| In Lake Nicaragua and the Upper River San Juan, which are both more than a hundred miles from the coast, there is a presence of resident fish. These Snook do not move far and their ocean is now Lake Nicaragua, which is the tenth largest freshwater lake in the world. They are very distinctive and it would be difficult to confuse them with any other fish. The lower jaw protrudes and a highly prominent black lateral line runs from the top of the gill cover along the sides and all the way through the tail. The body is compressed and the snout depressed and pike-like. Two dorsal fins are separated by a gap, the second anal spice inconspicuous, spurlike, much thicker than the first and third. The margin of the precopercle is serrated, with 1-5 enlarged denticles at angle. One of the axioms relating to fish species is that the colors will likely be variable depending on season, habitat, and/or any number of other conditions. The Snook is no exception. The back of the Snook may be brown, brown gold, olive green, dark gray, greenish silver, or black depending largely on the areas the fish inhabitants. The flanks and belly are silvery. Its diet consist mainly of fish and crustaceans fishing methods include trolling or casting artificial lures or still fishing with live baits like pinkish, mullet, shrimp, crabs, or other small fish, best fishing is said to: Be on the changing tide, especially high falling tide around river mouths and coastal shores and night fishing from bridges and in ocean inlets. A flooding or rising tide is more productive at creek heads. An excellent table fish with delicate white, flaky meat, it is a member of the Centropomidae family, which also includes the 200 lbs. plus Nile perch (Lates niloticus) and the barramundi (Lates calcarifer) It usually matures by the third year and has a life span of at least seven years. It is very sensitive to temperature and may not survive at temperature below 60º F (15º C). The Snooks or Robalos, belong to the largest order of fishes, the order Periformes. Most of this highly diverse assemblage of 150 families present a number of characteristics in common: usually presence of spines in some fins, serrated-edged scaled, two dorsal fins and a number of other technical distinctions. Many important game fish families, both freshwater and marine, all into this order: cichlids, snappers, jacks, grunts, seabass, corbinas, tunes, etc. At present, the family Centropomidae comprises the genus Centropomus (American tropics and subtropics), Lates, inlcude the large Nile Perch (Africa) and Psammopera (Indo Pacific) Until recently the diminutive glass fish that are a favorite of aquarium hobbyists (Chanda Lala) were included in the Centropomidae but are now placed in their own family. The Chadidae: The species of Centropomus form a compact homogeneous group very distinct from their relatives on the other side of the world. The species of Snook look very much alike. They have very similar bodies and fin shapes and a uniform silvery coloration with conspicuous lateral lines often pigmented. Their long, pointed snout, prominent dorsal and anal spines, and deeply forked tail fin make for easy identification of the group in general, Centropomus veridis, Centropomus medius, Centropomus armatus, Centropomus Robalito are the six which can all be found here in Costa Rica in the Pacific coast. A recent revision by the late Luis Rivas of Miami has determined there are twelve valid species of Snook, six species on each coast. The I.G.F.A. record black Snook weighting 57 lb. 12 oz was taken in Rio Naranjo, Costa Rica; the fish was probably about 120 cm. Long. The white Snook probably reaches a similar size. The largest we have heard of measures 82 cm and is part of the University of Costa Rica collection. The Pacific Blackfin or Gualaje (C medius) always has black- tipped pelvic fins, a long anal fin spine not quite reaching the tail base, and a black lateral line; and is of medium size. Largest Specimen known measured 46.5 cm. The I.G.F.A. record taken at Playa Zancudo, weighted 5lb. 8 oz. The remaining (34.5- 37 cm) are recognized as Robalos by local fisherman but usually are called by a variety of other common names: humback Snook or Mano de Piedra (C. Nionensis) long spine Snook or gualaje Armando (C. Armatus) and lesser Snook or Robalito (C. Robalito) The humpback has a deep notch in the upper head profile, anal-fin spine not quite reaching tail base and unpigmented lateral line. The long spine Snook has an anal fin reaching beyond tail base, a black lateral line and 6 to 7 ½ scale rows between lateral line and base of second dorsal fin. The lesser Snook has an equally long anal-fin, unpigmented lateral line 5 to 5 ½ scale rows between lateral line and base of second dorsal fin. Numerous other technical differences separate these very similar species Snook tolerate a wide variation of salinity, are estuarine dependent, and do not occur, or very rarely, in islands without permanent or semi-permanent streams communicating with the sea. Their movement between fresh and saltwater are seasonal and when recurring in the sea, they stay in shallow water close to shore and do not stay far from estuaries. Of the six species in our collection at UCR, only the humpback, (C. Unionensis) was taken frequently offshore in benthic cawter gear at depth up to 100 feet. The other five species were mostly collected by seine at a few meters depth. Snook are not tolerant of low temperatures and may not survive below 15 degrees Centigrade. White Snook (C. Viridis, has the greatest geographic range extending from Baja California to Peru and the Galapagos Islands (Common Snook or as sometimes called Yellow fin snook) (Pacific System only) can grow very large a fishing out fitter operating in freshwater close to Lake Nicaragua has reported seeing many fish exceeding the current I.G.F.A. World record. These fish can grow to at least 100 lb. in the correct environment and will always remain the ultimate challenge for the master angler. The World Records for Snook are the following: Snook, Blackfin Centropomus medius; 7 lb. Costa Rica. Mar 31, 1998. Stuart A. Schleujemer. Snook Common Centropomus Undecimalis 53 lb. 1 oz, Parismina Ranch Oct. 1978, Gilbert Porzi. Snook, Fat. Centropomus Parallelus; 8 lb. 1 oz., Stuart, Fl. USA. Nov. 15, 1997, Paul Strauss. Snook, Pacific Black Centropomus Nigrescens 57 lb. 12 oz. Quepos, Costa Rica, Aug 23, 1991, George Beck. Snook, Pacific Blackfin Centropomus medius 6 lb. 4 0z, Costa Rica, Dec. 7, 1997. Victor Golfin. Snook, Pacific White Centropomus Viridis, 39 lb. 8 oz. Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, July 8, 1994. Billy Howell. Snook, swordspine Centropomus ensiferus 1 lb. 5 oz. Florida (Stuart) USA. Snook, Tarpon Centropomus Pectinattus, Dona Bay, Nokomis, Fl. USA, Sept. 19 1996. David Caudal. We believe the next all tackle World Record Common Snook, or Yellow Fin Snook as they are called in Central America, will come from the upper reaches of the Rio San Juan in Nicaragua. Many fish over 50 lb. have been reported caught, but so far they have all been eaten before any official could verify the weight. So if any of you Snook Masters want the World Record make sure you bring I.G.F.A. certified weighting scales with you. |
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| Centropomus undecimalis. Block 1792. Family: Centropomidae. Other common names: English: Robalo (from the Spanish), Distribution: The western tropical Atlantic (including the Gulf of Mexico) from Florida to Brazil in warn waters. Best temperatures 72º - 86º F (22º - 30º C). Centropomidae Family; is also called Robalo. The genius Centropomus is confined to the American Tropics and subtropics. Six species occur in the Atlantic and six in the Pacific. None occur in both oceans. They inhabit shallow coast waters, estuaries and brackish lagoons, often penetrating far inland in fresh water. Their movement between fresh water and saltwater are usually seasonal, but they may stay close to shore and the estuaries. |
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