SD bay. 4-21

[Hobie-Pedaller]

Originally Posted by stephenG

.....Anyway, Is this a Corvina ???

ahh yes - that age old question, we all had/have at some point in our fishing adventures....

IS THIS FISH I JUST CAUGHT.... a Corvina, a Corbina, a WSB, or perhaps a Croaker ???

here's a pic that i always felt was very informative, regarding these similar looking species:



the top 2 pics are White Sea Bass.
some, as shown in top left, have the more clearly visible horizontal stripes.
although some, as shown in top right, have the sides/skin without the clearly apparent horiz stripes, which looks very similar to the sides/skin of the Corvina.
2 key features of the WSB; (a) they do not have the orange mouth & vicious fangs like a Corvina, (b) they have a small bumpy "seam" sort of like a "zipper", running down the length of their belly.

the third pic in the array, is a Shortfin Corvina.
2 key features of this fish; (a) the orange colored mouth, (b) the 2 distinct fangs in the upper jaw.

the fourth pic in the array, is the Yellowfin Croaker.
2 key features of this fish; (a) the overall YELLOWISH color of body, (b) the down-turned mouth for sucking food off ocean bottom.

the very bottom pic, is the California Corbina.
2 key features of this fish; (a) the overall PURPLISH color of body, (b) the down-turned mouth for sucking food off ocean bottom.
.