Striped Mullet
Mullet can be caught with a cast net while wading off the beach. Large school swim up and down the peninsula daily during the fall.
Along the Florida gulf coast, the striped mullet is regarded as an excellent food fish. They are also used as bait for a variety of fishes, including billfish, commonly bringing a higher price as bait than as food fish. In fresh and brackish waters, they are caught with a hook and line. Popular bait includes earthworms, oatmeal, and chicken feed. Mullet caught in freshwater often have a muddy or sulfide-like taste. In saltwater areas, mullet are snagged with hooks or captured with cast nets, seines, gill nets, or trammel nets. A net ban has been in effect in the state of Florida since 1995. Prior to the net ban amendment, mullet were severely overfished throughout the state. Currently, mullet are on the road to full recovery. Large numbers of mullet are taken during the migration to spawning grounds offshore. These fish are prized for their roe. The striped mullet is marketed fresh, dried, salted, and frozen with the roe sold fresh or smoked. This fish is also used in Chinese medicinal practices. It is a very important commercial fish in many other parts of the world.