Starry

Treefish
Sebastes serriceps

AKA lipstick bass, barber pole

length up to 16 inches

They are striking in appearance with a yellowish ground color and five to six vertical black bars on the side, with red, pink or orange lips. Found from San Francisco south, but are rare north of Point Conception. May inhabit very shallow waters up to 320 feet but are more common in more than 200 feet. Prefer rugged rocky areas with plenty of crevices and caves. They are solitary and highly territorial.

Sources and photo
California Finfish and Shelfish Identification Book
http://www.dfg.ca.gov/marine/nearshorefinfish/treefish.asp
mlmlblog.wordpress.com

Treefish

Vermilion Rockfish
Sebastes miniatus

AKA red snapper, red rockcod

length up to 30 inches
weight 15 lb

The body of the vermilion rockfish is moderately deep and compressed. The upper profile of the head is some what curved; the mouth is large, with the lower jaw slightly projecting. The color is bright red on the body and fins; many with black and gray mottling on back and sides. On fish shorter than 12 inches, the mottling is much more apparent and the fins are often edged with black. The yelloweye and canary rockfishes are similar in appearance to the vermilion, but the bottom of the yelloweye and canary’s lower jaws are scaleless and feels smooth to the touch. The vermilion rockfish has scales on the bottom of the lower jaw which make it rough to the touch.
http://www.dfg.ca.gov/marine/mspcont4.asp

Found throughout California at depths between 50-500 feet (usually less than 100 in central California) over rocky jagged floors. Feed almost exclusively on fish, squid and octopus.
California Finfish and Shelfish Identification Book

Photo source
emeralddiving.com

Vermilion

Yellowtail Rockfish
Sebastes flavidus

AKA yellow bass

length 26 inches
weight 7 lbs

Description: The body of the yellowtail rockfish is elongate and compressed. The head is rather long and the upper profile is steep and slightly curved. The lower jaw projects, but not beyond the upper profile of the head. The color is grayish brown above which shades to white below. The sides are finely spotted with yellow. The tail is yellow, while the other fins are dusky yellow. When the fish is fresh, reddish brown speckling is visible on some of the scales. As with many of the rockfish, identification can be somewhat difficult. Some of the distinguishing characteristics of the yellow tail rockfish include a convex (surface curves outward) space between the eyes, the absence of spines on top of the head, a projecting lower jaw, an anal fin with eight (rarely seven) soft rays and the lining of the belly is white.

Range: The yellowtail rockfish occurs from San Diego, California, to Kodiak Island, Alaska; however, it is most often caught by recreational anglers off of central and northern California. It is regularly found over deep reefs from the surface to depths of 1,800 feet.
-http://www.dfg.ca.gov/marine/mspcont4.asp

photo
pnwscuba.smugmug.com

Yellowtail Rockfish

Bocaccio
Sebastes paucispinus

AKA salmon grouper, grouper, mini-grouper (juveniles), red snapper, Pacific red snapper.

length – up to 36 inches
weight – up to 21 lbs

Description: The body of the bocaccio is elongate and compressed. The head is pointed, the mouth large, and the lower jaw greatly protruding. The color varies from shades of brown to reddish and extends down over the belly. Young fish are generally light bronze with speckling over the sides and back. As they mature, their color generally becomes darker and the speckling gradually disappears.

Range: Bocaccio occur from Punta Blanca, Baja California, to Kruzof Island and Kodiak Island, Alaska. Young bocaccio 1 or 2 years old travel in loose schools and move into shallow water where they may be captured in quantity. With increasing age they seek deeper water and move from near the surface to near the bottom. Adults are commonly found in waters of 250 to 750 feet over a somewhat irregular, hard or rubble bottom. They have been found at depths as great as 1,050 feet.
http://www.dfg.ca.gov/marine/mspcont4.asp

NOTE:
Fishing Limit is 2 Bocaccio, minimum size 10 inches, within the RCG complex of 10 total fish.

Photo Source
arkive.org
kenjonesfishing.com

Bocaccio

Chillipepper
Sebastes goodei

AKA chilli, red snapper

length – to 23 inches
weight- 5 lbs

Description: The body of the chilipepper is slender and rather elongate. The head is elongate, pointed and with no spines; the lower jaw is projecting. The chilipepper is generally pinkish becoming whitish below. The middle of the chillipepper’s side, the lateral line, stands out clearly, as a lighter, bright red zone. In comparison to the bocaccio, it has a smaller mouth with an upper jaw that extends only to about the center of the eye, not past it.

Range: This species occurs from Magdalena Bay, Baja California, to Vancouver Island, British Columbia. Chilipeppers are not taken as frequently as other rockfishes because they are rarely caught in depths less than 360 feet along the coast of California. They generally occur over rocky bottoms and have been taken as deep as 1,080 feet.
http://www.dfg.ca.gov/marine/mspcont4.asp

photo source
landbigfish.com

Chillipepper Rockfish

Cabezon
Scorpaenichthys marmoratus

AKA cabby, bullhead, cabezone

length- up to 39 inches
weight – to 25 lb

Description: The body of the cabezon is elongate and stout. The head is large, broad and the snout is bluntly rounded. The mouth is large. The color is usually dark brown, but a variety of colors ranging from blue green to reddish brown occur and there is much mottling. It looks somewhat like the lingcod, and sometimes has blue colored flesh. It is a member of the true sculpin family and it can best be distinguished from the similar looking lingcod by: the absence of scales on its body; and by the presence of a small flap of skin, a cirrus, over each eye and in the middle of the snout. The lining of its mouth is a pale to dark blue and it also lacks the large teeth of the lingcod.

Range: Cabezon occur from Point Abreojos, Baja California, to Sitka, Alaska. Cabezon are usually found on the bottom around rocky reefs and kelp beds in water less than 100 feet deep, although they are known to occur as deep as 250 feet.
http://www.glumacefishing.com/fishinfo/saltwater-species/cabazon/

NOTE:
Fishing Limit is 3 Cabezon, minimum size 15 inches, within the RCG complex of 10 total fish.

photo
CCKF member Dogpound

Cabby

Kelp Greenling
Hexagrammos decagrammus

Rock Greenling
Hexagrammos lagocephalus

AKA sea trout, rocktrout, kelp trout

length
kelp – up to 21 inches
rock – up to 24 inches

Kelp Greenling most in central and northern California while Rock Greenling are rare south of San Francisco. Both species inhabit relatively shallow waters around kelp, rocky shores and jetties. Maximum recorded depth is 150 feet.

The Rock Greenling is reddish-brown with darker mottling and often has large bright-red blotches on the sides. The inside of the mouth is bluish. The male and female Kelp Greenling look so different that they were first described as separate species. The body color is variable in both sexes, ranging from light gray to brown. Males have large irregular blue patches anteriorly. Females are uniformly covered with smaller reddish-brown to golden spots and have yellowish-orange fins.

Sources and photos
http://www.dfg.ca.gov/marine/nearshorefinfish/rockgreenling.asp
http://www.dfg.ca.gov/marine/nearshorefinfish/kelpgreenling.asp
California Finfish and Shellfish Identification Book
elasmodiver.com
seaotter.com
nrimp.dfw.state.or.us
norcalkayakanglers.com

NOTE
Minimum size limit for fishing is 12 inches

Greenling