Spot (Leiostomus xanthurus)

Spot is a saltwater species of fish in the drum family Sciaenidae and the only member of the genus Leiostomus. Leiostomus means smooth mouth, a reference to the lack of lower teeth and only small teeth on the upper jaw. Xanthurus means yellow tailed, which is a mistaken choice as a Spot's tail is not yellow.

Where to Find Spot

Spot can be found in estuary and coastal waters from the Gulf of Mexico to New England. Young Spot can be found in as shallow as 1 ft of water but the species is more typically found under 20 ft or so. When Spot are out farther on the continental shelf they can be found hundreds of feet deep. Spot are generally a bethnic oriented species and found on the bottom or a few feet off of it.

Other Names for Spot

Other names people have used to refer to this fish include Spot Croaker, Norfolk Spot, Lafayette, Cape May Goodie, and Virginia Spot.

When to Fish for Spot

Spot seasonally migrate from estuary waters to deeper waters on the continental shelf. (while some will overwinter in deeper parts of estuaries) Spot are generally available to anglers from roughly April to October, with the warm waters of late summer to early fall being among the most productive.

Diet of Spot

Spot are opportunistic feeders, mostly feeding from the bottom or benthic zone. Baby and small spot are mostly eating things like copepods, ostracods (seed shrimp), and bristle worms. Large juveniles and adults are fully opportunistic by that point and willing to eat a large variety of prey. This includes marine worms, snails, isopods, small bivalves, copepods, small finfish, small crabs, small shrimp, and insect larvae.

It's also worth pointing out that spot often have sand and/or detritus in their stomachs. They are certainly not afraid of sucking up the bottom in search of food. For the angler, this means your bait can lay directly on the bottom without issue.

What Tackle to Use for Spot

Spot are primarily caught bait fishing. While you can catch Spot using hooks as big as a size 2 or 4, smaller sizes of about 8 or smaller are preferred. Simple bottom rigs with a baited hook are all you need.

While not commonly done, Spot can be caught on small lures. Scaling down rigs commonly used for flounder fishing will work. (Off-the-shelf winter flounder rigs can be small enough)