BajaNomad

Fish ID?

Snorkman - 5-17-2020 at 05:41 AM

Got 4 of these guys at 550 ft. very different looking but good eating. Any one know the name or have hooked one before? 4 to 6 lbs with lots of teeth!

DSCN0627.JPG - 328kB

Lobsterman - 5-17-2020 at 06:09 AM

Yum,

Sablefish aka black cod or butterfish. Mark that hole for the future.

I've been looking for sablefish off San Diego's coast for 20 years and only found them only once. Normally at 4k-6k feet but come up to spawn in shallower waters.

Where about did you find them?
What bait did you use?

[Edited on 5-17-2020 by Lobsterman]

Paco Facullo - 5-17-2020 at 06:19 AM

What a GREAT first post !!

I've never even seen one, Nice call Lobsterman.
U.S. or Mexican waters ???

Snorkman
Welcome y Totas.......

Snorkman - 5-17-2020 at 06:38 AM

Thanks for the ID, Lobsterman. I got them in 550 ft on a high spot 5 miles off Punta Chivato light house. This time of year we catch Baqueta and a lot of other fish. Yep I do believe they are spawning or at least taking advantage of the hoards of "Fry" in the area.

Lobsterman - 5-17-2020 at 06:58 AM

I'm really tempted now to buy a trailer for my Cabo216 and head down your way. Deepwater fishing is my kind of fishing especially now with my new self-deploying trolling motor with "spot lock" which keeps you over the hole indefinitely.

https://www.bdoutdoors.com/forums/threads/trolling-motor-for...

Meany - 5-17-2020 at 07:16 AM

Welcome Snorkman to Nomad. Great catch. Glad to see some one is out fishing. Have fun out there.:bounce:

AKgringo - 5-17-2020 at 08:51 AM

Commercial fishermen catch them at about 500 - 600 feet in Alaskan waters. I fished out of a Zodiac for years, and deep water was not my thing, but one year we caught a bunch of cod that were a dead ringer for that guy while mooching herring for salmon in Resurrection Bay (Seward Alaska)

Damn fine eating, what ever they were!

David K - 5-17-2020 at 09:36 AM

Welcome to Nomad, Snorkman.

Gene Kira created a very helpful fish ID web page that is still online:
https://mexfish.com/fish/fish.htm

However, Sablefish aka black cod or butterfish is not listed?
I also can't find those names in my Baja fish books... Then, I opened up Ray Cannon's 'How to Fish the Pacific Coast' c1964 and found those names. However, he gives the range from Northern California to Alaska... and his illustration doesn't quite match the photo.... ??

55steve - 5-17-2020 at 10:18 AM

My bud used to commercially fish sablefish/black cod between Catalina & San Clemente islands - deep water for sure.

This fish is sometimes available for purchase at Catalina Offshore Products in San Diego.

[Edited on 5-17-2020 by 55steve]

Snorkman - 5-17-2020 at 12:01 PM

Quote: Originally posted by Lobsterman  
I'm really tempted now to buy a trailer for my Cabo216 and head down your way. Deepwater fishing is my kind of fishing especially now with my new self-deploying trolling motor with "spot lock" which keeps you over the hole indefinitely.

https://www.bdoutdoors.com/forums/threads/trolling-motor-for...


Looks like a serious rig. We pretty much just drift at a likely depth and some times we get lucky.

Snorkman - 5-17-2020 at 12:03 PM

Quote: Originally posted by Meany  
Welcome Snorkman to Nomad. Great catch. Glad to see some one is out fishing. Have fun out there.:bounce:


We miss you Meany, this is Snorklebob old boy

Snorkman - 5-17-2020 at 12:09 PM

Quote: Originally posted by David K  
Welcome to Nomad, Snorkman.

Gene Kira created a very helpful fish ID web page that is still online:
https://mexfish.com/fish/fish.htm

However, Sablefish aka black cod or butterfish is not listed?
I also can't find those names in my Baja fish books... Then, I opened up Ray Cannon's 'How to Fish the Pacific Coast' c1964 and found those names. However, he gives the range from Northern California to Alaska... and his illustration doesn't quite match the photo.... ??


Back in the day, I took Neil Kelly's class over at Coronado High school. A real great guy. Turned out he lived about a mile from me in Claremont in San Diego. Those guys were not about deep fishing, the were surface fishermen and damn good ones to.

Snorkman - 5-17-2020 at 12:11 PM

Quote: Originally posted by Meany  
Welcome Snorkman to Nomad. Great catch. Glad to see some one is out fishing. Have fun out there.:bounce:


Thanks for the welcome. been lurking here forever. Great forum!

Meany - 5-17-2020 at 12:20 PM

Hola Snorkman, I knew that but didn't want to let the cat out of the bag. I'm sure those are your feet?? I got a couple of those fish off a party boat along time ago, at the channel Islands. Very deep. The Becks are on the way today.

David K - 5-17-2020 at 12:34 PM

There are indeed Pacific-side fish in the gulf, so that is easily the case here.

Not too much is said about the California corbina living around San Felipe, but they are (or used to be) thick on the sandy bottom beaches.

Coming into lagoons or bays during the near-high, incoming tide, was the time. Laguna Percebu and Bahia Santa Maria were ideal corbina and yellowfin croaker ('boca dulce') catching spots. We used mussels, picked off the docks in San Diego, for bait. Frozen-cut grunion worked fantastic, too, caught during a grunion run. I miss surf fishing with my folks... Going out on pangas near Loreto (yellowtail & dorado) was big fun, too.

basautter - 5-17-2020 at 03:31 PM

Cool catch! Thanks for posting :coolup:

bobrehfuss - 5-17-2020 at 04:42 PM

Very cool and unique catch. I love fishing for and eating Baqueta but I’ve never caught any of those. I’ve never caught a sablefish either but I have a friend who fishes them commercially in Alaska and I’ve learned a bit about them from him over the years. It seemed odd that a fish would be so far out of its range. Since I’m on day 6 after knee replacement surgery, I don’t have a lot to do so I did some research. I agree it does resemble a Sablefish, however after comparing pics of Sablefish to your catch there appear to be some differences in the head, mouth, fins and tail. I believe what you encountered are Pacific Hake. Not only do the physical features match up but the depth is consistent as well as a documented population in the SOC.

From: Fishes of the East Pacific
Pacific Hake:
Silvery above, whitish below.
Max Size: 91cm.
Habitat: pelagic.
Depth: 12-1400 m.
Range: Oregon to and throughout the Gulf of California; the Revillagigedos

Here is a link with pics and details.

https://www.mexican-fish.com/pacific-hake/

Thanks for sharing, until today I had no idea that fish even existed in Mex waters.



[Edited on 5-17-2020 by bobrehfuss]

[Edited on 5-18-2020 by bobrehfuss]

Pacific Hake

Snorkman - 5-18-2020 at 05:25 AM

Good job, you nailed it. The Pacific Hake. Hope you recover quickly from your knee surgery. TC

Lobsterman - 5-18-2020 at 08:13 AM

I stand corrected it looks like a pacific hake to me also. Nice call.
HH