Fishing for Flounder (Fluke)

well well well... look who fell in the well....

that's the old saying from an "Our Gang" episode of yesteryear (yes, this old fart was around back in the early days of "talkies" on the "black and white" television *LOL*)

helping bait up my son's rod, this bugger took my bottom bait and rocketed out... my rod bent over and the fight was on... not so much the fish but rather to keep the buggah from tangling 16 other lines in the water :)







Someone on the other side of the boat pulled up an oyster toadfish... also known locally as an oyster cracker!

The last time I saw one was when crabbing with my dad in Red Bank circa 1962!!

Family: Batrachoididae

Species: Opsanus tau (Linnaeus, 1766)

Range: western Atlantic from Maine to the West Indies.

Habitat: found on mud, oyster shell, rock, along sand bottoms and garbage dumps in shallow water.

Food: preys on crustaceans, mollusks, fish, and just about anything else it can get its mouth on.

Characters useful in identification: bulging eyes; fleshy flaps (whiskers) on cheeks and jaws; broad, flat heads.

Color: skin is yellowish to brown with dark brown oblique bars and brown reticulations.

Image courtesy: Fisherman's Guide: Fishes of the Southeastern United States.
Charles Manooch, III, author. Duane Raver, Jr. , illustrator.

Reproduction: toadfish are known for producing vocalizations, accomplished by rapid muscle contractions. The male produces a "foghorn" sound which may attract females to a nesting site. The spawning season lasts from April to October.

Maximum size: 38 cm TL (1.25 ft.)

Other interesting tidbits:

• The toadfish has no commercial value and is generally considered a nuisance due to its powerful and potentially dangerous jaws which make it tough to remove from fishing hooks; however, it is edible.
• It can survive out of water for extended periods.
• This fish is also plays an important role in medical research.
• NASA and the Marine Biological Lab in Woods Hole just completed experiments in which toadfish were sent to space. These estuarine fish are known for their ability to communicate with one another by producing sound from the rapidly contracting sonic musculature that surrounds the stomach. They are therefore useful models for studying muscular contraction. In addition, the readily accessible beta cells of the pancreas (site of insulin production) make it a useful animal model for diabetes research.
  
  Two oyster toadfish, collected from the waters off Woods Hole participated in an experiment designed to help scientists better understand the effects that microgravity has on our vestibular, or balance, system. These fish traveled more than 3 million miles through space on shuttle mission STS-95, which launched from Kennedy Space Center on October 29, 1998.

References:

Murdy, E.O., R.S. Birdsong, and J.A. Musick. 1997. Fishes of Chesapeake Bay. Smithsonian Institution Press, 324 pp.

oh yeah, now the flounder (fluke):

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