The recruitment of leaping grey mullet, Liza saliens juveniles in the Neretva River estuary (middle eastern Adriatic Sea, Croatia) started in July, was highest in August, decreased in September, and was unobserved later. The juveniles firstly occupied mouths of rivers and channels and then started migrating to more freshwater habitats. By feeding investigation, the harpacticoid copepods were the dominant prey in the stomachs of L. saliens juveniles during the period from August to December and nematodes replaced those as the dominant prey from January to April. Plant material in the stomachs started to appear at 24 mm of standard length, and was common prey in fish larger than 26 mm. In comparison with other Adriatic mullet’s species, the leaping grey mullet juveniles first started to recruit during July and August, while other grey mullet species appeared later (in September) in the Neretva River estuary. Such intraspecies spawning and recruitment segregation together with the optimal quantity and quality of available and preferable prey could provide an explanation for the recent success and propagation of this species in this area.Novačenje mlađi cipla dugaša, Liza saliens na području estuarija rijeke Neretve počinje u srpnju, najveće je u kolovozu, smanjuje se u rujnu, nakon čega nije zabilježeno. Mlađ se najprije pojavljuje na ušćima rijeka i kanala, a zatim počinje migrirati prema vodama niže slanosti. U prehrani mlađi cipla dugaša od kolovoza do prosinca su dominirali harpatikoidni kopepodi, a od siječnja do travnja oblići. Biljni materijal se počinje pojavljivati u probavilima jedinki najmanje ukupne dužine 24 mm, a uobičajen je u probavilima riba većih od 26 mm. Uspoređujući s ostalim vrstama cipala u području estuarija rijeke Neretve koje se mrijeste u ljetno-jesenskom razdoblju, dugaš se počinje novačiti prvi, tijekom srpnja i kolovoza, dok se ostale vrste pojavljuju u rujnu. Ovo ranije mriještenje i novačenje mlađi bez nazočnosti drugih vrsta cipala, tijekom razdoblja optimalnog sastava i brojnosti hrane, može biti jedan od razloga recentne propagacije cipla dugaša na području estuarija Neretve
