Side by Side

Canary / Vermilion Rock Sebastes pinniger

Typical: 14–24 in, 2–6 lb

Key field mark: Run a finger along the lateral line: Canary shows a clear light-gray stripe right at the lateral line with 3 orange head bars, while Vermilion is more uniformly red with black fin edges; neither has Yelloweye's yellow eye or raspy eye ridges.

• Bright orange to red body; Canary is gray-mottled, Vermilion is more uniformly red
• Canary: 3 orange bars radiating across the head; lateral line runs in a clear gray zone
• Vermilion: black-edged fins, gray mottling on the back, rough scales
• Canary: fins all orange, anal fin slanting rearward
• Both have normal dark eyes (NOT the bright yellow of Yelloweye)

Full Canary / Vermilion Rock guide — season, gear and rules →

Shelf Rockfish Sebastes goodei

Typical: 12–20 in, 1–5 lb

Quickest tell: These are the larger continental-shelf rockfish; key the very long protruding jaw to bocaccio, the pink lateral stripe to chilipepper, and rough red-with-black mottling plus a scaly jaw to vermilion (vermilion's vertical anal-fin edge and gray-less lateral line separate it from canary).

• Larger mid-depth reds: vermilion, bocaccio, chilipepper, yellowtail
• Bocaccio: very long jaw reaching past the eye; brownish-pink
• Vermilion: deep red with black mottling, black fin edges, rough scaly lower jaw
• Chilipepper: pinkish with a distinct pink lateral-line streak and a longer jaw
• All have one dorsal with strong front spines and a large head

Full Shelf Rockfish guide — season, gear and rules →

When Each Is Running July — current month highlighted

Where Canary / Vermilion Rock and Shelf Rockfish Overlap

Both run in Northern California — that is where telling them apart actually matters.

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