| Sargo | |
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Family: |
Pristipomatidae (Sargos) |
Genus and Species: |
Anisotremus davidsonii |
Description: |
The body of the adult sargo is a compressed oval shape with the back elevated. The head has a steep, straightish upper profile and a small mouth. The color is metallic silvery, with a grayish tinge on the back and silvery below; with a distinguishing dark vertical bar running across the body. Occasionally, sargo are entirely bright yellow, orange or pure white. Young sargo, up to 4 inches, have several dark horizontal stripes. The vertical bar begins to appear when they are 2 or 3 inches long. |
Range: |
The sargo occurs from Magdalena Bay, Baja California, to Santa Cruz, California, and is found inshore and in bays. Sargo occur from the surface to depths of 130 feet, but are most common in water about 25 feet deep. They are usually found in areas with rock or combination rock-sand bottoms, around pilings or similar submerged structures. |
Natural History: |
Examination of stomach contents indicate sargo are bottom feeders, eating different small shrimps, crabs, clams, and sea snails. Sargo spawn when they are about 7 inches long and 2 years old. Spawning occurs in late spring and early summer. The 1 inch young appear in late summer and fall in shallow water, schooling loosely with young salema and black croaker. At a length of 5 inches, when they are about 1 year old, they join adult sargo schools. All through their life they are capable of displaying the striped pattern characteristic of juveniles. |
Fishing Information: |
Sargo are commonly caught incidentally to other fishing, primarily during the summer months. Anglers fishing from the rocks catch a few as part of their mixed fare and good runs are occasionally encountered in southern California bays. Sargo make a piglike grunting sound when pulled from the water. Almost any type of animal bait, such as clams, mussel, shrimp or pieces of fish, does well. Because of their habit of swimming a few feet off the bottom in loose schools and in shallow water, they are a prime target when spear fishing. Probably more are taken in this manner than by hook and line. |
Other Common Names: |
China croaker, blue bass, black croaker, grunt. |
Largest Recorded: |
17.4 inches; 3.7 pounds. |
Habitat: |
Shallow Rocky Environment |
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