dtutko1 - 12-26-2010 at 07:11 AM
Caught this just outside the San Pedrito, El Pescadero surf break last week. Now if I can post the pic.
Marla Daily - 12-26-2010 at 11:54 AM
The Clown Hawkfish is the largest of a group of several hawkfishes comprising the Cirrhitidae Family. The Hawkfishes are sedentary predatory fishes
that have been named by their tendency to perch on coral heads or boulders watching like hawks for their prey.
They all have a fringe of cirri on the hind edge of the anterior nostrils, cirri projecting from the membranes near the tips of the dorsal spines, and
they have thickened lower pectoral fin rays. They are voracious predators feeding on fishes and crustaceans. Globally, 32 species have been identified
of which 3 live in the Sea of Cortez.
In Mexico, the Clown Hawkfish is not found along the Pacific Coast of the Baja California peninsula, but is present throughout the Sea of Cortez,
along the coast of the mainland south to Guatemala, and around all oceanic islands. The Clown Hawkfish is considered an excellent food fish.
The Clown Hawkfish has unique markings, resembling oriental inscriptions, that are edged in blue and broken into vertical patterns on an olive colored
body. The Clown Hawkfish has a series of bands on the head radiating from the eye. This coloration pattern makes the Clown Hawkfish a very easy
species to identify. It is also characterized by its massive blunt head and large pectoral fins.
The Clown Hawkfish is quite abundant, reaching 20 inches in length and up to 7 pounds. The Clown Hawkfish can be found over rocky reefs in the surge
zone at depths up to 100 feet in the water column. [www.mexfish.com/fish/chawk/chawk.htm]
tiotomasbcs - 12-26-2010 at 01:34 PM
Is this not a Leopard Grouper?? Almost tooo beautiful to eat, no?! Hey Don, did you catch this trolling Pacifico cans? They reflect nicely in
the sun! Tan sabroso. 
Tio
GrOUper-GAr - 12-27-2010 at 12:50 PM
In the same way that 'Kelp Bass' and 'Calico Bass' bring to mind 1 type of fish,
Clown Hawkfish, Chino Mero, and Giant Hawkfish are 3 different common names for the same fish(at least in Baja).
-------
I've always known it as "giant hawkfish",
but that was just the name my brother and I found for it after
catching our 1st one off the rocks near Puerto Vallarta some 30 yrs ago.
RegardLess,
I'm not trying to correct anyone, as all 3 names are correct-ish.
In fact, this just looked like a great opportunity to share with otherS an awesome Book that goes relatively un-notiCed.
Reef Fishes of the Sea of Cortez, by THOMSON-FINDLEY-KERSTITCH originally published in 1979, a revised edition was published by
University of Texas Press in 2000.
--------
No fishing tips, or stories of how white, flakey, and YUmmY a filet is gonna be.
Nope, Just sTra!T information on "Reef fishes of the Sea of Cortez".
Great for identifying that 'OddBaLL'
...or for anyone who dons a face-mask in Baja.
