Order Rhinobatiformes — Guitarfish—Family Rhinobatidae
Shovelnose Guitarfish
Shovelnose Guitarfish
Species: Rhinobatos productus (Ayres, 1854); from the Latin word rhin (shark with a rough skin) and the Greek word batis (a ray or skate), and the Latin word product (a lengthened form, in reference to its long shape and form).
A young Pete Wolf (owner of Big Hammer Lures) and a shovelnose guitarfish from the Goleta Pier.
Alternate Names: Shovelnose shark, sand shark or guitarfish. Called guitarra viola in Mexico.
Boyd Grant and a large shovelnose guitarfish from the Ventura Pier
Identification: They have a rather spade-shaped head with a long and pointed nose; the disk is longer than it is wide. Their body is flattened but the tail is well developed with two dorsal fins on the top. Their coloring is sandy brown above, white below. (They also have the “most soulful, woebegone eyes you have ever seen.” This last reference is from the book Certainly More Than You Want To Know About The Fishes Of The Pacific Coast by the eminent marine biologist Dr. Robin Milton Love, a book that every angler who fishes California’s coast should read.)
A nice shovelnose guitarfish from the Cayucos Pier
Size: Recorded to 61.5 inches, reported to 5 1/2 feet in length and over 40 pounds. Typical size at piers is from two to four feet. The IGFA World Record fish weighed 28 lb. 12 oz. and was taken at Estero Bay, Ensenada, Mexico in 2021.
A young Haley and a young shovelnose guitarfish from the Ocean Beach Pier
Range: Southern Mexico and the Gulf of California to Tiburon, California (San Francisco Bay). Though once considered rare north of Monterey Bay, quite a few have been reported from San Francisco Bay piers since 2007.
A shovelnose guitarfish from the Pismo Beach Pier
Habitat: Generally found on sandy beaches in coastal waters as well as bays (on both muddy and sandy bottoms) to a depth of about 50 feet although recorded to a depth of 298 feet. Sometimes appears in very large aggregations (apparently when they’re in “the mood”). Typically feeds on worms, crabs, and clams.
Piers: One of the most common rays at all piers south of Pismo Beach and one of the favorites due to their size and the delicious meat, which can be cut from the tail. Best bets: Imperial Beach Pier, Ocean Beach Pier, Crystal Pier (San Diego), Oceanside Pier, San Clemente Pier, Newport Pier, Huntington Beach Pier, Seal Beach Pier, Redondo Beach Pier, Hermosa Beach Pier, Santa Monica Pier, Malibu Pier, Ventura Pier, Stearns Wharf (Santa Barbara), and Goleta Pier.
Shoreline: A favorite catch of southern California shore fishermen, especially in bays.
Boats: A few are caught by boaters and kayakers in San Diego Bay, Mission Bay, and San Pedro Bay.
A large shovelnose guitarfish from the Oceanside Pier
Bait and Tackle: Since this is one of the larger fish most pier anglers will encounter, you should use at least medium saltwater tackle—twenty pound test line and size 2 to 4/0 hooks. Guitarfish will hit almost any bait but live anchovies, smelt, shinerperch and brown bait—small queenfish or white croaker—seem to work best. Other baits considered to be good include ghost shrimp, squid, clams, innkeeper worms and cut mackerel or anchovies. Bait should be fished as close to the bottom as possible and in shallow water, just past the breakers. Most commonly seen in summer and fall.
A shovelnose guitarfish at the Marin Rod & Gun Club Pier
Food Value: A very good, mild-flavored fish. Unfortunately most anglers simply discard these fish even though, in taste and texture, the meat (found in two long, narrow fillets in the tail) is somewhat like that of expensive scallops. Suitable for several methods of cooking. Snookie, one of the senior members of the PFIC board, likes them best simply boiled and the meat used much like the shrimp in a shrimp cocktail. My dad used to head down to Mission Bay each day, pump up some ghost shrimp, cast out his rod, sit back in his chair with his dog Mitzi, and wait for a spotfin croaker or big old shovelnose to grab his bait. He was the one who taught me that guitarfish are good eating. In fact, one day he was talking to some visitors from Seattle who had been in San Diego on a fishing trip. They had fished on boats and shore and were ready to head home. He gave them some shovelnose fillets to take with them. They called a few days later stating that they liked the meat from the shovelnose better than the other fish. In fact, they said their daughter wanted them to return, fish exclusively for shovelnose, and bring some more of the meat back home. Who would have known?
A doubleheader, a shovelnose guitarfish (left) and bat ray (right) from the Cayucos Pier.
Comments: Remember to bring a net or pier gaff (but only gaff them if you intend to keep them)! And, be sure to have them close if you need them. One night during a stay at the pier in 1977, I decided to go shark fishing. Since the pier isn’t open to the public at night, I was the only angler fishing when, at 4 A.M., a huge guitarfish decided to swallow the squid I was using for bait. It was a great fight but unfortunately the fish, which I had hooked on the south side of the pier, had circled around the end of the pier and was on the north side when I finally got it to the surface. I could see a nearly five-foot-long guitarfish in the light from my flashlight but I had a problem since I was alone and my treble hook gaff was sitting next to the bench on the south side of the pier. Because of the wave action I didn’t want to risk trying to maneuver the fish around the end pilings back to the left. I finally decided to back up and try to reach my gaff while keeping the line tight, hoping the fish wouldn’t make a new run. It almost worked except that about the time I reached my gaff a large wave surged against the pier, the line stretched a little too tight, there was an abrupt and resounding snap in the line, and the fish was free. I was sick (to the bone) but soon adopted a Taoist-like attitude: to quote Dylan, perhaps it was a simple twist of fate. It was the proverbial “one that got away,” and it still brings back exciting memories after all these years.
(2) A related, more southerly (common from La Jolla south) and smaller relative, the banded guitarfish, Zapteryx exasperate (Jordan & Gilbert, 1880), is occasionally seen at SoCal piers. Most are caught from piers in San Diego Bay although I have a picture of one taken at the Goleta Pier, north of Santa Barbara.
(3) In Mexico, dead guitarfish are mutilated, shaped, dried, and turned into basilisks or diablos/devils and sold to naive tourists as curios.
A barred guitarfish from the Ferry Landing Pier in San Diego Bay
