304 
BULLETIN OF THE BUREAU OF FISHERIES 
The fishing season extends from about April 15 until November 15. The first appearance of 
the fish varies from year to year and is one or two weeks later in the upper part of the bay than near 
the entrance. Records obtained from a set of two pound nets at Lynnhaven Roads, Ya., give the 
first appearance of the squeteague as follows: April 1, 1910; April 5, 1912; April 12, 1916; April 16, 
1917; April 2, 1918; April 11, 1919; April 28, 1920; April 5, 1921; and April 1, 1922. The catch 
during April is usually small, but during May, June, July, and October large numbers are taken 
with pound nets. In the lower part of the bay some of the best pound-net catches of this species 
are made during November. It is taken with haul seines from May until October. Hook and line 
fishing is most productive from June until the end of October. In the vicinity of Norfolk, Va., 
good catches are sometimes made with pound nets as late as December 1, but in the upper sections 
of the bay fishing operations usually have ceased by November 1. The squeteague is caught in 
large numbers in all parts of the bay, from Baltimore southward. North of Baltimore the water 
freshens rapidly and the catch of squeteagues diminishes perceptibly, until at Turkey Point a scat- 
tering few are caught only in the fall, at which time the water usually is slightly brackish. 
Fig. 182— Graphic representation showing the frequency of lengths of 480 young squeteagues (Cynoscion regalis) taken 
from September 25 to October 31, 1921 and 1922, in the lower part of Chesapeake Bay 
A large part of the Chesapeake catch of squeteague is shipped to outside markets. The best 
prices are obtained early in the spring and late in the fall, when the species is scarce along the upper 
Atlantic coast. Sometimes during May and June the price drops to the extent that it is scarcely 
profitable to ship the fish to market, and at such times the smaller sizes often are discarded by the 
fishermen. The markets are seldom glutted, for the fish is well known and it is shipped to all cities 
in the East. The highest price received by the fishermen during 1921 and 1922 was about 20 
cents, the lowest 2 cents, and the average for the season about 5 cents per pound. 
The squeteague is known throughout the Chesapeake region as “trout” or “gray trout,” 
and is the weakfish of New York. The species bears no relationship to^the true trouts and salmons, 
and the name “trout” tends to lead to confusion; but it is so firmly established in the Chesapeake 
and southward that a change of name would be very difficult. 
In many markets the squeteague is the principal fish sold. Its fine appearance, good flavor, 
and the long season during which it may be caught contribute to its favor with both the consumer 
