The Coral Trout, or Leopard Coralgrouper, as they're also called, are beautifully colored, hard fighting game fish that make for excellent table fare.

How big

The maximum published weight of the fish is 23.6kg, though the IGFA record stands much lower than that. Most fish will be between 1 and 6kg.

Distribution

These reef-dwelling fish can be found mostly in the waters between Australia and Asia, but are present off Saudi Arabia and Egypt, too.

In Western Australia, they range from the Abrolfos Islands in the south to Cape Leveque in the north of, but can be found around the Great Barrier Reef and off Northern Territory as well. In Asia, they stretch as far north as Japan. They live up to 500m of depth, but are rarely caught over 100m.

How to catch

They can be caught on live, dead, whole or cut pieces of squid and small fish, with soft plastic lures, feathers, flies and metal jigs being sucessful as well. Using surface lures is the best strategy, as the fish will be hooked as far away as possible from line-cutting reef structures.

Good to eat?

Mild, delicate and sweet flavored flesh.