Table 6.— Monthly catch of fishes by 436 interviewed anglers at Hathaway Bridge, 1973. (No anglers were present on Hathaway Bridge on survey 



days during January and February.) 











Month (number of anglers) 











Sum 





Species 



M(15) 



A(30) 



M(36) 



J(29) 



J(115) 



A<85) 



S(37) 



0(53) 



N<34) 



D(2) 



Percent 



Throwback* 



24 





27 





50 



40 



2 



7 



8 



1 



157 



22.8 



Sea catfish 



3 





5 



5 



15 



62 



16 



14 





2 



122 



17.5 



Pinfish 



2 



17 





3 



3 



17 





30 



30 





102 



14.6 



Sandseatrout 



8 





4 



1 



3 





3 



46 



23 





88 



12.6 



Blue runner 







42 



19 



3 





1 



10 



5 





80 



11.5 



Atlantic spadefish 









8 





27 











35 



5.0 



Sand perch 

















6 



10 





16 



2.3 



Pigfish 

















2 



13 





15 



2.2 



Spanish mackerel 















1 





11 





12 



1.7 



Atlantic croaker 



1 





1 





2 





4 



1 







9 



1.3 



Spotted seatrout 







9 

















9 



1.3 



Moray* 





1 







1 







4 



2 





8 



1.1 



Crevalle jack 



















7 





7 



1.0 



Silver perch 









2 











3 





5 



0.7 



Gray triggerfish 













1 





4 







5 



0.7 



Southern puffer 

















4 



1 





5 



0.7 



Gafftopsail catfish 

















2 



1 





3 



0.4 



Little tunny 













1 







2 





3 



0.4 



Striped burrfish 







1 



1 















2 



0.3 



Seabass* 









2 















2 



0.3 



Stingray* 

















2 







2 



0.3 



Gray snapper 

















1 









0.1 



Planehead filefish 

















1 









0.1 



Horseye jack 









1 

















0.1 



Shark* 













1 













0.1 



Gulf toadfish 

















1 









0.1 



Scrawled cowfish 

















1 









0.1 



Flounder* 

















1 









0.1 



Total 



38 



18 



89 



42 



77 



149 



27 



137 



116 



3 



696 



99.4 



'Species unknown. 



the availability of Spanish and king mackerel to charter 

 boat anglers. 



Anglers on 125 charter boats caught 19 species of fishes 

 (Table 8). The major fishing was devoted to king 

 mackerel, and that fish comprised the greatest propor- 

 tion of the catch (73.9%). Six species of fishes comprised 

 93.4% of the total catch. In addition to king mackerel, 

 they were: dolphin (5.9%), Spanish mackerel (5.0%), lit- 

 tle tunny (3.6%), blue runner (3.0%), and bluefish 

 (2.0%). The greatest number of species of fishes was 

 caught in May (12), June (11), and July (11). Only the 

 Spanish mackerel was caught in March and the king 

 mackerel in November. 



The Spanish mackerel is usually among the first 

 pelagic fishes to appear in local waters in the spring. In 

 1973, the first catch was on 16 March. During the period 

 16-30 March, the catch rates showed considerable 

 variability among the boats. Catch rates of 0.0 to 16.0 

 fish/h were made by individual boats. The average for all 

 boats was 3.7 fish/h (Fig. 2). Through the period 4-17 

 April the catches were less variable with ranges of 0.5 to 

 2.9 fish/h. The average for all boats was 1.1 fish/h, which 

 suggests a 70% decline in available fish from the 16-30 

 March period. 



The first catch of king mackerel in coastal waters off 

 St. Andrew Bay was on 24 April and the last on 15 

 November. The dates more accurately reflect the begin- 

 ning and the end of the fishing season rather than the ar- 



rival and departure of the fish. An occasional report was 

 received of a catch of king mackerel prior to 24 April and 

 after 15 November. Unfavorable weather and sea con- 

 ditions often limit charter boat fishing trips into coastal 

 waters in early spring and winter. The reluctance of char- 

 ter boatmen to pursue a particular fish for their clients 

 unless reasonably assured of the availability of fish is 

 also an important factor. In season, 21% of the surveyed 

 charter boats failed to catch a king mackerel in May, 4% 

 failed in June, 14% failed in July, and 13% failed in 

 August; none failed to catch one or more in late April, 

 September, October, and early November. 



According to the catch rate data, king mackerel in- 

 creased in availability from an average of 1.0 fish caught 

 per hour trolling in late April to 10.2 fish/h through Sep- 

 tember (Fig. 2). In September, the average catch rate for 

 individual boats ranged from 7.1 to 17.5 fish/h. From the 

 September high the catch rate declined rapidly to an 

 average of 4.8 in October and to 3.8 in early November. 

 The charter boat fishing season ended by mid-Novem- 

 ber because of cold weather, rough sea, and lack of 

 clients. 



DISCUSSION 



On-site interviews are acknowledged as being the most 

 reliable method of obtaining angler's catch and catch 

 rates. Bias due to recall, vanity, and other reasons are 



