386 Bass, Pike, and Perch 



It feeds on small marine organisms, and grows 

 to a length of two feet, occasionally, though its 

 usual size is ten or twelve inches, and average 

 weight from one to three or four pounds. It is 

 an excellent food-fish, though its good qualities in 

 this respect are not generally known. It spawns 

 in the spring. 



It is usually taken in seines in the bays of the 

 Gulf coast, and salted with mullet and sheepshead 

 by the fishermen. It can be caught by the angler 

 with a very small hook, No. 5 or 6, and cut clam 

 or conch bait. It is a fair game-fish on light 

 tackle, which may be the same as advised for the 

 Bermuda chub. 



THE PIN-FISH 



(^Lagodon rhomboides') 



Lagodon rhomboides. The Pin-fish. Body elongate, elliptical ; head 

 3^; depth 2|; eye 4; scales 10-65-17 ; D. XII, 11 ; A. Ill, 11 ; 

 mouth moderate, maxillary not reaching front of orbit ; head 

 flattened ; snout pointed ; profile not very steep ; 4 incisors in 

 each jaw, all deeply notched ; two series of molars in each jaw ; 

 dorsal fin single, with high spines ; caudal fin deeply forked. 



The pin-fish, also called sailor's choice and 

 bream in some localities, belongs to the family 

 Sparida, and is closely related to the sheepshead 

 of that family, having incisor and molar teeth. It 

 differs from it in the conformation of the skull. 



