Monday, August 23, 2010

Spot


Been a while since I could get on and actually post something here.

Although this blog is titled "Stripers and Trout", it's been a summer of anything but... mostly undersized fluke (flounder) with a few other fish mixed in.

One fish in particular showed up in numbers early last Friday morning along the Ventnor surf: The SPOT or LAFAYETTE

The spot (Leiostomus xanthrus) is similar to a croaker but with a spot just behind the gills. They’re also called lafayette or flat croaker and are good bait for bottom fish. Found usually over sandy or muddy bottoms in coastal waters to about 60 m depth. Occurs in nursery and feeding grounds in river estuaries during summer and fall. Juveniles often stay in the estuarine waters throughout the year. Feeds mainly on worms, small crustaceans and organic detritus.

I should note that this fish is an excellent baitfish for the 3 top predators hanging around our areas this time of year: the striped bass, the flounder (aka "fluke" to the north) and the weakfish!