426 SEVENTH REPORT OF THE FOREST, FISH AND GAME COMMISSION. 



perature of 60 F. It is buoyant, and, under natural conditions, is subject to the 

 influence of wind and current. The spawning season is evidently prolonged in some 

 localities ; in Great Egg Harbor Bay, for example, young Weak fish only i^ inches 

 long were taken in August, that is, several months after spawning begun. The most 

 favorable tide for catching this species is generally considered the latter half of the 

 flood and first half of the ebb. At night the Weak fish runs up the creeks to feed 

 in the salt meadows, and will take the hook freely. 



Some of the best baits for the Weak fish are the common Shrimp, Soft or Shed- 

 der Crabs, pieces of Clam and common Mussel, the white skin of the throat of Weak 

 fish, and sometimes the eye of this species; other good baits are Silvcrsides and 

 Anchovies. In Great South Bay the fish are taken extensively in pound nets and 

 in gill nets. The gill nets are set in the shape of a horseshoe, and the attending 

 sloop sails back and forth across the open end of the horseshoe, one of the crew 

 meanwhile beating the deck with his heels to frighten the fish into the nets. This 

 method, called drumming, is in great disfavor among those who follow other modes 

 of fishing. 



The Weak fish endures captivity very well and can be kept during winter in 

 water of the proper temperature. The species is said to reach the weight of 30 

 pounds. 



122. Spotted Weak Fish ; Sea Trout (Cynoscion nebulosus Cuv. & Val.). 



Labrus squeteague var. maculatus MITCHILL, Trans. Lit. & Phil. Soc. N. Y., 1,396, 1815 



New York ; not Lab r us maculatus BLOCK. 

 Otolithus carolinensis DE KAY, N. Y. Fauna, Fishes, 72, 1842, extra limital ; HOLBROOK, 



Ichth. S. C., ed. i, 133, pi. 19, fig. 2, 1856. 

 Cynoscion nebulosus JORDAN & EVERMANN, Bull. 47, U. S. Nat. Mus., 1409, 1898, pi. 



CCXXI, fig. 563, 1900. 



Body silvery with bright reflections; numerous black spots on back, beginning 

 under the spinous dorsal ; soft dorsal and caudal similarly spotted, the largest spots 

 smaller than pupil : anal fin dusky. 



The Spotted Weak fish is a better food fish than the common northern species ; 

 it ranges from New York to Texas, but is rare north of Virginia. 



