Spotfin Croaker
Roncador stearnsii

Physical Description

• Has a long body with a curved, large head and a very blunt snout.
• Silvery-gray coloration with bluish coloration on top, and white coloration on belly.
• Dark wavy lines on the sides; large distinctive black spot at base of pectoral (side) fin (hence its name), dark tail and dorsal (top) fins.
• Largest spotfin croaker ever recorded was 14 pounds, and the longest was 27 inches.
• “Golden croakers” are large male spotfins in breeding colors

Range

• Point Conception, California to Mazatlan, Mexico.
• Gulf of California, Mexico.
• Most common south of Los Angeles Harbor.

Habitat

• Live in bays and beaches.
• Prefer coarse sand and heavy mud.
• Found at depths of 4-50 feet.

Reproduction

• Males mature and spawn at 2 years old and 9 inches long.
• Females mature and spawn at 3 years old and 12.5 inches long.
• Spawning season is June-September and takes place offshore.
• One-inch juveniles appear in the surf in the fall.

Diet

• Fat innkeeper worms, ghost shrimp, burrowing pencil clams, mussels, bloodworms, sandworms, small crustaceans.

Predators

• Seagulls.
• Often caught by fishers.

Interesting Facts

• Spotfin croakers travel extensively. Fish tagged in Los Angeles Harbor were caught in Oceanside.
• Spotfin croakers often congregate in depressions called croaker holes; fishers that find these can return again and again to the same spot to fish them. 

Sources: California Department of Fish and Wildlife; liveabout.com; kenjonesfishing.com; Surfside, Sunset and Newport Beach, Orange County: Environmental Impact; University of California

Photo: Ken Jones