September '98 California Barracuda Species: Sphyraena argentea; from the Greek wordsphyraena (an ancient name meaning hammer fish) and the Latin word argenteum(silvery). Alternate Names: Barry, gar, scooter, scoot, pencilor snake. Identification: Barracudas are long and slender witha sharp-pointed head and a mouth full of very sharp fang-like teeth. They have twowidely seperated dorsal fins. They have a distinct look from most other fish, althoughthe young look a little like lizardfish. Size: Reported to 5 feet but recorded to 4 feet and18 pounds; most caught off piers are under 30 inches. Almost all large barracudaare females. Range: Cape San Lucas, Baja California to Kodiak Island,Alaska. Uncommon north of Morro Bay. Habitat: Pelagic, but young are often found inshoreand in bays. Piers: Commonly caught on piers north to Point Conceptionalthough fish are sometimes caught, in late summer or fall, at Pismo Beach and Avilia.Best Bets: Shelter Island Pier, Ocean Beach Pier, Oceanside Pier, San Clemente Pier,Huntington Beach Pier, Hermosa Beach Pier, Manhatten Beach Pier, Santa Monica Pierand Goleta Pier. Bait and Tackle: Live anchovies, when available, areby far the best bait. If using live anchovies, try a size 4 hook and a sliding leaderor use a float/bobber to keep the leader at mid-depth. A wire leader is at timesa necessity but you will get far fewer bites. Size and Number Limit: There is a twenty-eight inchminimum size requirement and ten fish may be taken and possessed. Food Value: Keeper fish are good eating but will tendto soften quickly if left in the hot sun so clean soon after capture and then keepthe fillets in a cooler. Comments: Although barracuda today are considered somewhatof a bonus fish by most pier fisherman, there was a time, in the not too distantpast, when they were common to piers; however, the numbers that frequent piers seemto decrease each year. When I first moved from Newport Beach to San Diego, I wassurprised at the number of barracuda caught from piers inside San Diego Bay and MissionBay. Since then I have come to learn that bays are often the best areas for the youngbarracuda -- small fish up to around two feet in length. In those days it was sometimescommon to catch a fish on nearly every cast using a live anchovy or a small lure,especially gold or silver spoons. Today these small fish are illegal and it is bestto simply not fish for them; hooks, in particular the treble hooks common to spoons,will tear up the mouths of the under-sized fish. Strange but true, the only timeI ever caught a fish with my line OUT of the water was when I was fishing for barracudaone day near the Dana Marina in Mission Bay. A friend and I had rented a rowboatearly one morning, and then proceeded to tie gold spoons onto our lines before headingout to the small bait barge in the cove. I left my pole at the back of the boat withthe spoon dangling at least 8-10 inches away from the water. Imagine my surprisewhen a small barracuda jumped out of the water and grabbed the lure as we were rowingout to our spot. And yes, I did land the fish. It happened in August of 1964 on atrip where I caught 21 barracuda, 16 queenfish and 2 halibut. The "out of water"fish was the highlight.
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