Bank Sea Bass Fishing

The Bank Sea Bass (Centropristis ocyurus) also known as the Rockfish(misnomer) or the Rock Squirrel, has a pale olive or brassy brown body with indistinct black blotches which form vertical barrings. On the head of the bank sea there are wavy blue lines and the lips have a purplish-blue color pattern. The adults have a caudal fin tri-lobed and the edge of the nape is un-scaled. Their average weight is approximately 0, 3 pounds and can grow to a size of 8 inches or so. They are usually found in offshore in deep waters with reefs and rocks.

The Bank Sea Bass can also be recognized by its large mouth. In comparison to the black sea bass, the bank sea is yellow-brown overall, and is marked with black botches and spots. The fins, head as well as the front portion of their body are blue with yellow spots and stripes.

Regarding their natural history, these undergo sex changes as they started life as a female, changing to male after three or four spawning seasons. They usually feed on the bottom, taking squid, small fish and crustaceans. They can be found in bay environment and the largest popularity is San Francisco Bay and the Delta. Proper fishing can be done in late summer but more ideal, in the fall. The stripes show their faces along the coast only during the late spring weeks and summer at which time surf fishermen get a solid chance at them.

They can be found in waters ranging from 50 up to 500 ft and it is common associated with hard-bottom habitats as well as high-relief areas in deeper waters. Their lifespan is around 7 years. Collections suggest that the fertile females spawn offshore in the early spring period, usually for the first time when they are 2 or max 3 years old. An approximately 4-inch fish is fully capable of spawning over four-thousand pelagic eggs during one single season, and a fish twice the size may lay about a whopping of thirty-thousand eggs. The bank sea bass is known for being a rather opportunistic carnivore that uses its large mouth in order to swallow crabs, shrimp, brittle stars, callico scallops and small fish.

Speaking of catching them, a wide variety of chunks, trips and lures can be used in order to fill the bag with Bank Sea Bass. The best coastal spots are the areas immediately located adjacent to the Golden Gate but solid fishing can be done far south, at Monterey or even far north, at Bodega Bay. As far as the San Francisco Bay is concerned, trolling with live bait is widely popular, with regular catches under 10 pounds or so. Juvenile Bank Sea Bass have been implemented in Mission, Anaheim Bays, Newport and San Diego since 1974 in order to provide sport fishing.