Ken Schultz's Field Guide to Saltwater Fish - Macaw Pets store

The queenfish is a small croaker and a member of the Sciaenidae
family (drum and croaker). Essentially a panfish-size
bottom scrounger, it is not an esteemed sport or food fish,
but it is commonly caught from Pacific coast piers and may
be desirable as whole or cut bait for other species.
Identification. The queenfish has an elongated, moderately
compressed body. The upper profile is depressed over
the eyes, and it has a large mouth. Its coloring is bluish
above and becomes silvery below. The fins are yellowish.
This species is distinguished from other croaker by its large
mouth; by the base of its second dorsal and anal fins, which
are roughly equal; and by the wide space between its two
dorsal fins. There is no chin barbel on the lower jaw.
Size. The maximum length of the queenfish is 12 inches,
but most fish are considerably smaller.
Spawning behavior. Spawning occurs along the coast in
the summer. The eggs are free floating, and newly hatched
juveniles appear in the late summer and the fall; they gradually
move shoreward from depths of 20 to 30 feet into the
surf zone.
Food. Queenfish feed on small, free-swimming crustaceans,
crabs, and fish.
Queenfish (Croaker)
Seriphus politus
OTHER NAMES
herring, herring croaker,
kingfish, shiner, queen
croaker; Spanish: corvina
reina.
Distribution. The queenfish
is found along the
Pacific coast, from Yaquina
Bay, Oregon, to Uncle Sam
Bank in Baja California,
Mexico. It is common in
Southern California but rare
north of Monterey.
Habitat. Queenfish commonly
inhabit shallow water
over sandy bottoms in the
summer. They mostly occur
in water from 4 to 25 feet
deep but have been known
to dwell as deep as 180
feet. They often gather in
tightly packed schools,
sometimes with white
croaker, in shallow sandy
areas near pilings and piers,
and they migrate to deeper
water at night.
Queenfish (Croaker) 151