There are three other species of fish which inhabit the surf of the
Pacific from Point Conception, south to Mexico, that, while they can
not be properly termed game fishes, furnish the angler fine sport
because of the gamy fight they make on light tackle. These are the
whiting (=Menticirrhus undulatus=), the spot-fin croaker (=Roncador
stearnsi=) and the yellow-fin croaker (=Umbrina roncador=). The first
of these is known locally by the names of corbina and surf-fish,
which are bad misnomers. The name, surf-fish, is given by the
ichthyologist to a species of perch, and the courbina belongs to the
genus =Pogonias= and is not found as far north as the California
coast. These names should be abandoned by the anglers and the proper
English name of whiting used. The word courbina is Italian and means
croaker, from the Latin, corvus, crow.
[Illustration: WHITE SEA BASS (Cygonoscion nobilis)]