Corbinas (Menticirrhus undulatus) are members of the croaker or drum family, and they show up along 200 miles of the Southern California coastline during the warmest summer months. As their downturned mouths indicate, they feed mostly on sand crabs.
I grew up fishing with my father for the once-plentiful barred surf-perch. While deploying our basket-like sand crab traps beneath a local pier, I occasionally saw ghostlike shapes in sudsy backwash that quickly disappeared with a swirl. Soaked to my waist, I remember asking my dad about those sleek, silvery fish.
All he could muster was a disgusted murmur hinting at their challenging demeanor: “Oh, those are corbinas,” he hissed, as though it was an off-limits topic. I think at the time he was trying to tell me something, a message...