The Florida Mullet Run

The mullet run is an annual migration along the Atlantic coast of the United States. Every autumn, millions (perhaps billions) of striped and white mullet migrate south along the coast in massive schools, dogged by predators the entire way. Individual schools can contain up to a million fish at a time, stretching for miles. It's one of the greatest wildlife migrations on Planet Earth—and most people have never heard of it.

https://youtu.be/CPUVlkAfy9c

Where and When

The run occurs along the southern half of the U.S. Atlantic coast, where mullet fish exit brackish and fresh water systems and gather in large numbers in ocean waters. You can find migrating mullet offshore in any of these areas, but arguably the best place to see the mullet run is in southeast Florida, where the mullet concentrate in massive numbers. The peak migration occurs from mid-September through November, with October typically being the best month. Florida has many public beaches, making it relatively easy to find access points to look for mullet.

The Experience

I'd start off early every day, arriving at a beach and flying my drone shortly after sunrise. I'd sweep along the coast, hoping to spot mullet schools. I'd look for a large, dark mass slowly moving through the water and shifting in shape, which would indicate the presence of a dense school of fish. If I didn't find anything, I'd pack up, return to my vehicle, and drive to the next beach with public access. I'd work my way up and down the coast until I found something. There's a lot of coastline to cover, but with so many fish on the move, it was only

a matter of time before I found something.

Photos vs. Video

More often than not, the mullet were best captured using video, rather than with still photographs. It can be very challenging capturing the perfect moment when predators attack when taking photos with a drone. Video made it much easier to capture the action, and I would sometimes shoot video with the specific intent of extracting still images from the files later on. I'd also shoot video simply to capture the mesmerizing beauty of a mullet school rotating and changing shape as it moved, something that didn't easily translate to a still image. Also, whenever predators attacked, the mullet would rapidly swim away and leap out of the water, causing a lot of splashing; the splashing action typically doesn't look great in photos, but looks pretty awesome on video.

When I did take photos, it was usually when the mullet school took on a particularly compelling shape. Another good moment for photography was when a predator was swimming through the school and the mullet would part around the predator, creating a photogenic "eye" in the school with the predator in the center. I also found the photo opportunities to be better when sharks attacked; sharks are larger and more photogenic than tarpon or other common predators, and are likely to be more clearly visible at the surface of the water. Unfortunately, the only day I saw sharks the water quality was very poor. Generally, I found that my photos often had a "watercolor" look that was a result of light bending through the water.

Although I did all of my shooting using my drone, if you are lucky enough to spot a mullet school that is passing close to shore where you are, you can shoot using a regular camera with a telephoto lens. Underwater photography is also a possibility, but be advised that the Florida coast often has dangerous rip currents.

Here is a collection of some of my favorite photos from the mullet run.

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