This picture was identified as a grass rockfish but the coloring is much more like a kelp rockfish. I wondered if it might be a kelp rockfish. However, I contacted Milton Love down at the Love Lab at UCSB and he said sure enough it's a grass rockfish. One of the most confusing things sometimes about fish is the color which is why I have guidebooks with line drawings and guidebooks in color. In this case I also needed some expert advice.
Milton: "Whoa. Nice fish. I think that, despite the coloration, it is most likely a grass. The location of the catch [that is, quite shallow water and near rocks], the shape of the body, the size [kelps don't get that big, but grasses do], that darker stripe running laterally behind the eye [pretty characteristic of grasses], all kind of say grass. I initially thought it could be a brown rockfish, but browns don't have that stripe and are usually not caught around rocks [except for off jetties where there is sand or mud around]. So, grass is the most likely candidate."
When I have a question on fish identity I go to Milton — he's the expert.
Caught by Sin_Coast in 2006.
Milton: "Whoa. Nice fish. I think that, despite the coloration, it is most likely a grass. The location of the catch [that is, quite shallow water and near rocks], the shape of the body, the size [kelps don't get that big, but grasses do], that darker stripe running laterally behind the eye [pretty characteristic of grasses], all kind of say grass. I initially thought it could be a brown rockfish, but browns don't have that stripe and are usually not caught around rocks [except for off jetties where there is sand or mud around]. So, grass is the most likely candidate."
When I have a question on fish identity I go to Milton — he's the expert.
Caught by Sin_Coast in 2006.
