Ulua mentalis

The long raker or cale-cale trevally is a reef predator that likes sandy bottoms, like the golden trevally, with which it often coexists. It can be observed in schools of various sizes, several individuals very close to each other.

It is recognizable by its tall body, a very silvery color with purplish reflections like the dogtooth tuna, a periodic pattern on the flanks above the lateral line and a very split jaw giving it something of scowling little dog.

It is a rather rare catch in Indonesia, especially on usual coral reefs, one has to explore a little bit unusual biotopes to find it.

Unlike the African pompano it resembles, the longraker trevally tastes very good, as it eats mainly crabs and shrimps.

A very worthy catch.