The California Barracuda 103 



belongs to the family Spkyr&nid&. It is a long 

 and very slender fish, the lower jaw projecting, 

 the muzzle sharp and pointed, the eyes black 

 and conspicuous. Its colors are brown or green 

 above, the belly white. When taken from the 

 water the back, like that of the yellowtail, often 

 takes on a bluish, almost iridescent, hue. The 

 fins are tinted a light yellow, so that when the 

 fish is seen deep in the water, it is sometimes 

 mistaken for the yellowtail. Along the mainland 

 the barracuda rarely ventures inshore, most of 

 the catches from San Diego to Santa Cruz being 

 made from one to five or more miles from the surf ; 

 but at the islands, San Clemente, Santa Cata- 

 lina, Anacapa, Santa Rosa, Santa Cruz, and San 

 Miguel, where deep water sweeps the very rocks, 

 the barracuda is caught not one hundred feet 

 from shore, great schools moving up and down the 

 fringes of kelp the fishes' highway in search 

 of anchovies, sardines, and squid, the food of its 

 choice. There are several "runs" of this fish, 

 which mean that large schools move in, or up 

 the coast, at intervals. That they follow the 

 general contour of the mainland is certain, as in 

 the spring the barracuda is first reported from 

 Coronado; then the fishermen catch them from 



