Opaleye (Girella nigricans)

A member of the nibblers in the Kyphosidae family of sea chub, the opaleye is a tough species to catch and a determined fighter on rod and reel.

Identification

The body of the opaleye is oval and compressed, the snout is thick and has an evenly rounded profile, and the mouth is small. Its coloring is dark olive green, and most individuals have one or two white spots on each side of the back under the middle of the dorsal fin. Brightblue eyes and a heavy perchlike body distinguish it from related species.

Palometa (Trachinotus goodei)

This small species is a member of the Carangidae family of jacks and pompano.

Identification

A bright silvery fish with a deep body, the palometa may be grayish-green and blue above and yellowish on the breast. It has dark, elongated dorsal and anal fins that are bordered in a bluish shade and a black-edged tail. It also has four narrow bars that vary from black to white and are located high on the sides. Traces of a fifth bar appear near the tail.

Silver Perch (Bairdiella chrysoura)

The silver perch is a member of the Sciaenidae family (drum and croaker). It is one of the most common and abundant Atlantic drum, harvested by commercial netters but seldom prominent in the angler’s catch. This small panfishlike species is good to eat, but it is more likely to be used by anglers as live bait for larger predators.

The closely related bairdiella, or gulf croaker (Bairdiella icistius), is one of a number of marine species introduced successfully to the Salton Sea from the Gulf of California. It grows to 12 inches there and is an important forage fish.

White Perch (Morone americana)

The white perch is not a true perch but a member of the temperate bass family and a relative of the white bass and the striped bass. It is abundant in some places, rare in others, similar enough to other species to be misidentified, and underappreciated as table fare.

Identification

The white perch has a deep, thin body that slopes up steeply from each eye to the beginning of the dorsal fin and that is deepest under the first dorsal fin. A large, older specimen can be nearly humpbacked at that spot. Colors can be olive, gray-green, silvery gray, dark brown, or black on the back, becoming a lighter silvery green on the sides and silvery white on the belly. The pelvic and the anal fins (both on the belly) are sometimes rosy colored, and the pelvic fins sit forward on the body, below the pectoral fins.

Permit (Trachinotus falcatus)

An important gamefish and a particularly prized member of the Carangidae family of jacks and pompano, the permit is a tough fighter and a handful on light tackle.

Identification

In overall appearance, the permit is a brilliantly silver fish with dark fins and a dark or iridescent blue to greenish or grayish back. The belly is often yellowish, and sometimes the pelvic fins and the front lobe of the anal fin have an orange tint.

Pigfish (Orthopristis chrysoptera)

Anglers catch this species in large numbers on hook and line and also in nets in warm temperate waters. It is used mainly as bait for larger predators.

Identification

The pigfish has long anal fins, matching the soft dorsal fin in shape and in size. The head is sloped and pointed, the snout almost piglike, and the lips thin. A background color of bluish-gray is marked with brassy spots in indistinct lines that are horizontal below the lateral line but extend obliquely upward and backward above the lateral line. These oblique markings are also found on the cheeks. The fins are yellow-bronze, with dusky margins.

Pilotfish (Naucrates ductor)

Pilotfish are a unique and circumtropical species widely found in the Atlantic, the Pacific, and the Indian Oceans. They are renowned for accompanying large sharks on their oceanic wanderings, as well as whales, rays, schools of various other fish, and ships. A pilotfish is said to have followed a sailing ship for 80 days.

This species has no angling value but is often observed by offshore anglers. It feeds on scraps of the host’s leftovers, as well as on parasites, small fish, and invertebrates. Minor commercial interest exists for this species, which is of the jack family and looks somewhat like an amberjack.

The pilotfish has five to seven dark vertical bars on its elongated body and a low spinous first dorsal fin with four spines. It can grow to a maximum of 27 inches.