Quote:
Originally Posted by fishsouthcounty
there are other flatfish besides dabs and halibuts...
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Yep people don't realize the number of different flatfishes can catch around here especially north of PV. People generally think that anything big is a halibut and anything small is a dab.
. The mouth is too large and the wrong shape for a sandab. The eyes are to small and the wrong angle but most importantly Sandabs are in the family Bothidae (Left-eyed flounders) Just like halibut where that fish is in the family Pleuronectidae (Right-eyed flounders)
Here's a pic of a Sandab for comparison:
Notice the size and angle of the eyes, and how they are both on the left side of it's head.
There are a number of family Pleuronectidae (Right-eyed flounders) around local, over the years I've caught most of them fishing Santa Monica Bay. In SMB we get both the warmer water flatfish from the south and the colder water ones in the winter from up North.
Like I said it could be a Petrale Sole:
but the body is too long and Petrale soles eyes are slightly larger and tilt out to the side almost like a Arrowtooth flounder:
It's not and Arrowtooth as they are longer and have a more pronounced Jaw and teeth.
It's definitely not a Starry:
Our local Starrys' are much darker then that one almost black with less orange on the fins but they still look nothing like his fish.
The only other common family Pleuronectidae (Right-eyed flounder) we catch around here is a Sand Sole:
That's definitely what it looks like to me, though I suppose it still could be a long skinny Petrale Sole with a straighter lateral line... lol.
Like I said there's a lot of flatfish around. Over the years in SMB I've caught all those fish plus a few others which I could not identify. One of the coolist was a 2 pound fish that had reddish brown tone, white, black and orange spots, was shaped like a small halibut but had a oversized glassine mouth like a crappie with no teeth. Never could figure out what it was. Summer caught fish might of been up from Mexico.
At any rate it's definitely not a halibut or dab. Like In said probably a Sand Sole. They are more common up North but do come down as far as SMB so that's what I'd guess.
Very cool. I love catching weird flatfish and they are always so good eating.
Jim