MARINE FISHERIES OF TEXAS 185 



A Corpus Christi dealer, when interviewed, declared that the 

 shallow, hot, salty water of Laguna Madre and tributary bays was 

 not pleasing to the native instincts of the fish, but that they would 

 spawn inside if they had to. "Some of these fish may deposit their 

 spawn inside because they can not get out," he said. This was due 

 to blocked passes or low water. He thought that the schools of 

 redfish, drum, and trout were working always toward the Gulf when 

 taken with spawn in a nearly ripe condition. 



Nearly every fisherman interviewed, from Galveston to Browns- 

 ville, believed that young fish come in from the Gulf after attaining a 

 certain size. One man reported seeing great schools of tiny redfish, 

 just large enough to be identified by the characteristic black spot 

 on the caudal fin, working into the inside waters through various 

 passes along the coast. In the summer of 1922 G. F. Simmonds, a 

 biologist of the State university, investigated the coastal waters in an 

 effort to discover some exact facts as to the breeding habits of the 

 commercial species. Extracts from his notes are given later in this 

 section. 



HABITS OF THE SPECIES 



Redfish (Scisenops ocellatus) 



The idea that the redfish spawns outside the barrier islands in the 

 Gulf of Mexico is firmly established now. It is well known that 

 no roe is to be found in this species until a weight of 8 or 9 pounds has 

 been attained, and such fish are then known as the "bull reds," 

 or spawners. The exact location of the spawning grounds has not 

 been described. The redfish, when not in schools on the outside in 

 the breeding season, live in considerable numbers in the inside 

 waters, feeding on the flats and moving in and out, when possible, 

 with the tides. In regard to the redfish, Mr. Simmonds writes 

 (from notes on file in. the State commissioner's office at Austin) : 



Though careful investigation has been made, not a single young redfish has 

 been found in Texas intercoastal salt waters in summer, the smallest fish seined 

 in even the most favorable localities being 10 inches long; fully adult redfish 

 rarely weigh less than 12 pounds, although occasionally a 9-pound fish, and once 

 one of 6 pounds, may be found with mature reproductive organs; fish with well- 

 developed roe have been caught along the Texas coast in winter; and it seems 

 probable that this species spawns at that season in the middle surf of the Gulf 

 and just outside the passes leading in to the feeding grounds. The spawning 

 habits of the redfish should be more adequately studied in order to pass adequate 

 protection. 



Louis Cobolini, of Brownsville, who has been in the fishing business 

 for a great many years, has taken records of the fluctuating seasonal 

 abundance of various species. At Point Isabel great schools of redfish 

 with ripe or nearly ripe roe are found in the Gulf near Brazos Santiago 

 Pass during February, March, April, and May. He reports that in 

 the old days, before the present law prohibiting the taking of "bull 

 reds" went into effect, the fishermen used to lie idle, with anchored 

 boats, waiting sometimes two or three days before tho big schools 

 of spawning redfish appeared along the coast. Spent redfish begin 

 to work into the Laguna Madre in the greatest quantities in August. 



Such is the extent of the knowledge regarding the redfish in Texas. 

 Information from other sources is just as meager, making the life 

 history of the species an important matter for investigation, not 

 only in Texas but throughout the range of the fish. 



