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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 : | Spikefish, White Marlin | | Range & Habitat : | This fish is found Gulfwide, near the surface in all blue waters. It is most common in areas of upwelling, where water currents are forced near the surface by changes in the contour of the bottom. | | Identification & Biology : | The body is dark blue to brown on the back, shading to brownish, to silvery-white along the sides, and then white on the belly. The body is marked with faint vertical bars. The first dorsal fin has many small black spots, compared to the unspotted dorsal fin of the long bill spearfish. The front part of the dorsal fin of the white marlin comes to a broadly rounded vertical point, compared to the sharp point of the blue marlin. Most scientists now agree that what was once known as the hatchet marlin is simply a variant of the white marlin.
White marlin appear to be migratory, concentrating in the northern Gulf of Mexico, off the mouth of the Mississippi River in midsummer, then scattering all over the Gulf later in the summer. They spawn in the Gulf in late spring and early summer. Like other billfish, white marlin feed on both squid and a variety of finfish. | | Size : | Most are under 60 pounds, but they can reach weights near 150 pounds. | | Food Value : | Excellent, but most are released alive. | | Description by: Jerald Horst, Associate Professor, Fisheries - LSU AgCenter |
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