Boating & Outdoor Photos - what kind of fish?

anyone know? about 40 pounds and caught out of cabo by someone that asked me the same question.

THanks.249334

Sheephead...they have some ugly teeth. There's tons here at the Channel Islands off Santa Barbara, CA

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_sheephead

Looks nothing like the sheephead found in Florida.....but if it taste anything like them, they are tasty. Wish ours got to 40 lbs, 5-8 lbs is a monster for us and most are in the 1-2 lb range and not worth dealing with.

Thanks! man that looks nothing like our sheephead...nor the size!

Looks like a Red Snapper dipped in Oil. Lol!

that is a sheephead, not to be confused with the sheepshead.

California Sheephead
Vieja, Vieja de California
(Semicossyphus pulcher)

California Sheephead, Semicossyphus pulcher: The California Sheephead is characterized by its wrasse-like shape, and three different color patterns for juveniles, adult males, and adult females.

Juvenile California Sheephead are orange-red with a white midlateral stripe down the side, and large black spots on the anal and dorsal fins, and at the base of the caudal fin.
Adult males have a large dark head with a fleshy bump that is very black in mature fish, a white chin, broad pink to crimson band through the midbody, and the rear portion is black.
Adult females Sheephead have a uniform red to brown coloration.
The California Sheephead, due to its unique coloration pattern is easy to identify and not easily confused with other species with the only possible exception being the Mexican Hogfish, Bodianus diplotainia (more aerodynamic, no white chin). It has been reported to reach a length of 3 feet and 36 pounds. It is normally found in deep water and up to 150 feet deep in the water column.
The California Sheephead is the largest member of the Labridae or Wrasse Family (http://www.mexfish.com/fish/wrasses/wrasses.htm) found in Mexican waters.
Distribution in Mexico fishing areas

In Mexican fishing waters , the California Sheephead is found along the Pacific side of the Baja California (http://www.mexfish.com/baja/baja.htm) peninsula, being more abundant in the northern portions, and along the Baja side of the Sea of Cortez north of Santa Rosalia (http://www.mexfish.com/sros/sros.htm). The California Sheephead is too rare to be of great interest, but is sold commercially on a limited basis.
Note: This fish species has also been known as Pimelometopon pulchrum in the scientific literature.
http://www.mexfish.com/fish/cshead/csheadsnow324a.jpg
http://www.mexfish.com/fish/cshead/csheadsnow324b.jpg
California Sheephead, Semicossyphus pulcher: Female. Donated to Mexfish.com during fishing by the commercial Mexican panguero fishermen of Todos Santos, Baja California Sur, Mexico, December 2007. Size, 14 inches. Description and photos courtesy of John Snow.
http://www.mexfish.com/fish/cshead/csheadsnow324c.jpg
http://www.mexfish.com/fish/cshead/csheadsnow324d.jpg
California Sheephead, Semicossyphus pulcher: Female. Donated to Mexfish.com by the commercial Mexican panguero fishermen of Todos Santos, Baja California Sur, Mexico, December 2007. Size, 14 inches. Description and photos courtesy of John Snow.

Sheepshead
Archosargus probatocephalus
« return to Featured Creature Archive (http://www.tbep.org/portrait/featured_creature_archive.html)
http://www.tbep.org/pics/featured_creature/sheepshead.jpg

This fish gets its name because its head and impressive teeth resemble that of a sheep. The sheepshead is also called the convict fish for good reason. The 5 to 8 dark bars on the side of the body, over a gray background, make you think they are wearing prison stripes.
Sheepshead have an oval-shaped body, with a blunt snout and a small, nearly horizontal mouth. It is very tasty, although its heavy scales and strong fin spines make it difficult to clean and fillet. Although it reaches a maximum size of about 29 inches and 22 pounds, adult sheepshead are most commonly no more than 16 inches and 5 pounds. They live a surprisingly long time, 15 to 20 years.
Sheepshead eat small crabs, fish and occasional plant material. Large juveniles and adults prey on blue crabs, oysters, clams, and crustaceans. The sheepshead's most distinctive feature is its teeth. They are heavy, strong and often used to crush heavily armored and shelled prey and to scrape barnacles from rocks and pilings. In Tampa Bay, sheepshead have developed a particular fondness for Asian green mussels, an invasive mussel first found in the bay in 1999 and have been observed gnawing them off dock pilings.
Sheepshead spawn primarily in the early spring. They migrate to offshore waters to spawn, later returning to nearshore waters and estuaries. Females can produce from 1,100 to 250,000 eggs per spawning. Little is known about sheepshead spawning behavior. The sheepshead can be found inshore around rock pilings, jetties, mangrove roots, and piers as well as in tidal creeks and over seagrass beds. According to Timothy MacDonald, Associate Research Scientist from the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission, sheepshead are most abundant in lower Tampa Bay, specifically, Boca Ciega Bay, Cockroach Bay and Terra Ceia Bay. They travel in schools, but can also be found individually around structures. To date the sheepshead population has remained stable with no over-fishing reported.

some folks here call them...vieja or old lady in english