Description
Panfish. Most of us hearing the term panfish go right to bluegill and crappie. But what about the saltwater panfish, like spot, croaker, and perch?
Spot, characterized by it’s, well, spot, are a fun catch. They can be found from Massachusetts to Texas. They’ve even been caught as far south as the Yucatan Penninsula. Spot, Leiostomus xanthurus, is sometimes called Norfolk Spot and Virginia Spot by anglers in the Chesapeake region. Normally, they get up to around 10″, however, some rare catches have been measured at almost 16″. In the fall these fish move offshore to spawn, letting the currents move the eggs back towards shore, where the young hatch and move into estuaries. As a drum species, they vocalize using an air bladder, which sometimes leads to confusion with their cousins the croakers.
Atlantic croaker, Micropogonias undulatus, can be found in the same waters as spot. Smaller fish are called pinheads, while larger ones are called hardheads. They are the loudest of the drum family, with their “croaks” being easily heard in and out of the water. These fish can get up to almost 5lbs, though the Chesapeake Bay record stands at 8lbs 11oz. During the spawn, starting in late summer, they can take on a yellow-gold color. Anglers will call these Golden Croakers.
Anglers can come across a few species called perch. White Perch, Morone americana, is a close relative of striped bass. Silver Perch, Bairdiella chrysoura, is a smaller fish, and usually caught while fishing for larger species.
DS Custom Tackle’s Spot Rig works great for saltwater panfish. Using our Small Pill Floats, these rigs have enough buoyancy to keep your bait off the bottom, while still being attractive to smaller fish. Despite the smaller size, this rig still packs a punch, and is quite capable of handling whiting, pompano, weakfish, and bluefish. We use them for those freshwater panfish, too!
