longfin halfbeak
Hemiramphus saltator · Hemiramphidae · forage fish
Surface and open-ocean needlefish of the eastern Pacific, forming huge schools. It has a commercial fishery and is sometimes used as bait.
Also called: agulha-saltadora, pajarito saltador, balao, longfin halfbeak
- maximum
- 48 cm
- record/max.
- 0.2 kg
the right time
to be on the water
Choose the place and the species. The index, from 0 to 100, combines weather, sun, moon and tide with each fish's habits. Up to 28 days, with each day's confidence.
Reading the weather across 3 global models and 31 simulations…
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hour by hour
slide your finger or mouse over the chart to see each hoursee hour-by-hour table
why this index at —?
choose the day
Each card shows the day's index (0 to 100) and, below it, a strip with the index for each hour, from 0h to 23h. from poor to excellent.
the fishing month at a glance
what's the best window for the crew?
Choose how many fishing days. We compare each stretch by its average index, discount days with a warning or closed season, and show the 3 best.
trend for the coming weeks
Line: the middle value of 31 simulations of the American GEFS model. Band: where 8 out of 10 fall. Narrow, firm trend; wide, high uncertainty.
everything about the longfin halfbeak
who is the longfin halfbeak
The jumping halfbeak belongs to the family Hemiramphidae, the halfbeaks. It reaches 48 cm, and the common size is 35 cm. It lives near the surface in oceanic waters of the eastern Pacific, from southern California to Panama, including the Galápagos, and extends to Ecuador. It has an elongated body and a very long lower jaw, which gives it its needle shape. It forms very large schools and feeds on small fish and plankton organisms.
Essential profile. Identification, where it occurs and rules, with data from FishBase and the cited regulations. Season, time of day, technique and bait are added once we have a good source for the longfin halfbeak.
fun facts
- The eggs have filaments that attach them to floating objects.
identification
Elongated body, with a very long lower jaw and a short, triangular, scaleless upper jaw. The fins have no spines, and the tail is deeply forked, with the lower lobe larger. The back is dark blue, the flanks and belly silvery and white, and the edge of the lower jaw is red. The upper lobe of the tail is violet-blue with a red tip, and the pectoral fins are long.
where found
It occurs in the eastern Pacific, from southern California to Panama and Ecuador, including the Galápagos.
Habitat: Surface and open oceanic waters, in large schools.
rules for the longfin halfbeak
Summary of the regulations we found, with the source for each. Rules change; before keeping or transporting fish, check with the state environmental agency.
We found no species-specific rule beyond the region's general rules.
catch and release
catch and release Releasing the fish alive, quickly and with a wet hand. During a closed season it isn't always allowed: what the regulation says applies.
No danger to anglers. If released, return it to the water carefully.
in the kitchen
It turns up in markets and, now and then, is used as bait.
how much it weighs without taking it out of the water
Length-weight relationship W = a·Lb (a = 0.0038, b = 2.98; FishBase (relação peso-comprimento bayesiana, estimativa da própria espécie)). It's an average: a fat or lean fish can vary by 10% to 20%.
estimated weight
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sources and references
Essential profile: size, length-weight, depth, countries and conservation come from FishBase and the cited regulations, and the texts were written from those sources. Season, time of day, sensitivities, technique and baits and lures are not included yet, because we did not find a good source for this species.
- scientific FishBase: Hemiramphus saltator (ficha da espécie)Size, length-weight, depth, habitat, distribution, biology, and IUCN status. Page checked on Oct 13, 2026.
- scientific FishBase: nomes populares de Hemiramphus saltatorNames by country and language.
where each number comes from
The weather comes from three independent global models, cross-checked hour by hour: when they agree, confidence goes up; when they diverge, the band between them shows on the chart. Beyond 16 days, we use the GEFS ensemble of 31 simulations: if 20 of the 31 predict rain, the chance of rain is 65%. Sun and moon are calculated astronomically, with no uncertainty.
The index adds up, weighted for each species: time of day (species curve anchored to real sunrise and sunset), moon (transits, rise and set, phase), pressure (3 h trend and 24 h swing), water temperature (in rivers, estimated from air temperature; at sea, estimated by an ocean model), wind, rain, clouds, tide and the month in the species' cycle.
sources for this lookup
how accurate the forecast is
Accuracy measured in the reference project (4 regions, 93 days, forecast vs. observed): maximum temperature is off by 0.6 °C on average the next day and 1.7 °C at 7 days; rain of 5 mm or more is detected 76% of the time the next day and 57% at 7 days. Detection isn't everything: the false alarm rate isn't published here yet, and 93 days in 4 regions is still a small sample. We now also measure every day, at the app's destinations: