Pacific Spiny Lumpsucker Guide

The Pacific spiny lumpsucker (Eumicrotremus orbis) is one of the most charismatic fish in the Pacific Northwest! They have golf-ball bodies with a suction-cup base, pouty lips, and they swim with a bumblebee-like motion. How can you not love these creatures?

Lumpies can most often be seen October through March. In October they are about the size of a pea, and by March they're slightly larger than golf balls. The peak time to photograph them at a good size is around January through February.

They are found at many of our dive sites but particularly at Redondo South Side or Three Tree Point. Look in the shallows on clean broad-leaf kelp, 5–25 feet deep. Late in the season you can see them on top of rocks or on red succulent kelp. Sometimes you can see them on eelgrass too.

They typically start out brown and add more color as the season progresses. Red, teal, yellow, pink, orange, arctic blue, and mottled ones can be found by the end of the season.

Females have more and larger tubercles (lumps). Males are smoother. Color is not a good indicator of gender.

Baby lumpies can sometimes be seen in April and May or even into the summer. Look on the brown or red kelp at 25–50 feet, with an eye towards finding something very small!

Pacific spiny lumpsucker photos

Underwater photos from Puget Sound dive sites. Tap a photo for full size and caption.

More regional underwater photography: Puget Sound dive photos · Washington dive photos

Order your lumpy t-shirt online!

Great article about lumpies in the New York Times!