly 60 similar species. These peculiar-looking fish employ the energy-saving tactic of luring, instead of hunting for, their food. This method is valuable in deep-sea environments, where food is scarce and thinly distributed.

Identification

The head and the trunk of the batfish are broad and flattened, having either a disk or a triangular shape, and its body is covered with broad spines. The long pectoral and rodlike pelvic fins enable the batfish to “walk” on the sea bottom. There is a protuberance, the rostrum, on the front of the head between the eyes, which can be long or short. Under the rostrum hangs a small tentacle that acts like a lure.

Bluefish

The only member of the Pomatomidae family, the bluefish is an extremely voracious and cannibalistic saltwater fish.

Identification

The body shape is fairly long, stout, and compressed, with a flat-sided belly. The mouth is large and has extremely sharp, flattened, and triangular teeth. The first dorsal fin is low and short, the second dorsal fin is long, and the anal fin has two spines and 25 to 27 soft rays.

Blue Tang (Acanthurus coeruleus)

A member of the surgeonfish family that has distinctive coloration and is occasionally encountered by anglers, the blue tang is sometimes used as an aquarium fish and is also marketed fresh.

Identification

The oval, deep-bodied, and compressed blue tang is more circular than are other surgeonfish. Its coloring is almost entirely blue, ranging from powdery to deep purple, and it has many dark or light blue horizontal stripes running down the sides and blending into the background.

Bocaccio

Abundant off the central and the southern coasts of California, the bocaccio is one of the most commercially important rockfish in that region. It is also a well-known gamefish in its range and a good eating fish, with soft and juicy white meat.

Identification

Although its elongate and compressed body form is less bulky than that of most fish in the scorpionfish family, the bocaccio has a large mouth. The upper jaw extends farther back than the eyes; the lower jaw extends past the upper one considerably. The first dorsal fin has spines and is deeply notched, and there are usually nine soft rays in the anal fin.

Bonefish (Albula vulpes)

Although the bonefish was previously thought to be the only member of the Albulidae family, there are now five recognized species. The bonefish is the only significant sportfish among them, however, and is one of the most coveted of all saltwater gamefish.

In keeping with its scientific name, which means “white fox,” it is indeed a wary, elusive creature, one that usually must be stalked with stealth and that bolts with startling speed when hooked or alarmed.

Atlantic Bonito (Sarda sarda)

A relative of tuna, the Atlantic bonito has a reputation as a tough fighter and a tasty fish, making it highly popular with anglers.

Identification

The Atlantic bonito has a completely scaled body (some types of bonito have only partially scaled bodies), a noticeably curved lateral line, and six to eight finlets on the back and the belly between the anal fin and the tail. The caudal peduncle has a lateral keel on either side, with two smaller keels above and below the main keel. It doesn’t have a swim bladder or teeth on its tongue.

Pacific Bonito (Sarda chiliensis)

The Pacific bonito is an important gamefish, valued more for sport than for food, as is the Atlantic bonito.

Identification

Similar in size and pigmentation to the Atlantic bonito, the Pacific bonito is distinguished from most other bonito by the lack of teeth on its tongue and the possession of a straight intestine without a fold in the middle.

Sea Bream (Archosargus rhomboidalis)

Numerous members of the Sparidae family that are found in temperate and tropical waters are referred to as sea bream, or seabream. They are related to porgies, have moderate to important significance commercially (depending on abundance and geography), and are commonly caught by inshore anglers. These fish are tough, dogged fighters that are commendable on appropriate light tackle, and they rate as excellent table fare. The more commonly distributed and popular species are noted here.

The sea bream (Archosargus rhomboidalis) appears in the western Atlantic Ocean from the northeastern Gulf of Mexico to Argentina, including the Caribbean and the West Indies. Its bluish back is streaked with gold, the belly is silvery, and there is a black spot on each side just above the pectoral fins.

Bumper

The Atlantic and the Pacific bumper are two of the smaller members of the jack family. Both species have not been greatly studied, and there is some speculation that they may be the same.

Identification

Although the bumper doesn’t have a high back, it has an extended belly and a very thin body. With an overall silvery coloring, it has greenish tints on the back and yellow highlights on the sides and the belly. It also has a yellowish tail. There is a black spot on each gill cover and a black saddle on the base of the tail.