Family Mugilidae, Mullets
Mugil cephalus

Description: color bluish-gray or green above, shading to silver on sides with distinct horizontal black barrings, white below; fins lightly scaled at base, unscaled above; blunt nose and small mouth; second dorsal fin originates behind that of the dorsal fin.

Similar Fish: white mullet, M. curema; fantail mullet, M. gyrans (both white and fantail mullet have black blotch at base of pectoral fin, which is lacking in the black mullet).

Where found: inshore.

Size: roe mullet common to 3 pounds.

Fishing Hints: Catching this species on a hook requires patience and skill. Most catches are with a net, but sometimes a small hook using wadded bread will work.

Note: adults migrate offshore in large schools to spawn; juveniles migrate inshore at about 1 inch in size, moving far up the bayous; frequent leapers; feeds on algae, detritus and other tiny marine forms. The population was seriously harmed by overfishing (gill nets), but with the recent regulation changes, they are making a comeback. When I first moved here thirty years ago, it was one of my great pleasures to look out the window and watch them jump in the bayou, but that gradually stopped about fifteen years ago. Now I see a few occassionally from that same vantage point.