Local fish ID help, please

[geoff w]

Yesterday we took advantage of calm conditions and no rain yet to get in a beach dive at Little Dume, just past Paradise Cove near the north end of Santa Monica bay. Lots of life, especially big schools of senorita. And unfortunately, for the first time, I started noticing sargassum appearing and starting to establish itself in the area

We all noticed a few examples of one fish none of us could identify, and none of the online fish guides helped. I pulled off a couple of screen captures from my GoPro video. The fish are shaped like senorita, with more pronounced fins, but colored almost orange like Garibaldi, with a silvery stripe running the length of their body. Any experts out there know what these are? This is the first time I've noticed these anywhere in our local waters

 

[MaxBottomtime]

Juvenile Sheephead.

 

[geoff w]

Juvenile Sheephead.

That's definitely it. Thanks Phil! First time I've seen one, unlike juvenile Garibaldi (see lots of those), and there seems to be at least as many sheephead as Garibaldi around here

 

[drbill]

Yep, Phil beat me to it.

 

[bperc]

That's definitely it. Thanks Phil! First time I've seen one, unlike juvenile Garibaldi (see lots of those), and there seems to be at least as many sheephead as Garibaldi around here

Now that you know what it is, I bet you'll notice more of them. I did.