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Common name: Bocaccio (also known as salmon grouper or grouper)
Scientific name: Sebastes paucispinus
California record: 17 lbs. 8 oz. at Point St. Georges Reef on Oct. 25, 1987 by angler Sam Strait.
Description: Bocaccio are elongated and have very large mouths, with the lower jaw projecting out further than the upper jaw. They also have large eyes. They typically range from shades of brown, light red and pink in color. Smaller juvenile fish are mostly light brown.
Bocaccio are one of the larger members of the rockfish species and the largest recorded specimen weighed 21 lbs.
Habitat: Most bocaccio live at depths greater than 100 ft. Juvenile fish are found in shallower water and as they get older they tend to seek deeper water. The can be found from Baja California to Alaska.
Like most rockfish, they prefer rocky and hard bottom habitat. Although they live as deep as 1,000 ft. or more, anglers usually do the best at depths between 250 and 350 ft. These fish can also school up and many times a boat will have to move after catching the one-fish-per-day-per- angler limit.
Reproduction: Fertilization of the eggs is internal and females give birth to tiny live young. A single female can produce 2 million eggs or more a year. Juvenile fish will seek shallower water and cover such as kelp, oil rigs and other structure for the first few years of their life.
Female bocaccio live longer and grow faster than males do. Studies have shown that females become sexually mature earlier in their lives in the southern range of their existence compared to the northern populations.
Eating habit: Bocaccio will eat a wide variety of prey such as pelagic shrimp, crabs, anchovies, sardines, other small rockfish, squid, octopi, surf perch, jack mackerel, sablefish, Pacific mackerel and sand dabs.
Fishing methods, tips, and best lures and baits: Structure in deeper water usually yields the best catches (360 ft. is the maximum allowable depth, but can change throughout the year. Be sure to check current regulations for depth restrictions.)
Basic rockfish rigs consisting of a heavy sinker and a hook or two above will work for bocaccio. Squid, cut bait and Gulp! style baits will work, but a lively sardine or small mackerel can draw a hard strike. Many anglers catch big bocaccio on live bait while targeting lingcod. Vertical jigging can also be effective.
Braided line is also effective due to the depth the fishing takes place and the no stretch properties of Spectra or braided line.
Best times of the year for targeting this species: Bocaccio can be caught year-round. Be advised to check the current regulations for size restrictions, bag limits and closed seasons as these are known to change almost yearly.
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