Yellow Croaker
Yellow Corvina -
Larimichthys polyactis
Yellow Croaker -
Micropogonias undulatus
This is confusing. There are two fish called Yellow Croaker in Southern California, often sold in the same market. Some authorities clearly assign them as Larimichthys polyactis and Pseudosciaena manchurica but Fishbase considers those two names to be for the same fish. They are probably right, but their photo is so bad it's hard to tell what fish they think it is. L. polyactis seems reasonably clear, but the other fish was a problem. A bunch of croakers looking quite similar - but based on tail shape and stripe pattern in Fishbase I settled on M. undulatus, confirmed by the Smithsonian Envronmental Research Center. Their photo of M. undulatis is very good, and a dead ringer for my boy.