August in southeast Louisiana usually means the start of the “ dog days of summer ” when it comes to fishing , but for many anglers in southeast Louisiana , this time of year also means an increased likelihood of seeing the uniquely shaped Atlantic tripletail
They are commonly spotted floating near crab trap buoys , sargassum lines , and other floating debris . The Atlantic tripletail belongs to the family Lobotidae and is the only member of the Lobotidae family in the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico . The Atlantic tripletail inhabits tropical and subtropical waters of all oceans worldwide . Along the U . S . coastline , they can be found from Massachusetts south along the Atlantic coast and throughout the Gulf of Mexico . They are not known to be very abundant in any particular location . The only other member of the family Lobotidae is Lobotes pacificus , the Pacific tripletail , which ranges throughout the eastern Pacific ocean from Nicaragua to Peru and along Mexico ’ s Sea of Cortez . Tripletail appear to be solitary fish , but may form schools under some conditions . Tripletail move into bays and inshore waters in the northern Gulf of Mexico in April and remain through early October . In the northern Gulf of Mexico , tripletail are somewhat migratory , moving between offshore waters in winter and inshore waters in summer . Unlike cobia , there does not appear to be any east and west movement along the northern Gulf coast .
The common name tripletail comes from the fact that the large , rounded soft dorsal fin and anal fin extend far back on the body and closely resemble the caudal fin , or tail , in color and shape , thereby giving the fish the appearance of having three tails . The body is laterally compressed and the diagonal mouth is very large . The tripletail ' s eyes are small and located far forward on the head , so that the head appears to be small in relation to the size of the body . Overall , the body shape seems to resemble that of a sac-a-lait or freshwater crappie . Tripletail have a spotted or mottled color pattern , in various shades of black , brown , and gray ; however , they also have the ability to change color to match their surroundings , from nearly solid black , to yellow , to silvery grey . The Atlantic tripletail can reach a length of more than three feet and weigh more than 40 pounds , although most fish typically encountered by anglers weigh between two to sixteen pounds . The Louisiana state record Atlantic tripletail is 39.5 pounds caught in 1959 . Female tripletail are
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August 2016 www . marshandbayou . com