Family: Coral Trouts

P. maculatus is a very beautiful medium sized coral trout.

It is very recognizable by its rare and elongated spots on the operculum.

In Indonesia it is rare, I only had one encounter, once in the Moluccas. Its behavior is similar to that of P. oligacanthus.

P. maculatus is like all its congeners delicious to consume grilled or raw. Despite its apparent nonchalance, it’s not an easy catch. Above 3 kg, I take.

P. areolatus is a very beautiful little coral trout.

It is recognizable by its stocky shape and large saddle like mottling on the back. The mouth is yellow and the fins are dark.

Considered rare and vulnerable, it is however frequent in Maluku, typically in the Banda Islands. It usually plays hide and seek with you in the reef.

It is hunted best by directly dining onto it or stalking in the coral reef and in areas rarely fished it will often end up turning if you follow it. It likes moving from one coral shelter to the other. It requires a long range speargun but not too bulky to be able to aim in the structure, and clearly not a slip-tip because this fish is often near the coral heads. Wait until the fish is halting in front of a sandy bottom before pulling the trigger.

P. areolatus is, like all its congeners, delicious to eat grilled or raw. Despite its apparent nonchalance, it’s not an easy catch. Above 2 kg, I take.

P. leopardus is one of the two largest species of coral trout with P. laevis.

This fish is intensively red, but green under water, and covered with bright blue spots. Its pectoral fin is transparent and often it has no dots on the belly. Its eye is circled in blue. Like all coral trouts it can change color but in principle is not as mottled as P. areolatus with which it could be confused.

It can also be confused with P. laevis but the latter has the eye placed higher, smaller, not circled in blue, and the skull is more angular.

Considered near threatened (NT), it is nowadays not common, especially individuals of good size. It usually plays hide and seek with you in the reef.

It’s not an easy catch. It is hunted through direct approach or stalking in the reef and in areas rarely fished it will often end up turning if you follow it. It requires a speargun with a good range. Wait until the fish is on a sandy bottom before pulling the trigger. When stalking, do not hesitate to wait as long as you can, the fish might overcome its fear and come a little bit closer.

P. leopardus is like all its delicious congeners to consume grilled or raw. Despite its apparent nonchalance, it’s not an easy one. Above 3-4 kg, it’s a beautiful catch.

P. oligacanthus is a very beautiful medium sized coral trout.

Underwater it is very recognizable by its silhouette characterized by prominent dorsal and anal fins and by the network of lines on the operculum. Often the upper and lower parts of the caudal are almost white, contrasting with the darker color of the rest of the body.

Out of the water it is unmistakable because of its bright red color and the electric blue lines on the gill plate turning into spots as one looks towards the tail.

Considered rare, it is nevertheless frequent in the Moluccas. It will often be detected in mid-water, levitating above the reef, curious and facing, or drifting near the drop-off.

It is hunted by directly diving onto it or stalking or even crawling on the bottom and in areas rarely fished it will often end up turning if you follow it. It requires a long range speargun but still maneuverable enough to be able to aim in the structure, and preferably not a slip-tip because this fish is often near the coral heads. Wait until the fish is positioned above the reef or on a sandy bottom before pulling the trigger.

P. oligacanthus is like all its delicious congeners to consume grilled or raw. Despite its apparent nonchalance, it’s not an easy catch. Above 3 kg, I take.

P. laevis is one of the two largest species of Indonesia’s coral trouts together with p. leopardus.

It is a magnificent predator, massive and formidable, which presents two colorings of which one is very particular, made of an alternation of very characteristic black and yellow white zones, and which has earned the curious name of Chinese footballer. It can be read that this coloring is that of the juvenile but I shot one more than 12kg with this color pattern in Madagascar.

The other variant is darker, although the two or three broad dark bands of the variegated variety are still weakly distinguishable by transparency.

P. laevis can be confused with P. leopardus but compared to the latter, its eye is placed higher, is smaller, is not circled in blue, and the skull and silhouette are more angular. The caudal is straight, reminding of the mycteroperca genus.

Considered vulnerable by IUCN (VU), it is not common in Indonesia, especially large individuals, probably because of overfishing.

It’s not an easy catch. It is hunted through direct approach or stalking in the reef and in areas rarely fished it will often end up turning if you follow it. It requires a speargun with a good range. Wait until the fish is on a sandy bottom before pulling the trigger.

P. laevis is like all its congeners delicious to consume grilled or raw. A beautiful catch above 5-6kg.

The Lyretail coral trout is one of the most elegant hosts of the reef, usually solitary.

It is very recognizable by its mauve color, blue dots and large crescent-shaped tail edged with yellow, which distinguishes him from its very close smaller cousin, V. albimarginata whose fins are edged with white.

It is often seen near reefs but because of its vulnerability, it is often small specimens, the big ones are generally deeper, and very suspicious.

It is more common in archipelagos with well-preserved coral reefs where they will find sufficient hiding places.

The Lyretail coral trout can be caught directly diving on it (be careful, it might gently drag you to a depth you don’t want to reach), and by moving agachon in the shallower areas. It is not easily approached.

Shooting is usually from far and must be accurate, so smaller guns are not really adapted.

Variola louti is excellent to eat grilled or raw. Because of its suspicious behavior and its strange beauty, spearos appreciate it and it is a very noble catch. However, given its relative rarity and although IUCN does not flag it as a threatened species, I advise to catch in moderation.