| Kelp Greenling | |
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Family: |
Hexagrammidae (Greenlings) |
Genus and Species: |
Hexagrammos decagrammus |
Description: |
The body of the kelp greenling is elongate and somewhat compressed. The head is conical, blunt in profile, and the mouth is rather small. Male and female kelp greenling can be readily distinguished by their coloration. The forepart of the body of the male has numerous sky blue spots, each surrounded by a ring of rusty spots. The female is rather uniformly covered with round reddish brown spots. Certainly, the kelp greenling is one of the most boldly colored fishes found along our coast. The kelp greenling has small, unfringed flaps of skin (cirri) over the eyes and the mouth is yellowish inside; whereas, the rock greenling has a pair of large, fringed flaps of skin over the eyes and the inside of the mouth is bluish. |
Range: |
Kelp greenling occur from La Jolla, California, to the Aleutian Islands, Alaska, but are quite rare south of Point Conception. They live in relatively shallow water along rocky coasts, around jetties and in kelp beds. |
Natural History: |
Included in the kelp greenling's diet are various seaworms, crustaceans, and small fishes. In British Columbia, spawning occurs in October and November. Pale blue eggs are laid in large masses on rocks. In California, eggs and young have been collected in March suggesting that spawning takes place during the winter months throughout the total range. |
Fishing Information: |
Kelp greenling is one of the major species in the rocky shore angler's bag in central and northern California. The jetties at Eureka comprise the number one greenling "hole" in the state. They can be caught with hooks baited with cut pieces of fish, clams, mussels, shrimp, squid, worms and crab backs. Once hooked, the kelp greenling is difficult to land because of its habit of entangling the angler's line about rocks, crevices or kelp. Kelp greenling are excellent bait for lingcod anglers. |
Other Common Names: |
greenling sea trout, rock trout, spotted rock trout, kelp trout, kelp cod. |
Largest Recorded: |
21 inches, no weight recorded; however, a male 12 inches long weighed 1 pound. |
Habitat: |
Shallow Rocky Environment |
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