My first new species came from an urban park near my house. It had an assortment of micros in the shallows - eastern mosquitofish, golden silverside, jewel cichlid, and juvenile bluegill. I was dropping my bait through small openings in the vegetation looking for something new. To my surprise I pulled up a swamp darter, one of the few Etheostoma species with a range this far south.
Swamp Darter (Etheostoma fusiforme) - new hook & line species #707
Next I gave saltwater micros a try. There's plenty of public access in Florida, which means there are endless shore fishing spots to check out. I saw some small fish along the rocky shoreline near one of the local causeways, so I got out the micro rod and Tanago hooks to see what they were.
The fish I saw, which blended in very well with the sand, turned out to be goldspotted killifish. I didn't know they were in the area, so it was definitely a cool find!
Goldspotted Killifish (Floridichthys carpio) - new hook & line species #708
While I looked for micros, I also set up a medium-light rod in a rod holder with a piece of shrimp as bait. It got picked up twice, first by a small stingray and then by a striped burrfish. Neither was a lifer, but I got good photos of each of them.
Atlantic Stingray (Dasyatis sabina)
Striped Burrfish (Chilomycterus schoepfi)
The causeway bridge looked like a fishy spot. Ally joined me here, and we set up in the shade where we could fish the bridge pilings and rocks. Mangrove snappers were the most common (or aggressive) species, but after losing a few Tanago hooks I was able to catch a checkered puffer and frillfin goby to add to the list. The gulf killifish was also an interesting catch, because this is the northern edge of their range.
Mangrove Snapper (Lutjanus griseus)
Checkered Puffer (Sphoeroides testudineus) - new hook & line species #709
Frillfin Goby (Bathygobius soporator) - new hook & line species #710
Gulf Killifish (Fundulus grandis)
Usually I avoid posting photos of dead fish on this blog, but this sheepshead will be a rare exception. I like to take fish home for dinner, so I was excited when I hooked into this guy next to one of the bridge pilings. It was my first time cooking a sheepshead. My passion is photographing live fish that I catch and release, but keeping and eating local fish is also an important way that I connect with nature.
Sheepshead (Archosargus probatocephalus)
Back to the microfishing! Ally and Damion had scouted out a spot where flagfish were known to frequent in the spring, and they tipped me off that they had showed up. Ally joined me there, and after catching a few other species, we both had our endemic flagfish. We also caught some incredibly colorful marsh killifish that looked nothing like the ones I caught north of Tampa several years ago. Ally caught her lifer sailfin molly as well. I'll have to go back for mine.
American Flagfish (Jordanella floridae) - new hook & line species #711
Marsh Killifish (Fundulus confluentas)
In the middle of the month we had a surprise visit from Uncle Pat and Lia, who were taking a much needed vacation from our nation's capitol. Pat wanted to fish a few of the local spillways, so we joined them early in the morning before work. The top targets were the various snook species, but they weren't biting, so eventually I switched back to micros. I didn't catch anything new, but I did get a really good photo of a crested goby showing off its namesake crest.
Crested Goby (Lophogobius cyprinoides)
The next day we tried another spillway known for bigmouth sleepers and several other cool native species. Again the action was slow, but on my last cast I got a hit and pulled up a good sized sleeper. Pat and Lia stuck around after I left, and Pat texted me a photo of a juvenile bigmouth he caught further up near some rocks.
Bigmouth Sleeper (Gobiomorus dormitor) - new hook & line species #712
I forgot to mention, it's been FIVE years since Pat and I fished together. It's been way too long!
My final new species came from another local lake. While on a morning run I saw a school of slender micros that could only be one thing. Golden silversides! I had failed to catch them at the other lake, but they were easier at this one. My 12 foot crappie pole made it easy to reach the school.
Golden Silverside (Labidesthes vanhyningi) - new hook & line species #713
Needless to say, there will be plenty more Florida reports this year. Hope you're ready for them!
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