Opal eye fishing in southern california

Sea Chubs—Family Kyphosidae

A chubby opaleye taken at the Cabrillo Mole in 2009

Species: Girella nigricans (Ayres, 1860); from the French word girelle (a derivative of julis, an old word used to denote a number of small wrasse in Europe), the Latin word nigr (dark) and the Greek word ikanos (becoming, in reference to its pleasing appearance).

Alternate Names: Blue-eye perch, green perch, opaleye perch, bluefish, blue bass, greenfish, Jack Benny, Catalina perch, button-back, button-eye, and button bass.

Opal eye fishing in southern california

Called chopa verde in Mexico.

An opaleye from the Oceanside Harbor Pier caught in 2009

Identification: Opaleye are perch-shaped but heavier bodied. Their coloring is usually dark olive green and commonly they have two light spots at the base of the dorsal fin.

Some fish are pale green or bluish-green while a few almost all white fish have been observed. The eyes are distinctive: large and an opalescent, blue-green color.

An opaleye’s head

Size: To