Striped Mullet

Striped mullet are torpedo-shaped silvery fish with faint horizontal stripes along the flanks, a small mouth, large scales, a blunt head, and a forked tail. They are known for leaping and skipping across the surface for no obvious reason.

They live in coastal and estuarine waters around the world, moving through beaches, bays, rivers, and backwaters, and they tolerate everything from fresh to full-strength salt water.

Mullet are grazers that filter algae, detritus, and tiny organisms from the water and bottom, so they rarely take a conventional baited hook. Anglers gather them with cast nets, and occasionally on tiny hooks baited with bread or dough balls. Their greater role is as bait: live and cut mullet are premier offerings for snook, tarpon, redfish, kingfish, and sharks, and the autumn mullet run sparks some of the best coastal fishing of the year.