Anyone else notice the decline of kingfish (white croaker) and staghorn sculpins (bullheads)...
- Thread starter Ken Jones
- Start date
White Croaker (aka tom cod, kingfish, and a dozen other names)
Staghirn Sculpin (aka bullhead)
Snookie, I too have never considered Newport and Balboa good piers for white croaker (aka tom cods and kingfish). In all my many trips to the Newport Pier from 1962-2024 I only show a total of 111 being caught at the pier. The majority of those were caught when I was staying at Newport Beach in 1976. A 5-8 pm trip to the Newport Pier on February 26 saw a catch of 38 white croaker along with six other species. The next morning, February 27, I fished from 5-8 am and caught 36 white croaker along with five other species. Six hours fishing and 120 fish including a couple of oddities for the pier—calico rockfish and olive rockfish. I assume it was cold water conditions those trips although quite a few jack mackerel were included in the mix along with two kelp bass. Kind of strange. The only other trip to Newport when I caught as many as ten white croaker was on April 14, 1979. The most white croaker I have ever caught on a trip to Balboa was on July 21, 1977 when I caught 8 along with some jacksmelt, bocaccio, and one halibut. I always considered the Huntingon Beach Pier the pier for white croaker.
I've only caught 24 stagorn sculpin on my many trips to the Newport Pier. Never more than six on a trip to the pier (August 10, 1993 and December 11, 2002).
I've been hearing about the declines since the 2000s and i've never really intentionally targeted them since the mid 90s. Could be because the bay is cleaning up? could also be because more and more of my circle of fishing buddies are fishing for larger fish (using bigger baits that don't normally attract kingfish/bullheads) or outright switched over to plastics.
There was a noted decline in overall white croaker numbers in the state and it's one reason they put a limit on them back in ?? At the same time one of the reasons they established a limit was to discourage people from catching and eating them since they were considered the worse of the worst as far as fish with toxins. Many people had simply ignored the warnings about eating them.
Some feel the issue with toxins is a direct link with a decrease in population but I think the fishery biologists, to date, have not reached agreement.
Some feel the issue with toxins is a direct link with a decrease in population but I think the fishery biologists, to date, have not reached agreement.
Breaking radio silence, I'm still alive,
In SF and San Pablo Bay (and Suisun and Grizzly Bays to some extent), staghorn use tidal marshes as nursery habitat, while white croaker spawn and rear in the Bay before moving out into oceanic waters. Given the widespread destruction/degradation of tidal marshes and extreme changes to the estuary's food web, it's not surprising both have declined. Also, the adults historically moved into the Bay in coldwater years, taking refuge in warmer bay water from cold oceanic water. Given rising oceanic water temperatures, both species don't particularly need to make that migration anymore. There's still an ungodly number of staghorns in the Bay (especially in Raccoon Strait and Treasure Island), but certainly not as many in shallow habitats as in years past. As for white croaker, they're around seasonally, but some senior CDFW SF Bay Study employees have also noticed a decline in numbers of adults. And generally a decline in native fishes and invertebrates over the years. Sure is really telling about the environmental state the Bay is in.
In SF and San Pablo Bay (and Suisun and Grizzly Bays to some extent), staghorn use tidal marshes as nursery habitat, while white croaker spawn and rear in the Bay before moving out into oceanic waters. Given the widespread destruction/degradation of tidal marshes and extreme changes to the estuary's food web, it's not surprising both have declined. Also, the adults historically moved into the Bay in coldwater years, taking refuge in warmer bay water from cold oceanic water. Given rising oceanic water temperatures, both species don't particularly need to make that migration anymore. There's still an ungodly number of staghorns in the Bay (especially in Raccoon Strait and Treasure Island), but certainly not as many in shallow habitats as in years past. As for white croaker, they're around seasonally, but some senior CDFW SF Bay Study employees have also noticed a decline in numbers of adults. And generally a decline in native fishes and invertebrates over the years. Sure is really telling about the environmental state the Bay is in.