Read the article with FishingTheSpot: the john dory fish
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The John Dory fish belongs to the Zeidae family. It measures 30 to 50 cm on average and can reach a maximum weight of 8 kg. It can live up to 12 years. This fish is caught all year round but more easily from April to July.
This fish has a high body and very strongly compressed laterally. Its head and the base of its fins carry thorns and bone ridges. The filaments carried by the dorsal fin are very long in juveniles and gradually regress until the animal reaches its adult size. Its eyes are high and his protractile mouth is widely split. An arched lateral line can be seen above the pectoral fins. Its color varies from grey-green with silvery to golden yellow reflections, often marked by longitudinal mottling. A large black eye patch surrounded by grey adorns the middle of each flank.
The John Dory Fish lifestyle
The John Dory is a predator. It often remains motionless, slowly approaches the prey it feeds on (fish, cuttlefish, shrimps...) and catches them thanks to its protractile mouth when they pass nearby.
This fish has separate sexes. It spawns in spring at great depth in the Mediterranean, and in summer in the northeast Atlantic. Eggs from fertilization are small (about 2 mm) and planktonic, rarely observed in diving.
The John Dory Fish habitat
Adult individuals are solitary. On the other hand, small groups of juveniles can be found. This animal frequents coastal waters. Although occasionally present on small rocky bottoms (10 m), it most often evolves at significant depths (30-400 m).
Fish found in the Mediterranean and Black Seas, but also in the Eastern Atlantic, from Norway to South Africa, in the Canary Islands, Madeira and the Azores. The species can also be found in the Western Pacific (Japan, Korea, Australia, New Zealand...) and in the Indian Ocean (Mozambique, Madagascar...).
The John Dory Fish angling
Although it can be fished all year round, St. Pierre is more easily caught from April to July.
The chances of fishing on the coastal bottom (between 50 and 150 m) increase at sunrise and sunset, mainly from June onwards. At other times, this groundfish prefers depths of up to 500 m and then becomes accessible only to experienced deep-sea fishermen.
Its presence in too small a quantity on the coasts will therefore not be able to give rise to specific research both in diving and in line. It is therefore one of the species that is best caught by chance when looking for another fish to support, by longline, by deep sea, jigging, drifting or jigging. Nevertheless, the rather curious St. Pierre is not difficult to convince from the moment your bait passes within his reach.
