Silk Snapper

Family Lutjanidae, SNAPPERS Lutjanus vivanus

Description: back and upper sides pinkish red, shading to silvery sides with undulating yellow lines; pectorals pale yellow; back edge of caudal fin blackish; anal fin pointed; no dark lateral spot.

Similar Fish: red snapper, L. campechanus.

Where found: OFFSHORE over rocky ledges in very deep water; most common in south Florida.

Size: usually less than 5 pounds.


*Florida Record: n/a

Remarks: little is known.

* The Florida records quoted are from the Department of Environmental Protection's printed publication, Fishing Lines and are not necessarily the most current ones. The records are provided as only as a benchmark.

Bank Sea Bass

Family Serranidae, SEA BASSES AND GROUPER Centropristis ocyurus

Description: pale olive or brassy brown in color with indistinct black blotches that form vertical barrings (the blotch above pectoral fin darker); wavy blue lines on head; lips purplish-blue; caudal fin tri-lobed on adults; edge of nape unscaled.

Similar Fish: rock sea bass C. philadelphica; other Centropristis.

Where found: OFFSHORE in deep water with rocks and reefs.

Size: usually 0.3 pound (8 inches).


*Florida Record: n/a

Remarks: undergoes sex change, starting life as female, changing to male after three or four spawning seasons; feeds on the bottom, taking squid, crustaceans, and small fish.

* The Florida records quoted are from the Department of Environmental Protection's printed publication, Fishing Lines and are not necessarily the most current ones. The records are provided as only as a benchmark.

King Mackerel

Family Scombridae, MACKERELS and TUNAS Scomberomorous cavalla

Description: color of back iridescent bluish green; sides silvery, streamlined body with tapered head; no black pigment on front of dorsal fin; lateral line starts high and drops sharply below the second dorsal fin; young fish often have yellow spots like those of the Spanish mackerel.

Similar Fish: cero, S. regalis; Spanish mackerel, S. maculatus.

Where found: NEARSHORE and OFFSHORE, occasionally taken from piers running into deep water.

Size: common to 20 pounds.


*Florida Record: 90 lbs.

Remarks: schooling fish that migrates fom south Florida waters in winter to more northerly waters in spring; Gulf population thought to be separate from Atlantic population, with considerable mixing in winter from Cape Canaveral past Key West; spawns in midsummer OFFSHORE; feeds on small fish and squid.

*The Florida records quoted are from the Department of Environmental Protection's printed publication, Fishing Lines and are not necessarily the most current ones. The records are provided as only as a benchmark.

Longbill Spearfish

Family Istiophoridae, BILLFISHES Tetrapturus pfluegeri

Description: Color of body dark blue shading to silvery, white underneath; dorsal fin bluish, others brown-black; two dorsal fins, the first lengthy, its front forming a peak; two anal fins, the anus well in front of the first; upper jaw prolonged into spear, its cross secttion round.

Similar Fish: white marlin, Tetrapterus albidus.

Where found: OFFSHORE in deep water.

Size: relatively small species.

*Florida Record: 61 lbs.
Remarks: uncommon; available data indicate that spearfish matures at 2 years of age and rarely lives past 4 to 5 years; they are pelagic and feed at or near the surface, mainly on fishes and squid; named for Al Pflueger, Sr., founder of Pflueger Taxidermy.
* The Florida records quoted are from the Department of Environmental Protection's printed publication, Fishing Lines and are not necessarily the most current ones. The records are provided as only as a benchmark.