| Pacific Sanddab | |
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Family: |
Bothidae (Left-eyed flounders) |
Genus and Species: |
Citharichthys sordidus |
Description: |
The body of the Pacific sanddab is oblong and compressed. The head is deep; the eyes are on the left-side and are large. The color is light brown mottled with yellow and orange on the eyed side and white on the blind side. Although three kinds of sanddabs live in the waters off California, only two are commonly used for food the Pacific and longfin sanddabs. The third, the speckled sanddab, is so small (only about 5 inches) that it is only important to the diet of other fishes. The Pacific sanddab can best be distinguished from the longfin sanddab by the length of the pectoral fin on the eyed side. It is always shorter than the head of the Pacific sanddab and longer than the head of the longfin. Sanddabs are always left "handed" (eyes on the left) and can be distinguished from all other left "handed" flatfish by having a midline that is nearly straight for its entire length. |
Range: |
Pacific sanddabs occur from Cape San Lucas, Baja California, to the Bering Sea. They seldom inhabit water that is shallower than 30 feet or deeper than 1,800 feet. They are most abundant at depths of 120 to 300 feet. |
Natural History: |
Pacific sanddabs eat a wide variety of food. In addition to such items as small fishes, squid, octopus, they eat an assortment of eggs, luminescent sea squirts, shrimp, crabs, and marine worms. During the peak of the spawning season, which is July, August and September, the females spawn numerous eggs. These fish probably spawn more than once during a season. |
Fishing Information: |
If the depth is correct and the bottom suitable,
it is extremely difficult to keep sanddabs off the hook. Sportfishing entails
the use of small hooks, usually more than one on each line. A variation from
the typical rig involves use of an iron ring or hoop around which are dangled
several dozen baited hooks of small size. This contraption is lowered on
a stout line to a position just off the bottom and allowed to remain a sufficient
period to fill all the hooks. Normally this does not require as much time
as is needed to rebait the rig after removing the catch. Small pieces of
squid or octopus are good baits because they are tough and stay on the hook, but pieces of fish work equally well. |
Other Common Names: |
sand dab, soft flounder, sole, mottled sanddab, megrim. |
Largest Recorded: |
16 inches; no weight recorded; however, an 11.5 inch female weighed just over 0.5 pound. |
Habitat: |
Deep Sandy Environment |
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