#native fish

The wife and I went kayaking in a back canal leading out to the ocean. There was lots of scenery to see and the weather was gorgeous, but the fish hunting was slim. I managed to grab a few deceased Blue Crabs (Callinectes sapidus) in the reeds. From below, you can really tell how they got their name. We caught a number of live ones on the trip too, but I liked this pic best for some reason.

The most populous plant in the area were these reeds. Between the fish swimming through them, the mussels at their bases, and the crabs darting around, they make a really cool ecosystem.

Speaking of things that live in the reeds - I only saw one of these Marsh Periwinkles (Littoraria irrorata) crawling up the blades, but have seen them all up and down the Eastern coast of the US. Always seemingly content to just laze about in one place during the day hours, I can definitely identify with these mollusks.

As we pulled in the kayaks, I came across this Atlantic Horseshoe Crab (Limulus polyphemus) shell floating in the water. I was surprised to see them so far up the inlet and honestly I would have just loved to see a live one, but finding the shells is still pretty cool.

Of course I stuck out a minnow trap at the boat launch - I can't help it, it's one of my fave means of fishing for the smalls. My only catches were Mummichogs (Fundulus heteroclitus) - some of my favorite brackish fish in the US, but was hoping to catch something new. I did see some Alewives near the dock, but luck wasn't quite with me.

Jailbreak!

What I absolutely did not expect to see were Autumn Olives growing in/near the water edge. An invasive species in the US, I had no idea it was salt tolerant. Weird! And a little scary.

Later on in the week we went on a charter boat to do some freshwater fishing. Caught a couple of firsts for me!

Somebody on the boat caught this Pigfish (Orthopristus chrysoptera) pretty early into the trip and was the only catch for this species. A member of the Grunt family, this little fella definitely was a noisy one.

This handsome dude is an Oyster Toadfish (Opsanus tau), one of the few Toadfish species that occasionally makes their way into the trade. At 12 inches and being VERY piscivorous, I can't say they are especially good options. But that said, they are hardy and pretty interesting so I'm still a fan.