Targeting Tiger Rockfish

So I was watching Angler West TV the other day and one of the folks on the show caught a Tiger Rockfish and i thought it has to be about the coolest looking saltwater sportfish I have ever seen, the contrasting colors would make it a spectatular fish to have a photo of.  That being said I would REALLY like to catch one. Has anyone on the forum caught  a tiger or a China rockfish? (they are also super cool looking)  Is there any specific structure, or depth that I can target to better my odds of catching one of these beauties? Or is it pretty much luck of the draw? I've caught a handfull of black rockfish and while being delicious they arent much to look at.   Let me know I'd love to see any photos, hear a story and any info on how or where to target these cool looking fish would be even better. 

See you on the water,
Bernie

Funny, FG and I were just discussing tigers and chinas last weekend.  We decided that tigers are "beautiful" and chinas are "interesting".   FG got a tiger a few weeks ago when we were halibut fishing.

Unlike blacks, tigers and chinas are structure dwellers.  So bouncing jigs around rocks is the way to go.  It's luck of the draw for both species, but chinas are encountered much more often than tigers.  By far.  So much so they are almost pesky.  I've only ever caught a handful of tigers.  The ones I've caught were usually deeper than 90 ft.  Awesome fish.  Found a couple of photos

Legal to keep?

Only on the coast

Picked up a China out at Hobuck last year.  Fiesty.  And tasty.

I've caught Chinas at PC while trying for lings. They seem to be fairly common there.

I will move if I start catching china's. I hate filleting them for such a little piece of meat. We caught a lot more tigers before the 20 fathom rule. Fun fact oldest tiger caught on record was 166 years old.

I will move if I start catching china's. I hate filleting them for such a little piece of meat. We caught a lot more tigers before the 20 fathom rule. Fun fact oldest tiger caught on record was 166 years old.

Well, compared to lings, sure, I can see that.  But I didn't think the China I got was any worse for filleting than than the blacks.  It was similar in overall size and in the quantity of meat.

Chinas are useless. They have next to no meat and are always tiny. Plus they barotrauma in about 60 FOW and are dead weight after the first 10 feet. Cool looking but that's about it.
I have only caught a couple tigers. Beautiful fish and enough size to make filleting worth while. 90 FOW is about the shallowest I have caught a tiger and the snaggier the more they seem to like it. 

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I think your memory might be fuzzy, Chinas don't yields the same amount of meat that a black the same size does.

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Then you are keeping some tiny blacks. I don't think I have ever caught a China more than 12 inches. They have a much higher head to body ratio than a black. Very low yields.

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I was replying to Andrew.  I don't keep rockfish unless they're around 20" or better 

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My comment was directed to Andrew too

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I didn't measure the China (didn't have a hawg trough at the time).  I'd bet it was a solid 16" though, maybe more, maybe a little less.  Seemed like it gave a pretty reasonable fillet compared to similar size blacks I've done.  I caught it in <50 FOW, probably 35-40', and it fought pretty well all the way up.

Hope to catch a tiger sometime soon, so it looks like I'll stick close to structure in or around 90 feet.  I'd still like to catch a China, if its little I'll just catch, photo, release.  Thanks to all the folks who posted some info about these beautiful fish.   I do think I would feel kinda bad about eating such a pretty fish, but then again I've eaten plenty of peacock bass and they are just as cool, and delicious (not the little guys from the Miami canals, the real deal from the Amazon)