Black Rockfish

Black rockfish are dark, football-shaped fish, usually slate gray to black on the back fading to lighter gray or white on the belly, with a mottled pattern along the sides. The dorsal fin has 13 spines and is not deeply notched, which gives the fin a fairly even, continuous outline from front to back. The mouth is medium sized and does not reach far past the eye.

The most common mix-up is with blue rockfish, which run a similar dark color and school in the same water. Blue rockfish have a smaller mouth, a distinct notch between the spiny and soft parts of the dorsal fin, and a flatter, more compressed face. Black rockfish also get confused with dusky and yellowtail rockfish. Yellowtail rockfish usually show olive or yellow tints on the fins and tail that black rockfish lack, and dusky rockfish tend to run smaller with a more slender body. When in doubt, check the anal fin: on black rockfish it slants backward at an angle, while several lookalikes have a straighter, more vertical anal fin edge.

Black rockfish live along the Pacific coast from the northern reaches down through central California, holding around rocky reefs, kelp beds, jetties, and nearshore pinnacles. Unlike many rockfish that hug the bottom, blacks often suspend well up in the water column, sometimes right near the surface, especially where current sweeps bait past a point or headland.

You can catch them from jetties and rocky shorelines, but most anglers find better numbers from a boat working reefs and kelp lines in 30 to 150 feet of water. They school by size, so once you find fish, you can often stay on that same class of rockfish all day.

Black rockfish feed on small baitfish like anchovies, herring, and sand lance, along with squid and krill. They are aggressive, opportunistic feeders that will chase a jig or a swimming lure much more readily than most other rockfish species, which is part of why they are a good beginner target.

Drop a leadhead jig or a metal jig straight down over a reef and let it sink to the depth where you mark fish on the sonar, often well off bottom. Jig it with a steady lift and drop. Black rockfish will often hit on the fall, so keep slack out of the line.

A simple two-hook shrimp fly or bait rig with a heavy sinker also works well when fished near structure. From a jetty or rocky bank, cast a jig or a bait rig out and let it sink along the rocks, retrieving slowly.

Black rockfish are managed with size and bag limits that vary by region and change often, and some areas require descending devices to release fish caught deep. Check your state's current regulations before you go.