| BAITFISH |
Credit: Illustration by Diane Rome Peebles
Family Clupeidae
Other local names: shad, pogies
Description: to 18" oval, deep and compressed; blue or green, sometimes bluish-brown above; sides and belly silvery, fins yellowish; distinct humeral spot often followed by several rows of smaller spots; head very large, exposed margin of scales almost vertical, fringed
Where found: near surface schools primarily in estuaries and nearshore waters of the northern Gulf from early spring through fall
Size: three-year-olds are 8 inches long and weigh more than 6 ounces
Remarks: sexual maturity begins at late age (1) with major spawning areas offshore across the northern Gulf
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