California halibut (Paralichthys californicus) is a saltwater, brackish species recorded in the United States. It is mainly found over sand, mud, at depths of ≤ 317 m.
Scientific name: Paralichthys californicus · Water: Saltwater, Brackish
Size: up to 152 cm
Weight: up to 32.7 kg
The California halibut is a large-tooth flounder of the family Paralichthyidae that lies flat on sand, gravel or mud with both eyes on the upper side — unusually for a flatfish it has roughly equal numbers of left- and right-eyed fish — and changes colour to match the bottom while ambushing anchovies, squid, croakers and surfperch. It ranges from the Quillayute River in Washington to Magdalena Bay in Baja California, is commonest from Bodega Bay to Bahía de San Quintín, shows up in Humboldt Bay in warm-water years, and has been recorded as deep as 317 m. California's recreational fishery is open year-round (trawling is barred from 15 March to 15 June in the southern trawl grounds) and boats work out of every port from Bodega Bay to San Diego: anglers drift live anchovy, sardine or squid on a trap rig, slow-troll swimbaits, or cast small leadheads and jerkbaits from beaches, jetties and piers. Spring through summer, when the fish move inshore to spawn, is the prime window; the minimum legal size is 22 inches. San Diego Bay, Mission Bay, Newport, Santa Monica Bay, San Francisco Bay and Tomales Bay are the classic grounds, and locals simply call it halibut — a really big one is a "barn door".
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