Rockfish ident 101

Jennie@ifish · 10-23-2002, 04:52 AM

A gentleman wrote to me:

Comment: I caught these two fish off the rocks in Seaside, OR. I didn't know what they were so I threw them back. Could you please tell me?

http://www.geocities.com/dsony/fish/orangefish.jpg

http://www.geocities.com/dsony/fish/brownfish.jpg

Can someone help?
(I guess geocities doesn't allow images to be displayed on other sites...)

Jen

Thanks!
Jen

[ 10-23-2002, 05:53 AM: Message edited by: Jennie@ifish ]

Miss B Haven · 10-23-2002, 06:31 AM

Hmmm.... Link doesnt' work. Too many ifishers taking the challenge or technical difficulties? Too bad, I'd like to try, need the practice. I've got a good book with color plates and full description. It's still tough on some of them. [img]graemlins/stupid.gif[/img]

OceanBlue · 10-23-2002, 06:42 AM

Here's the brown one. I couldn't get to the orange one, either.

Pilar · 10-23-2002, 07:12 AM

Kelp Greenling.

You can tell if it is a boy or girl by color but I forget which is which. These fish eat like a dream but are in trouble because of it. One of the main targets of the live fish industry.

Orange would be a Canary? Black tips on the fins means it a Yellow Eye. But they don't frequent jettys.

What's up with the Photos?

Miss B Haven · 10-23-2002, 07:28 AM

Yep - It's a greenling, yummm. :grin: Still can't get to the link pages. :depressed:

10-23-2002, 08:26 AM

Kelp Greenling, good eating but I rarely kill them. This one is a male.

[ 10-23-2002, 09:31 AM: Message edited by: Keta ]

Sensei-san · 10-23-2002, 08:31 AM

Jen, The best place to find an accurate picture of any rockfish is:

http://www.id.ucsb.edu/lovelab/index.html

It is Dr. Milton Love's webpage at UCSB. He is the world's expert on rockfish and like many marine biologists of the past, like Doc Ricketts of Cannery Row fame, very whacko. You just have to watch Sponge Bob, the creator is also a marine biologist.

Keep Pilar way from his site.

Chum King · 10-23-2002, 08:56 AM

Considering the fact that the brown one was obviously a male kelp greenling (would have blueish spots over the body as well), and the location of the catch. The "orange" one was most likely a female kelp greenling. The female kelp greenling tends to be a light brown body color with lots of small rusty orange spots which gives it an orange appearance.

It is highly unlikely that someone fishing off the shore at Seaside would catch any red/orange rockfish as they tend to be found in much deeper water. You can find pics and information on a large number of local marine fish species at http://www.hmsc.orst.edu/odfw/finfis...rame_main.html

Pete · 10-23-2002, 09:02 AM

Here's the other one

10-23-2002, 09:04 AM

Can't tell from the picture.

Pilar · 10-23-2002, 09:07 AM

Orange spots!

Miss B Haven · 10-23-2002, 09:09 AM

Wow - Looks like nothing I've ever seen. Sure is shaped like a greenling, but that color is wild. Of course these things take on different colors and can be the same species. I caught a 9 lb Cabizon once that was black and yellow. It was about 50/50 on each color, small spots/patches in rough bands about 1/4 inch in size. Never seen one that color before or since. The meat was blue too, like a blue Ling cods. :whazzup:

[ 10-23-2002, 10:16 AM: Message edited by: Miss B Haven ]

Chum King · 10-23-2002, 09:20 AM

It is a rock greenling. Not nearly as common in the catch as the kelp greenling. With the rock greenling, the meat seems to always be blue (notice the blue on the inside of the mouth). Kelp greenling, lingcod, cabezon, and a few others will occasionally have the blue/green meat, but the rock greenling seems to always have the color to the flesh.

