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ANGLER'S GUIDE TO FISHES OF THE GULF OF MEXICO!
This book is a given for recreational and commercial fishermen as well as anyone who loves the outdoors! Since most anglers identify their fish by reviewing illustrations rather than using scientific keys, the authors have succeeded in making fishing easier by providing superb illustrations and detailed diagnostics for fish identification. A valuable, one-stop reference tool for everyday anglers, fisheries experts, biologists, and outdoors writers, this guide includes intensively researched information on 207 species of saltwater fish, essential data on each species’ habitat, identification, typical size, and food value. By Jerald Horst & Mike Lane, illustrated by Duane Raver. 207 species. |
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| Other Names : | Hardtail, Hardtail Jack, Blue Jack, Blue Runner | | Range & Habitat : | This species is found Gulfwide in all waters from the surf zone to offshore. | | Identification & Biology : | This jack is similar in shape to the yellow jack, but not quite as streamlined. Its color ranges through the various shades of blue and into green on its back, with a silvery to white belly. Their distinguishing feature is the more than 45 enlarged scales or scutes on the lateral line ahead of the tail. No other jack has more than 44 scutes and most have substantially less.
Blue runners can form large schools. They tend to concentrate at offshore oil and gas platforms in the northern Gulf, where researchers estimate that as many as 30,000 individuals can be found at a single platform. There, they feed day and night on zooplankton and small fishes, and in turn attract large predators such as barracuda, groupers, cobia, other jacks, and even open-water fish such as king mackerel, billfish, and tuna which feed on them. | | Size : | Typically 12 - 18 inches. | | Food Value : | Poor, however blue runners are an excellent bait fish for tuna and billfish. | | Description by: Jerald Horst, Associate Professor, Fisheries - LSU AgCenter |
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