Bay Anchovy "Glass Minnow" (Bait Fish)

Average is 1 or 2 inches. None are likely to exceed 3 or 4 inches.

Fry, Bigmouth Fry, Anchoa

Most are found in shallow water and along shorelines, but some occur for offshore. More commonly found in shallow tidal areas with muddy bottoms and brackish waters, tolerating a wide range of salinities (virtually fresh to fully saline or hypersaline). Found only in spring and summer in the tidal portion of the Ochlockonee River, Florida. Feed mostly on Mysis and copepods, also small fishes, gastropods and isopods. Breed off North Carolina from late April to mid-July, perhaps through to August.

Glass minnows are those little, transparent fish that can be seen just about anywhere in salt water, often in dense schools. The great majority of them are the Bay Anchovy, shown here, or the Striped Anchovy, Anchoa hepsetus, or the Cuban Anchovy, Anchoa cubana, although some schools of Glass Minnows might be a potpourri of species including, among others, tiny Herrings and even embryonic gamefishes. The Anchovies are characterized by a tiny underslung mouth. Dorsal spines (total): 0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 0; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 23 - 31. Body variable, more slender in northern populations. Snout fairly blunt, a little over 1/2 eye diameter; maxilla long, tip pointed, reaching beyond hind border of pre-operculum, almost to gill opening; panamensis-type gill cover canals. Anal fin rays rarely 28, its origin below unbranched dorsal fin rays. Anus nearer to pelvic fin tips than to anal fin origin.

Breed off North Carolina from late April to mid-July, perhaps through to August.

	Pelagic Longline This fishery uses a longline to catch a variety of pelagic fish on the high seas such as tuna and swordfish. A deep-set longline is used to primarily target tuna and a shallow-set longline is used to target swordfish or mixed species including bigeye, Albacore and yellowfin tuna. Baited hooks are attached to a line that floats in the ocean using buoys and flagpoles.
	Hand Line Hand Lining is when....

Beach seines; dip nets; cast nets.