Return of FOD.As we prepare for some time on a threatened coast, I'll focus on one of the more obvious fish species that tourists see off Gulf beaches. The ladyfish, Elops saurus, is one of several species in the Familiy Elopidae, and they're found throughout coastal waters of the temperate and tropical Western Atlantic. In fact, they don't handle cold weather well at all and have been reported as a component of cold-water fish kills. The long, slender body is silvery and covered with tiny cycloid scales. Their large, terminal mouth is equipped with a nice set of sharp teeth. E. saurus are sometimes referred to as ten-pounders (thought that's a giant) or (mistakenly) as skipjack. A more common size is a couple of feet in length, and a couple of pounds. They move up and down Gulf beaches like those on Santa Rosa Island in large schools, feeding voraciously on schools of baitfish. They can provide good sport if you can get into a feeding frenzy with some light spinning tackle or a fly rod.
The elopids are close relatives of tarpon and bonefish, and share with them the eel-like leptocephalus larva. After offshore spawning, the larvae apparently move into estuaries to develop.
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