Just checked the two fish ID web sites linked earlier (Hatfield Marine Science Center and The Love Lab), and neither has a pic of a rock greenling. Did find a couple of other links including these: http://www.primasoft.com/deluxeprg/s..._Greenling.htm
http://www.seaotter.com/~jong/Marine...halus.jpg.html

[ 10-23-2002, 10:33 AM: Message edited by: Chum King ]

puffins crew · 10-23-2002, 12:00 PM

Great response everyone! thanks for all of your input!

Bait O' Eggs · 10-23-2002, 12:13 PM

I thought I had caught a lot of greenling, but I guess I have never even seen a rock greenling. :shocked:

Very colorful.

10-23-2002, 12:39 PM

It's new to me too. :smile:

Miss B Haven · 10-23-2002, 01:48 PM

Maybe it's a spawner :shocked:

:grin:

Threemuch · 10-23-2002, 02:08 PM

FYI for those of you who may be interested, there is an AWESOME book by Milton Love, called "Probably More than you Wanted to Know about the Fishes of the Pacific Coast" . Loads of great info and also very funny.

Sensei-san · 10-23-2002, 03:21 PM

Jennie,

Ah shucks... You shouldn't have thrown them back. They definitely look vile and poisonious. My cat would have gladly beta tested them for you. Next time send them my way.

(If you believe that, I have a bridge to sell you.)

Snakebite · 10-23-2002, 04:45 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Chum King:
It is a rock greenling. Not nearly as common in the catch as the kelp greenling. With the rock greenling, the meat seems to always be blue (notice the blue on the inside of the mouth). Kelp greenling, lingcod, cabezon, and a few others will occasionally have the blue/green meat, but the rock greenling seems to always have the color to the flesh.

Just checked the two fish ID web sites linked earlier (Hatfield Marine Science Center and The Love Lab), and neither has a pic of a rock greenling. Did find a couple of other links including these: http://www.primasoft.com/deluxeprg/s..._Greenling.htm
http://www.seaotter.com/~jong/Marine/research/hexagrammos/lagocephalus/html/l agocephalus.jpg.html

<font size="2" face="verdana,arial,helv">Gee! It looks like Chumking knows something about fish other than salmon after all! WOW! Just kidding. The man is correct!

Miss B Haven · 10-23-2002, 07:12 PM

Wow - now I'm really impressed. My book doesn't have it, lovelab doesn't have it, ODFW doesn't have it and now a guy who has 200 dives just barely got a pic (besides the fisherguy who released it). :whazzup:
These things look like what you see in a salt water tropical aquarium. :smile:
It's what I love about bottom fishing. You never know what your going to pull up! :grin:

Chum King · 10-23-2002, 08:20 PM

Snakebite: I thank you for your ever so kind words of support and encouragement. Are you ill?

Miss B Haven (and other Salty Dogs): The best field guide to marine species that I have run across is the Peterson Guide to Pacific Coast Fishes. It uses color drawings for fish, and with only a few exceptions I feel is very accurate. Just don't use it for ocean caught salmon, the guide doesn't hold up.

Sensei-san · 10-23-2002, 10:32 PM

Let's test chumking. Name the latest addition to the genus Oncorhynchus?

For a long time it was classified as a trout, a member of the salmo genus. Unlike other species of Oncorhynchus, it spawns several times in its lifespan. It's first scientific name was salmo irideus. It is native to the West Coast of America and was the first aquacultured species of salmonids. The first fish hatchery to rear this species was in a town on the San Francisco Bay in the 1850's. Because of its widespread aquaculturing, it's original hatchery genetic markers are found in nearly all members of its species, even in New Zealand.

Fishplay · 10-24-2002, 01:29 AM

Sensi,
That would be the Rainbow trout.

Chum King · 10-24-2002, 04:52 AM

I didn't know that I was going to have to wake up this morning to an ichthyological exam. Sensei-san, you really didn't need to go much further than the first sentence. As Fish-play beat me to the easy answer, I'll have to give a somewhat more detailed response.

