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General => General Topwater & Jigging Discussion => Topic started by: Thomas Munksgaard on April 13, 2011, 06:25:33 PM
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Hi Guys
Just returned from a trip to tanzania. We caught a couple of really nice coral trouts on the jig. We got one on 17 kg and one on 22 kg. Does anybody now how big these fish get? and anybody know if there is an existing world record and what is it..
Can post a few photos later when we get them all sorted out.
Regards Thomas
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Hi Thomas, there are several species which use the common name Coral Trout. A quick search of Fishbase will reveal at least 11 species for which this common name is used.
Do you have an idea which species you caught (preferably its scientific name)? That should allow you to then do a search at IGFA to find an All Tackle world record.
All that being said, for most of the species normally called Coral Trout, I think your catches are good size for sure.
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Those are bloody big trout! :o
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That's a couple of awesome fish there. Can't wait to see the pictures. They would have to be Plectropomus laevis. We call them Blue Spot trout in my neck of the woods. The juveniles are called Chinese footballers and have a yellow colouration, very pretty.
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Or Black-saddled Coral Grouper as it is often called. I like the Chinese Footballer name :).
I think those go up to about 25 kgs?
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Dont know the name but i guess it must be the Plectropomus Laevis..
Pictures here :-)
(http://s4.postimage.org/10hm9hl44/coral_trout_17_kg.jpg) (http://postimage.org/image/10hm9hl44/)
17 kg trout
(http://s4.postimage.org/10hpkka3o/coral_trout_22_kg.jpg) (http://postimage.org/image/10hpkka3o/)
22 kg trout
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Thomas, I don't think those are P. laavis. The ones I have seen are quite a bit darker and distinctly banded. Lots of our Aussie members will be much more familiar with the species than me though.
Look more like P. leopardus to me:
(http://www.fishbase.org/images/species/Plleo_u2.jpg)
(http://www.fishbase.org/photos/PicturesSummary.php?ID=4826&what=species (http://www.fishbase.org/photos/PicturesSummary.php?ID=4826&what=species)).
If so, those are VERY big specimens! Equally there might a similar but different species in Africa?
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A look at fishbase.org says that max published weight of a Plectropomus leopardus is 23,6 kg.. If its correct then it sure is a big specimin we caught... :D :D
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Wow! Irrespectively of species these are great trouts! I never landed coral trouts above 4-5 kg, so in comparison these are real monsters.
Just checked the IGFA records (via iPhone -> IGFA app).
IGFA records (all tackle):
Plectropomus laevis (coralgrouper, blacksaddled): 24.2 kg, 1997, Japan
Plectropomus oligacanthus (coralgrouper, highfin): 1.2 kg, 1994, PNG
Plectropomus leopardus (coralgrouper, leopard): 7.4 kg, 2002, Japan
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If you have a look at the elongated spots behind the eye region in particular plus the generally larger spots across the body, it suggests to me that they are Bar Cheeked trout, Plectropomus maculatus. We also call them Island trout as they occur inshore more than the Leopard trout. I can't get a good look at the second one but pretty confident with the fist.
What horses they are though!! Catch of a lifetime stuff IMO!!
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Those are some monster trout!
I thought I'd hit the jackpot when I got one about 12kg on a popper a couple of years back!
Aaron Concord was telling me about some monsters that came from Kenn reef when they were out there a few years ago. I think 20-30kg was mentioned, but I'm not sure if that was captured or an estimation of the ones busting them off!
Aaron, over to you...
Duncan
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I've seen a couple close to 20kg. Doesn't surprise me if they get over 30, even pushing way ahead that in very remote, food-rich areas 8)
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Those are some horse trout.
I certainly haven't seen them anywhere near that big before, and we target them quite a lot.
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Very interesting. What is for sure is that they are freaky big and a trophy catch!
Mark's points about the cheek markings seem very pertinent. However, Fishbase has Plectropomus maculatus (Spotted coralgrouper or Bar-cheeked Trout) not occurring in the western Indian Ocean (http://www.fishbase.org/summary/speciessummary.php?id=4886 (http://www.fishbase.org/summary/speciessummary.php?id=4886)), and make the point that it is often misidentified, and the Indian Ocean fish is Plectropomus pessuliferus (Roving coralgrouper).
Distribution shows the latter occurring widely off the East African coast and sizes are given up to 1.2 metres. Roving Coralgrouper seems the most likely ID on that basis.
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Very interesting. What is for sure is that they are freaky big and a trophy catch!
Mark's points about the cheek markings seem very pertinent. However, Fishbase has Plectropomus maculatus (Spotted coralgrouper or Bar-cheeked Trout) not occurring in the western Indian Ocean (http://www.fishbase.org/summary/speciessummary.php?id=4886 (http://www.fishbase.org/summary/speciessummary.php?id=4886)), and make the point that it is often misidentified, and the Indian Ocean fish is Plectropomus pessuliferus (Roving coralgrouper).
Distribution shows the latter occurring widely off the East African coast and sizes are given up to 1.2 metres. Roving Coralgrouper seems the most likely ID on that basis.
Agreed, they certainly don't look like bar-cheek coral trout.
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Thanks for the answers guys. Its hard to identify them exactly but i agre that Roving coralgrouper is the most likely..
