Texas Gulf Coast Fishing

Atlantic Needlefish

ATLANTIC NEEDLEFISH Strongylura marina

The Atlantic Needlefish is a common top water resident of marinas and other areas with minimal current. It's extremely long jaws and body set this fish apart from other predators.

Description: Atlantic Needlefish are slender fish, ranging from 2 inches to 2 ft. in length. Needlefish have a greenish back and silvery sides and a thin bluish-silver stripe along each side. They have a single dorsal fin, placed far back on the body, almost opposite to the anal fin. Their most distinctive feature is their long narrow beak, which bears multiple sharp teeth. In most species, the upper jaw only reaches its full length in adulthood, so that the juveniles have a half-beak appearance, with an elongate lower jaw, but a much smaller upper one. During this stage of their life cycle, they eat plankton, switching to fish once the beak fully develops.
Where Found: The Atlantic Needlefish is found along Western Atlantic coastal waters from Maine to southern Brazil, including areas along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean. Atlantic needlefish are not restricted to ocean waters, they can be found in various estuaries and are capable of ascending well upstream into freshwater. In Texas, the Atlantic Needlefish is known to inhabit the following drainage units: Sabine Lake (including minor coastal drainages west to Galveston Bay), Galveston Bay (including minor coastal drainages west to mouth of Brazos River), Brazos River, Colorado River, San Antonio Bay (including minor coastal drainages west of mouth of Colorado River to mouth of Nueces River), Nueces River.