Scaleless. Brown, reddish, or greenish above, whitish or greenish below. Upper preopercular spine stout, slightly curved. A large branched cirrus above eye. A triangular flap of skin on snout. 5 soft rays in pelvic fin.

To 99 cm. (39 in.).

Alaska to central Baja.

Intertidal and to 40 fm.

A sculpin commonly caught by sport fishermen.

Picture: ODFW.
Text: Peterson Field Guide to Pacific Coast Fishes.

Disc nearly round. Thick and flabby. Smooth skin, short stocky tail with two dorsal fins and a large caudal fin. Dark gray to bluish, or brownish gray above. Often with small irregular black spots.

Females to 137 cm. (4.5 ft.); males to 91 cm. (3 ft.).

Northern British Columbia to central Baja.

1.7 - 150 fm.

Electric rays off Peru, Chile, and Japan may be this species.

Pacific Electric Ray

Picture: Bill Barss, ODFW.
Text: Peterson Field Guide to Pacific Coast Fishes

A common northern jack. Spinous dorsal fin slightly higher than soft dorsal fin. Pectoral fin ends before front of anal fin. Scutes are located along the lateral line; scutes at front are smaller. Lateral line dips strongly at end of pectoral fin. In some large individuals, last few rays at rear of soft dorsal and anal fins are almost entirely separate from rest of fin-like finlets. Metallic blue to olive-green above; silvery below. Dark spot on upper rear of gill cover. Top of head and area near eye quite dark. Fins mostly clear, but caudal fin yellowish to reddish.

To 81 cm (32 inches).

SE. Alaska to S. Baja. Pelagic, often in large schools. Young frequently school near kelp and under piers.

Surface to at least 100 fm. Often offshore.

Often caught on baited hook from piers and boats, also while salmon trolling. Commercially fished along our coast. Feeds on crustaceans, other pelagic organisms, small fishes. Large individuals often move inshore and north in the summer.

Picture: Bill Barss; Text: Peterson Field Guide to Pacific Coast Fishes, 1983.

Females freckled all over with small reddish brown to golden spots on gray to brownish background; fins mostly yellowish orange. Male gray to brownish olive, with irregular blue spots on front of body; each spot surrounded by ring of small reddish brown spots. Inside of mouth yellowish. Anal fin usually has one weak spine.

To 53 cm. (21 in.).

Aleutian Islands to La Jolla; rare in southern California

To 25 fm.

Similar to Lingcod which has a much larger mouth, jaw extending beyond eye.

Sea Trout

Picture: Bill Barss; Text: Peterson Field Guide to Pacific Coast Fishes

Large, elongate. Dorsal fin long; spinous and soft-rayed parts nearly separated by a notch. Mouth large, upper jaw extends past eye. Teeth large, caninelike. 1 lateral line. Head unscaled; body covered with small cycloid scales. 3 spines in anal fin. A cirrus above eye. Gray to brown or green or bluish above, with darker and lighter spotting; paler below. Young blotched; caudal fin forked.

To 152 cm (5 feet), about 70 lb, but rarely more than 4 ft, 40 lb., females larger.

Kodiak I. to N. Baja.

Adults near rocks; inshore and to 230 fm. Young on sand or mud bottom of bays and inshore areas.

Very important sport and commercial species. Prized by bottom-fishing sport and spear fishermen. Highly esteemed as food.

Picture: Bill Barss; Text: Peterson Field Guide to Pacific Coast Fishes, 1983.

Red with some black on fins. Spiny ridge on sub-orbital bone. Third dorsal spine longest. Gill chamber mostly dark.

To 39 cm (15 inches).

Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands to Baja California.

Deepwater species, 110 to 960 fm.

Similar to larger shortspine thornyhead which has pink gill chamber and shorter 3rd dorsal spine.

idiotfish, cat, hardhead, longspine channel rockfish

Picture: Bill Barss; Text: Bill Barss and Alaska Sea Grant Marine Advisory Bulletin No. 25

Dorsal fins widely separated; 8-10 spines in 1st dorsal fin. Usually 5 dorsal and 5 anal finlets. A small, single-pointed skin flap between the pelvic fins. Body fully scaled; no corselet. About 30 irregular, nearly vertical bars along back, extending onto head. Greenish or bluish above; shading to silvery below, usually with dusky spots on lower side.

To 64 cm (25 inches).

Alaska to Mexico; most abundant between Monterey Bay and S. Baja.

EPI to 100 fm.

A very important commercial species-sold fresh, canned, smoked, and used as bait.

Picture: Bill Barss, ODFW
Text: Peterson Field Guide to Pacific Coast Fishes, 1983.

Body elongate, caudal fin square-cut. 3 dorsal fins. Note the chin barbel (length about equal to eye diameter). 2 anal fins - 1st begins below front of 2nd dorsal fin. Brown to gray above, with brown spots or pale areas on back and side; lighter below. Fins somewhat dusky; dorsal, caudal, and anal fins usually white-edged.

To 114 cm (45 inches).

Widely distributed in cooler regions of Pacific and adjacent seas; Japan to Bering Sea and to Santa Monica, California, but rare south of N. California.

Usually near bottom; wide-ranging 7-300 fm. Usually shallower in spring, deeper in fall.

