Yelloweye rockfish (red snapper)

Big, deep-bodied orange-red rockfish with bright yellow eyes and black-tipped fins; young fish have one or two white stripes along the side.

5–15 lb.

About 36 in and 39 lb; can live more than 120 years.

Small fish, crabs, shrimp, squid, octopus and other rockfish.

Lives on rocky reefs, pinnacles and kelp; most stay close to the bottom near cover.

Found from Alaska, British Columbia and Oregon & Washington. Rocky reefs, boulder fields and pinnacles with caves and crevices, from northern California to the Gulf of Alaska.

Rocky reefs, boulder fields and pinnacles with caves and crevices, from northern California to the Gulf of Alaska.

100–600 ft; usually caught deeper than 150 ft.

20–200 ft on rocky bottom; where depth limits apply you may only fish shallower than the line.

When the season is open — rockfish and lingcod seasons and depth limits are set each year by each state.

Daylight.

Light current so the boat drifts slowly over the reef.

Calm seas — this is open-ocean fishing on an often rough coast.

Herring, octopus and squid on the bottom.

Heavy leadhead jigs with grubs, and big metal jigs.

Medium-heavy 7 ft rod with a conventional or large spinning reel.

Shrimp-fly rigs, 2/0–6/0 hooks, and 4–12 oz jigs.

30–50 lb braid.

30–50 lb mono.

Usually caught by accident while fishing halibut or lingcod over rough bottom. If you hook one you can't keep, send it back down with a descending device.

Their swim bladder blows up when they come up from deep water. Clip a descending device to the lip, drop it back to the bottom, and the fish will usually live.

Catch and release: wet your hands, keep the fish in the water when you can, and release it quickly. Use circle hooks and a dehooker.

Good eating when fresh.

Bleed and ice it right away. Fillet, then remove the skin and any dark bloodline.

Firm, white, mild meat; good fried, baked or in fish tacos.

Venomous-feeling dorsal spines on rockfish; fish brought up from deep water can get barotrauma — use a descending device to release them.

Yelloweye are heavily protected: in Washington and Oregon you may not keep them, and Alaska and British Columbia allow very few or none depending on the area. Many areas require you to carry a descending device. Everyone 18 and older needs an Alaska sport fishing license (residents and nonresidents), and king salmon need a separate king salmon stamp. Rules are set by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (adfg.alaska.gov) and change by river and by emergency order during the season — check before you go.

One of the slowest-growing fish in the ocean. A 20-lb yelloweye can be older than your grandparents, so take few or none.