Page 102 - South Mississippi Living - August, 2021

SPORTS & OUTDOORS
POWERFUL
Croakers Provide Great Sport, Especially For Youngsters
Most people only think of croakers as bait for redfish and giant speckled trout. Indeed, a small croaker struggling on a hook makes an excellent enticement for many fish species.
However, these noisy, golden-hued scrappers can provide outstanding action on light tackle. In my opinion, ounce for ounce, no inshore saltwater fish fights harder. Battling well above their weight class, croakers hit jarringly hard and never give up.
Technically called an Atlantic croaker, this member of the Drum Family along with speckled trout, redfish, black drum and several other species, looks similar to a small redfish without a spot on its tail. People seldom catch croakers weighing more than a pound or two, but the feisty fish can grow large. The world record weighed 8 pounds, 11 ounces. The Mississippi record stands at 5 pounds, 1 ounce.
“The Atlantic croaker is one of our most abundant nearshore species,” explains Dr. Bob Shipp, a renowned marine biologist and author of Dr. Bob Shipp’s Guide to Fishes of the Gulf of Mexico. “Croakers are thought to be nearshore, brackish-water species, even moving up into river mouths and delta regions with low salinity, but the species also wanders well offshore.”
A very similar species often confused with croakers, a spot looks more rounded than its cousin and bears a distinctive dark, eye-sized spot just behind the upper edge of its gill cover. The world record spot only weighed 1 pound, 7 ounces with the Mississippi record coming in at less than five ounces.
“The easiest way to tell a croaker is to look for barbels, or fleshy whiskers, under its chin,” Shipp advises. “It should have six to 10 very tiny barbels. A spot has no chin barbels.
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