Of major commercial importance along the coast of N. Pacific; the most important trawl-caught bottom fish off B.C., where it is known as the Gray Cod. Marketed fresh and frozen, often as fish sticks.

truecod, gray cod

Picture: Bill Barss, ODFW
Text: Peterson Field Guide to Pacific Coast Fishes, 1983.

Tapered tail, no caudal fin. Snout pointed. 1st dorsal fin is short. 2nd dorsal fin ray spiny.

To 87 cm (34 inches).

Bering Sea to Baja California

118 - 1400 fm.

rattail

Picture: Bill Barss; Text: Peterson Field Guide to Pacific Coast Fishes, 1983.

Bluish green to olive above, silvery below. Compressed, with no black spots on side. Last dorsal fin ray not elongate. Large scales, but no scales on fins, head or tail. No adipose fin. Pelvic fin under dorsal fin.

To 46 cm. (18 in.).

Korea and Japan to Alaska to central California.

Frequently offshore, but usually inshore in harbors and large estuaries during spawning. In schools.

Fished commercially from San Francisco northward. Eggs sometimes exported to Japan.

Picture: Bill Barss; Text: Peterson Field Guide to Pacific Coast Fishes.

Similar to cods, with an elongate body and square-cut caudal fin. 2nd dorsal fin and anal fin deeply notched. No chin barbel. Lower jaw projects slightly. Sharp teeth. Scales tiny and cycloid, frequently rubbed off during capture. Body soft. Silvery, with black speckles on back. Inside of mouth black.

To 91 cm (36 inches).

Coast of Asia to Alaska and to S. Baja and Gulf of California.

Common at moderate depths. Near bottom or higher in water column to 500 fm. In schools.

Occasionally caught while trolling for salmon. Flesh is soft. Filleted, headed and gutted and processed into surimi.

hake, whiting, Pacific Hake

Text: Peterson Field Guide to Pacific Coast Fishes, 1983.

Reddish, with brown, white and black mottling above; whitish below. 1st dorsal fin notched between 3rd and 4th spines. Scales on body in 2 main bands.

To 51 cm. (20 in.).

Kamchatka to Monterey Bay.

Intertidal and to 25 fm.

Often caught on baited hook; good eating.

Picture: ODFW; Text: Peterson Field Guide to Pacific Coast Fishes.

All fins usually reddish. Reddish to brownish bars on side. Silvery overall with a pale olive tinge above. Dorsal spines much longer than dorsal soft rays.

To 41 cm. (16 in.).

Vancouver Island to Monterey Bay, California.

Sandy beaches in surf on exposed coast, sometimes in bays and backwaters to 4 fm.

An important sport fish caught in the surf.

Picture: Bill Barss, ODFW.
Text: Peterson Field Guide to Pacific Coast Fishes.

A large cirrus above eye. Color varies: usually greenish to brown with darker mottling, but most fish usually have bright red blotches on sides. Two lines of red radiating backward down from eyes. Prominent dark spot above angle of operculum (gill cover). Inside of mouth usually bluish. Dark bars or blotches on fins.

To 61 cm (24 inches).

Bering Sea, AK to Pt. Conception, CA.

Shallow rocky areas and kelp beds.

Often caught by shore fishermen.

Fringed greenling, red rock trout.

Picture: Nick Wilsman, ODFW.

An elongate fish with 2 dorsal fins. Anal fin similar to and opposite 2nd dorsal fin. Scales small, weakly ctenoid. Adults are slaty black or greenish gray above; usually with slightly paler blotches or chainlike pattern on upper back; paler below. At 1-2 feet (30-61 cm) often greenish, with faint stripes on back. Young under 6 in. (15 cm) are blue-black above; white below.

To 102 cm ( 40 inches), over 126 lb, but usually less than 76 cm (30 in.) and 25 lb.

Japan and Bering Sea to central Baja.

Wide-ranging often migratory. Adults on mud bottom at moderate depths - from 170 fm - 500 fm. to 1000 fm or deeper. Young in shallow water.

An important commercial species caught in trawls and traps and on longlines.

blackcod

Picture: Bill Barss, ODFW
Text: Peterson Field Guide to Pacific Coast Fishes, 1983.

Bright red with some black on fins. 1 or 2 black dots on spinous dorsal fin. Large head and elongate body. Strong spiny ridge on head. Fifth dorsal spine longest. Gill chamber mostly pale.

To 76 cm (30 inches).

Sea of Okhotsk, Bering Sea, and Aleutian Islands to Cedros Island, Baja California.

Deepwater species, 10 to 833 fm.

A common species. It is primarily exported to Japan but some is marketed in the United States. Similar to the smaller Longspine thornyhead which has long 3rd dorsal fin spine and dark gill chamber.

idiotfish, cat, hardhead, shortspine channel rockfish

Picture: Bill Barss, ODFW
Text: Alaska Sea Grant Marine Advisory Bulletin No. 25

To 203 cm (6 2/3 feet)

Sea of Japan and Aleutian Is. to Imperial Beach (so. Calif).
Adults live on bottom, usually among rocks in subtidal areas; often in dens.

To 123 fm (740 feet)

Eats hard-shelled invertebrates and also fishes. Large specimens reportedly can be vicious and can inflict a painful bite. Eggs are laid in rocky protected areas and are guarded by both sexes.

Picture: Bill Barss, ODFW
Text: Peterson Field Guide to Pacific Coast Fishes, 1983