That finny critter of which you speak, the rainbow trout/steelhead, was reclassified from Salmo gardineri to Oncorrhynchus mykiss. However Senei, if memory serves me correctly, all Pacific Coast members (any species West of the Rockies) of the genus Salmo were reclassified to the genus Oncorrhynchus (the genus previously associated with Pacific salmon: chinook/king, coho/silver, chum/dog, pink/humpy, sockeye/red, and masu/cherry) at the same time. That change resulted in a number of other species including cutthroat trout and golden trout to be moved to the genus Oncorrhynchus. However, the rainbow (again if memory serves me correctly) was the only one to have its species name changed as well (has to do with the original description of the species).

Sounds as if you have been studying their history quite thoroughly. Have a nice day. :smile:

[ 10-24-2002, 06:01 AM: Message edited by: Chum King ]

Slow Roll · 10-24-2002, 12:41 PM

I dunno, he might have been fishing in someones fish tank, that one with the orange spots sure looks a lot like an Oscar to me. [img]graemlins/eek13.gif[/img]

Loved mine, would eat anything that swims and could fit in their mouth. Had to give them to a bigger home, they were only about 10" long.

Ah well, at least someone is out fishing, just wish it was me.

Paul B.

OceanBlue · 10-24-2002, 12:47 PM

Paul: I think you need to change your "handle" - maybe Eeyore would work. :grin:

Why no fishing? I know your fiancee (or is she your wife by now) likes to. What's up? All work and no play make Paul a dull boy!

(is the goading working yet?)

Slow Roll · 10-24-2002, 01:40 PM

Yea, yea, I know poor me. [img]graemlins/berry.gif[/img]
Pin the tail on the.............no wait, his is held on with a button. :whazzup:

We have been too busy with the house lately. Finally got the carpet installed on Monday so it doesn't look like a white trash house with just plywood floors and a big pile of torn out carpet out front. No dogs under the front porch, at least not yet and all the vehicles in the driveway still run. [img]graemlins/stupid.gif[/img]

Actually we are going out with a friend this saturday. Either crabbing in Tilly and chasing salmon, or heading up to Lady Is. for coho and some C&R sturgeon.

Decsions, decisions. Any opinions anyone?

Paul B.

OceanBlue · 10-24-2002, 01:58 PM

That plywood/particle board look is definitely out! I tried that 2 years ago and just didn't like it. I don't have a porch, or extra vehicles in the driveway, but can't seem to get rid of the white-trash look anyway - the house is white and the trash from the neighborhood assembles itself in my yard daily.

Anyway, congrats on getting the house stuff done and getting out this weekend. Don't lose your tail and you'll be okay.

10-24-2002, 02:31 PM

Jen,
I could come up, sit on your porch and play banjo for you and John :shocked:

OceanBlue · 10-24-2002, 02:38 PM

:grin:

Slow Roll · 10-24-2002, 02:42 PM

Oh the image that comes to mind on that one Keta. :shocked:
LMAO

10-24-2002, 03:49 PM

Slow Roll,
Both my wife and me still have all of our teeth. Most of my wifes are on a string around her neck. :grin: (don't let my wife hear this or she'll get out her :shocked: "Bobbit Knife" :shocked: )

ds00 · 10-24-2002, 10:09 PM

Hey thanks y'all for your help identifying the fish. I figured the brown one was a sea trout as described in the dfw handbook for the marine region. But I could not find a description for the rockfish anywhere! (thx Chum King for pointing it out and everyone else who guided me where to look)

Now to continue the thread of 101 fishing, how do you not lose your weights when fishing on the rocks in Seaside.

I would say I lose my weight every time I cast out. Are there any special techniques or weights to use so you don't get your weight snaged on the rocks?

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated!

OceanBlue · 10-25-2002, 07:57 AM

Uh-Oh! Is ds00 a newbie?

Do we hear a story coming? :grin: