Some unofficial records —gathered from published reports

 50 Pound White Seabass — Imperial Beach Pier

83 Lbs. — Newport Pier, 1920s—Source: Personal communication, Patrick Kennedy, Baldy’s Tackle (1990)

61 LBS. — Newport Pier, Roger Jackson, December 1, 1927 — Source: Santa Ana Register, December 1, 1927

50 LBS. — Imperial Beach Pier,  “Oyuki”, October 2014 — Source: sdfish.com (October 28, 2014) and Oceanic Angler (oceanicangler.com), November 11, 2014

48 LBS. — Newport Pier, June 1, 1934 — Source: Santa Ana Register, June 2, 1934

45 Lbs. — Capitola Wharf, September 2000—Source: Capitola Wharf Bait Shop

45 Lbs. — Avalon Pleasure Pier, Pat Casey, May 5, 1936—Source: Catalina Islander, May 14, 1936

42 Lbs. — Santa Monica Pier, 1957—Source: Santa Monica Pier Bait Shop? Newspaper> DF&G

41 ¼ Lb. — Pacifica Pier, July 1992—Source: Pacific Bait Shop

41 Lbs. — Point Mugu Pier, Charles S. Leonard, August, 1959 — Source: Oxnard Press-Courier, August 5, 1959

40 Lbs. — Avalon Pleasure Pier, A. E. Eaton, July 3, 1916—Source: Catalina Islander, July 4, 1916

40 Lbs. — Hueneme Wharf, Charlie Chambers, October 1895—Source: Los Angeles Herald, October 27, 1895

≈ 40 Lbs. — Monterey Wharf No.2, October 2009— Source: PFIC

36 ½ Lbs — Balboa Pier, Ed Steif, May 30, 1928 — Source: Santa Ana Register, May 31, 1928

35 Lbs. — Redondo Wharf No. 1, Harold Rempe, June 3, 1909— Source: Los Angeles Herald, June 6, 1909

32 Lbs. — Hueneme Wharf, Charlie Chambers, October 1895— Source: Los Angeles Herald, October 27, 1895

30 Lbs. — Redondo Wharf No. 3, A. J. Bell, May 25, 1909—Source: Los Angeles Times, May 26, 1909

Species: Cynoscion parvipinnis (Ayres, 1861); from the Greek words kyon (dog) and skion (from sciaena, an old name for a European croaker) and the Latin words parvi (small) and pinnis (fins).  

Alternate Names: Bigtooth corvina, shortfin seabass, sea trout, weakfish, caravina and my personal favorite—vampire corvina. Called corvina aleta corta or corvina azul in Mexico.

Identification: Elongated body with a large mouth and a lower jaw that extends beyond the upper jaw; 1 or 2 LARGE fang-like canine teeth on each side of the upper jaw; no barbels on the chin. Their coloring is bright blue-gray above, silvery below; inside of mouth yellow-orange; fins pale to yellowish. Caudal fin slightly indented. Sometimes mistaken for small white seabass but the fang-like canine teeth that are very noticeable in the corvina are lacking in the white seabass.

Shortfin corvina — Caught by Arvin (Pescadora) at the mini piers adjacent to the Ferry Landing Pier in Coronado

Size: To 32 inches in length; those caught from piers are usually 14-18 inches. For many years the record fish, as listed by the International Game Fish Association, was 6 pounds, 15 ounces. However, several fish exceeding 7-pounds had been reported from SD Bay. Then, on June 20, 2008, Carmen C. Rose caught a 10 lbs. 6 oz. corvina fishing a dead grunion (without a sinker) from a boat just 40 feet off the beach in the South Bay near the US Navy housing on the Silver Strand.

Range: Mazatlan, Mexico and Gulf of California to Huntington Beach.

Habitat: Shallow, inshore sandy or soft mud bottom areas including bays.

Shortfin corvina and halibut — Ocean Beach Pier, San Diego

Piers: Until recently only reported from piers in San Diego Bay. The last few years have seen increasing numbers showing up at the Imperial Beach Pier, Ocean Beach Pier, and Crystal Pier (especially during grunion runs). A few have also been reported from the Oceanside Pier. Best bets: Coronado Ferry Landing Pier, Embarcadero Marina Pier, Shelter Island Pier, Imperial Beach Pier and Crystal Pier.

Shoreline: Occasionally taken by shore anglers in San Diego Bay.

Boats: boaters in south San Diego Bay take quite a few.

Shortfin corvina — Kara, Crystal Pier, San Diego, July 2015

Bait and Tackle: Light to medium size tackle will work with small, size 4-2 hooks typically used if bait fishing. Best baits are live bait—anchovy, smelt, small queenfish or sardine but ghost shrimp (especially when fished under a bobber) can also be excellent. Although in Baja they are primarily considered a bottom feeder, most reports from SD Bay have them feeding mid-level to the top. They are also considered to be an excellent fish for artificials with many different lures providing action including crank baits, spoons, spinner baits, swim baits and plastic grubs,

Food Value: Excellent, mild-flavored meat that can be prepared in many ways.

Shortfin corvina — Angel  Hernandez, Crystal Pier, San Diego

Comments: These fish, although reported to be common as far north as San Pedro during California’s warm water years of the late-1800s, were considered absent in the state by the 1930s. That changed when fish began to be increasingly seen in the southern parts of San Diego Bay in the 1990s. Whether lured north by warm El Niño waters (’87-’88, ’91-‘92, ’97-’98), or brought in mistakenly by returning long-range Sportfishing boats, the result has been the introduction of a new fish and fishery to San Diego anglers. Although more commonly taken by anglers fishing from boats in south San Diego Bay, increasing numbers have been reported from both bay and oceanfront piers in San Diego County. Nevertheless, any pier catch should be considered fortuitous. Although considered primarily a diurnal feeder (daytime feeder), many of the reports on the PFIC Message Board have concerned nighttime catches. Shrimp is considered their favorite food although an increasing number are reported hitting on live bait—everything from queenfish to small jack mackerel. Most commonly caught April through September.

A collage of fish (including a shortfin corvina) taken by Arvin from the Ferry Landing Pier in San Diego Bay

A variety of fish (spotted bay bass, mackerel, and shortfin corvina) taken by Don and Arvin from the Ferry Landing Pier in San Diego Bay

Fly used to take the shortfin corvina

Shortfin corvina from the mini piers adjacent to the Ferry Landing Pier in Coronado

28-Inch Shortfin corvina taken by Thomas Shinsato from the mouth of the San Diego River

Bonito — Venice Pier

Mackerel and Tuna—Family Scombridae

Species: Sarda chiliensis (Cuvier, 1832); from the Greek word sarda  (an ancient name for an European species of bonito) and chiliensis (in reference to Chile, South America, where the species was first recognized). Subspecies (those in California): Sarda chiliensis lineolata.

Bonito — Ben Acker (DompfaBen), Cabrillo Mole, Avalon, Catalina Island

Alternate Names: Most commonly called bonehead but also given the names bone, boner, bonefish, flasher, Laguna tuna, magneto, bongo, striped tuna and little tuna. One of my favorites—from the PFIC Message Board—Mr. Bojangles. Called bonito del Pacífico oriental in Mexico.

Bonito — Venice Pier

Identification: Tuna-shaped, elongated and pointed at both ends; a series of 6 to 8 finlets that follow the second dorsal fin and anal fin. Coloring dark blue above with greenish reflections and a metallic luster shading into silver below; several dark oblique lines on the back.

Bonito with usual striping caught by Mahigeer (Hashem Nahid), Cabrillo Mole,  2016

Unusual striped bonito caught by Mahigeer, (Hashem Nahid), Cabrillo Mole, 2016

Size: To 40 inches although most caught from piers are less than 24 inches. For years the  California record fish was listed as a fish that was caught in Malibu Cove in 1978 with a weight of 22 lb 3 oz. Today the record is listed as a 21 lb 5 oz. fish taken at the 181 Spot in 2003. I’m not sure why the new, lighter fish is the record (and I haven’t been able to find out).

Bonito — Scott Geerds, Cabrillo Mole, Avalon, Catalina Island

Range: There are two subspecies. One, the northern population, Sarda chiliensis lineolata, is found from Southern Baja California and Gulf of California to Copper River in Alaska. The southern population, Sarda chiliensis chiliensis, is found in the subtropical eastern Pacific, Peru to Chile, and off Japan. As a general rule they’re only found north of Point Conception during El Niño, warm-water conditions (and I witnessed several large bonito, all over ten pounds, being caught off of Elk in Mendocino County during the El Niño year of 1983).

Bonito — Rita Magdamo, Cabrillo Mole, Avalon, Catalina Island

Habitat: Pelagic, although enters bays, especially those with warm water outlets.

Bonito — James Liu (GDude), Cabrillo Mole, Avalon, Catalina Island

Piers: Common at most southland piers during and after warm-water years, both those in bays and those at oceanfront spots. Best bets: Ocean Beach Pier, Oceanside Pier, San Clemente Pier, Balboa Pier, Newport Pier, Cabrillo Mole (Avalon)—#1, Redondo Beach Pier, and the Hermosa Beach Pier. Stearns Wharf (Santa Barbara) and Goleta Pier can be decent, especially in the fall.

Bonito — Mike Donahue (SD Pier Rat), Ocean Beach Pier, San Diego

Shoreline: Sometimes taken by shore anglers fishing from jetties in southern California, especially the jetty at Redondo Beach.

Bonito — Mike Granat, Balboa Pier

Boats: One of the favored boat species although the numbers can show a drastic change year-to-year depending upon water temperature.

Angie and her first bonito — Balboa Pier

Bait and Tackle: Bonito primarily feed on fish and squid and are taken on a variety of baits and lures. The best bait is live anchovies or small sardines fished on a sliding leader or with a cast-a-bubble. The best lure is a bonito feather affixed to either a cast-a-bubble, a wooden float, a Styrofoam float, or a golf ball—the bubble/float/golf ball causes commotion on the surface which attracts the bonito and keeps the lure near the top.

Bonito — Scott Geerds, Cabrillo Mole, Avalon, Catalina Island

Food Value:  Bonito are considered fairly good quality but require cleaning soon after capture. If bled quickly, or even better if filleted and then put on ice, the flesh can be quite tasty. However, if allowed to warm up in a gunnysack on the nice hot surface of a pier the flesh can be almost inedible (which is true with many fish). Some parts of the flesh are dark colored—bloody and strong flavored. Remove those parts of the flesh unless you desire them for smoking. Given the high oil content of the flesh, the best cooking methods are broiling or bar-b-cuing the meat; the worst are methods like deep-frying that would add more oil. In addition, smoked bonito and pickled bonito are also very good.

When I was young, and lived in San Diego, I would often go out on the half-day boats to catch some bonito. Most of the bonito (in the gunnysacks) would wind up as fertilizer for my mom’s roses. However, a couple of the cooks on the boats would cook up some of the fresh-caught fish. A favorite method was to cut thin slices of meat from the head of the bonito (up behind the eyes) and then lightly cook the slices on a grill using just a little butter. Flavored with soy sauce, it was delicious.

Today, given that we’ve all become goumands, we would probably serve the thin slices raw as sashimi and include a little dipping sauce, i.e., wasabi paste and soy sauce draped over a daikon radish. One recommended dipping sauce even includes fish flakes from bonito, it’s a sauce made from shōyu (a type of soy sauce), mirin (a sweet cooking wine) and the bonito flakes.

Bonito — Hashem Nahid (Mahigeer), Cabrillo Mole, Avalon, Catalina Island

Comments: Many people feel that bonito are among the strongest fighting fish, pound for pound, in the sea. For many years the place to go for bonito was the Redondo Sportfishing Pier in Redondo Harbor. This was especially true during the colder-weather, winter months. That narrative was altered when the nearby power plant changed ownership and changed procedures. Instead of always being on, and sending a steady stream of hot water into the harbor (where it emerged at the famous “bubble hole”), it became a sporadic occurrence. Visitors never knew when the hot water, or the bonito, would be showing up.  Locals learned to check out the tall towers to see if they were emiting smoke. If they were, the hot water would be bubbling up in the harbor and bonito probably would be present. Today the pier is closed but hopefully will be rebuilt. Many also hope the warm water will return to the harbor.

Bonito or bonita? The correct spelling is bonito but a surprisingly high number of people over the years, including journalists and writers who should know better, have used bonita as the moniker for these fish. One day on the Pier Fishing in California message board someone said his daughter had been called a bonito and she got upset until someone told her that the name meant pretty in Spanish. People then chimed in that she should have been called a bonita since that was the feminine name and bonito was the masculine name. As for the fish, given the strong, powerful fight they typically put up, I think I will stick with bonito as the name.

Bonito — San Clemente Pier

Bonito —Stecve Barcellos (SteveO), Cabrillo Mole, Avalon, Catalina Island

Bonito — Imperial Beach Pier

Bonito — Adam Cassidy (Baitfish), Cabrillo Mole, Avalon, Catalina Island

Bonito — Kyle Pease, Cabrillo Mole, Avalon, Catalina Island

Bonito — Kyle Pease, Avalon, Catalina Island

Bonito — Rita Magdamo, Cabrillo Mole, Avalon, Catalina Island

Bonito — Ken Jones (The Pier Fisherman), Cabrillo Mole, Avalon, Catalina Island

Bonito — Steve Barcellos (SteveO), Cabrillo Mole, Avalon, Catalina Island

“Tres Bonitos” — Rita Magdamo, Ross Kestin (GordoGrande), and Kyle Pease, Cabrillo Mole, Avalon, Catalina Island

Bonito caught at the  Goleta Pier in 2016 by seabass.seeker

My son Mike with a good-sized bonito and small yellowtail

A big bonito caught on the “Sea Wolf”

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“Stuck in Catalina With the Bonito Blues Again”

Written for and dedicated to Hashem aka Mahigeer when he was seeking out his first bonito at Catalina in 2006. Although the rest of the UPSAC/PFIC gang was pulling in the bonies, Hashem just couldn‘t seem to hook one. Today he’s learned the “Tao of Bonito.”

Bonito —Hashem Nahid (Mahigeer), Cabrillo Mole, Avalon, Catalina Island

Oh, the Dompha, he draws circles
Up and down the mole.
I’d ask him what the matter was
But I know that he don’t talk.
And the anglers treat me kindly
And furnish me with line,
But deep inside my heart
I know I can’t escape.
Oh, Mama, can this really be the end,
To be stuck in Catalina
With the bonito blues again.

Well, Ken, he’s in the alley
With his pointed shoes and his bells,
Speaking to some French girl,
Who says she knows me well.
And I would send a message
To find out if she’s talked,
But the tackle store’s been stolen
And the tackle box is locked.
Oh, Mama, can this really be the end,
To be stuck in Catalina
With the bonito blues again.

Gordo tried to tell me
To stay away from that Catalina mole
He said that all those older fishermen
Just drink up your blood like wine.
An’ I said, “Oh, I didn’t know that,
But then again, there’s only one I’ve met
An’ he just smoked my eyelids
An’ punched my cigarette.”
Oh, Mama, can this really be the end,
To be stuck in Catalina
With the bonito blues again.

Grandpa died last week
And now he’s buried in the kelp,
But everybody still talks about
How badly they were shocked.
But me, I expected it to happen,
I knew he’d lost control
When he built a fire on the mole
And shot it full of holes.
Oh, Mama, can this really be the end,
To be stuck in Catalina
With the bonito blues again.

Now the GDude came down here
Showing ev’ryone his rod,
Handing out free tickets
To the gathering on the mole.
An’ me, I nearly got busted
An’ wouldn’t it be my luck
To get caught without a license
And be discovered beneath a trunk.
Oh, Mama, can this really be the end,
To be stuck in Catalina
With the bonito blues again.

Now Baitfish looked so baffled
When I asked him why he dressed
With twenty pounds of feathers
Stapled to his chest.
But he cursed me when I proved it to him,
Then I whispered, “Not even you can hide.
You see, you’re just like me,
I hope you’re satisfied.”
Oh, Mama, can this really be the end,
To be stuck in Catalina
With the bonito blues again.

Now Mahigeer gave me two cures,
Then he said, “Jump right in.”
The one was Persian medicine,
The other was just plain Raki gin.
An’ like a fool I mixed them
An’ it strangled up my mind,
An’ now people just get uglier
An’ I have no sense of time.
Oh, Mama, can this really be the end,
To be stuck in Catalina
With the bonito blues again.

When Rita says come see her
In her honky-tonk lagoon,
Where I can watch her waltz for free
‘Neath her Avalonian moon.
An’ I say, “Aw come on now,
You must know about my debutante.”
An’ she says, “Your debutante just knows what you need
But I know what you want.”
Oh, Mama, can this really be the end,
To be stuck in Catalina
With the bonito blues again.

Now the bricks lay on Metropole
Where the neon madmen climb.
They all fall there so perfectly,
It all seems so well timed.
An’ here I sit so patiently
Waiting to find out what price
You have to pay to get new balls and feathers
After losing them more than twice.
Oh, Mama, can this really be the end,
To be stuck in Catalina
With the bonito blues again.

(With apologies to Bob Dylan and “Stuck Inside of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again)