About

China Rockfish

Peak Season: December-March

• Best Technique: Deep dropping live bait or metal jigs, dropper loop, longline gear, otter trawls, traps, hook and line.

• Best Bait: live bait, metal jigs, swimbaits and feathers.

Typical stout, bass-like shape with tall, strong head spines. Body mostly blackish or olive-brown, with about 5-7 large irregular yellow blotches on the back; pale below. There’s a yellow patch between the dorsal fin spines and faint dark stripes radiate from the eye. Almost identical in every “ecological and morphological” aspect with gopher rockfish (Sebastes carnatus) from which they cannot be distinguished genetically (Love, etc. 2002). The exceptions are the depth at where most are found (black-and-yellows in shallower waters) and the coloring. Black-and-yellows are, no surprise, black/brown/yellow instead of the gopher’s brown/pink/white.