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Here is a Marion Reef model with a Red Bass (Bohar Snapper) hanging off the same poor old Gamma!
As Duncan mentioned earlier, I have seen these models a few times out at Kenn and Marion Reefs, where experienced GT anglers were getting annihilated on PE 8-10 tackle.
25-30kg Trout in 1-2 metres of water are very hard to stop!
We were too far out for the near-shore "bar-cheek" variety, though the 'standard' trout holed up in the shallows and the 'lunar tail/coronation" models were on the drop offs. It was hard to find a small (sub 6kg) standard trout to eat. There seemed to be just a decent population of massive breeding adults on these far flung reefs.
The below image wasn't the largest landed. I watched Konishi-san knock over a 30-35kg model in the blue holes region of Marion......it was a ghastly looking thing!!!! It looked nothing like a trout when it came up. It was more like a mutant cod of sorts!!!!
That was back in 2006. I'd say the NOMAD boys would have seen a few more by now.
The head/teeth set up on the mega trout was something a barracuda would be proud of!
Cheers
Aaron.
(http://s2.postimage.org/k2bkdkmc/IMG_0839.jpg) (http://postimage.org/image/k2bkdkmc/)
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Man, Aaron! That is huge. That's a Chinese Footballer/Black-saddled Coral Grouper/Bluespot Trout (common names are so confusing!!) Plectropomus Laevis I think?
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Heres one from Kenn Reef you may remember Aaron. Great fun in shallow water!
Creffo.
(http://s1.postimage.org/357whyi4k/DSC01113.jpg) (http://postimage.org/image/357whyi4k/)
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Jesus :o. The Coral Sea is world capital of monster trout it seems! I only ever catch little plate sized jobs.
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Yep Mark you're right, it is a roving Coral Grouper. Those other ones are the Laevis variety, and also huge!!
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here s a monster caught by Matton Murata from the Grouper Boys at Jewell Reef in 2007. Damon reckons it was probably the biggest coral trout he had ever seen.
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Hey Dave!!!
Funny you should pop up! I had a few other photos of you with trout from that trip I was going to put up along with the big mumma above!
You cracked a few quality models in the 9-15kg range that trip.......take a month of Sundays to get one that big back near the mainland.
I still remember that great fight you had with that nice GT in the shallows at Kenn.......it was an awesome spectacle to film!
Mark,
It's a Plectropomus leopardus, mate.
It would appear that all of the live coral trout pro fishers don't get that far out. The reefs are too far out and too small in size to hold the mass quantities of plate sized trout they want for live fish export, so it would appear that the smaller trout get eaten by passing fishing vessels/cruising vessels and the big mummas are too large for the average angler to deal with!
You're right about the local vernacular too.......the amount of name variants of these 'groupers' have is staggering to say the least.
I listed the 4 most common ones I know of, which are Plectropomus leopardus (common), Plectropomus laevis (footballer), Plectropomus maculatus (bar cheecked),
Variola louti (coronation/lunar tail).
The irony is that they do infact belong to the tropical "groupers" and I have no idea why they are called trout at all!
Brandon,
That trout that Matton Murata has is a bit bigger than Kenji-sans fish! That's an animal!
Kenji's was close, though that thing is a demon!
Aaron.
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Aaron are you sure it's a Leopard?
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Some donkeys there for sure - slightly off topic but I remember snorkling off Kuredu in the Maldives years ago with a bus of a Napoleon Wrasse - easily as long as I was ... plus my missus diving with a Doggie in the far North of the Seychelles with a car sized 100kg monster a couple if years ago on our honeymoon - absolute horse!
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Yeah Mark,
Definetly Leopard........
They can still exhibit some chevron barring like the footballer trout.
Aaron.
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Great thread, nothing like a few decent demon trout :)
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Cheers Aaron. I had NO idea Leopardus could show that type of barring, nor that they grew anything above a few kgs.
Common names might be charming but they are always confusing. I guess the trout name came about due to the spots. But then there are other very spotty groupers that are never called trout......
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they are some horse trout. regerding the species, all trout over about 7kg are bluespots. if you look at the pectoral fins you'll see that they are dark. on other trout species such as the common/leopard and the barcheek trout the fin is semi tansparent.
jake
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they are some horse trout. regerding the species, all trout over about 7kg are bluespots. if you look at the pectoral fins you'll see that they are dark. on other trout species such as the common/leopard and the barcheek trout the fin is semi tansparent.
jake
Yep I was under the impression that all of the BIG trout caught on offshore atolls was the species Plectropomus laevis .
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I'm still thinking Mark Harris maybe right here with the Roving Coral Grouper ID. I know Leapords can get that big but those bars behind the eyes and the larger spots across the body suggest it's not a Leapord, at least not the first fish.
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In qld blue spot trout are protected over 85cm. Have been for years now. As a result we have big models running around everywhere on the outer reef. I have seen them and caught them up to 16,kg .this law is awesome as the fishery just gets better
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Doh! Dan it's 80 max!
http://www.dpi.qld.gov.au/28_3042.htm (http://www.dpi.qld.gov.au/28_3042.htm)
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Woops never take them anyway even the small ones too much risk of cig. In one spot here we got three over twelve kg off the same ledge
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If the trout had blue ring around the eyes and transparent pectrols it is a leopard. No blue eyeliner and non transparent pectrols it is blue spot