Description: silvery color
with bluish or greenish back; slender, round body; snout long, conical,
aiming downward and overhanging lower jaw; dark streaks between scales on
upper half of body and faint crossbands extending down to lateral line;
extremities of dorsal and caudal fins shaded with black.
Similar Fish: ladyfish, Elops
saurus
Where found: primarily
INSHORE fish inhabiting shallows of the Florida Keys; found in shallows
often less than 1 foot deep, usually over lush grass flats, occasionally
over white sand.
Size: 3 to 5 pounds.
*Florida Record: 15 lbs.,
12 ozs.
Remarks: travels in loose
schools; roots out shrimp, shellfish, crabs, and fish from the bottom;
spawns offshore, eggs hatching into ribbon-like larvae that metamorphose
into fish-like form at about 2 inches and move inshore.
* The Florida records
quoted are from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's
printed publication, Fishing
Lines and are not necessarily the most current ones. The records are
provided as only as a benchmark.
