The search for Australia’s Greatest Fish: Coral trout

Fishing reefs in the northern part of Australia is something of a lucky dip, with a diverse mix of fish to keep things interesting.

For a start, there’s cod, trevally, and thousands of other little pickers ready to attack your bait.

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Then there’s the red fish -- the ones that create a frenzy on board the boat. The most sought-after red of them all, in our opinion, is the coral trout.

Coral trout has much going for it. It fights well, and more to the point, it tastes magnificent.

We’d argue coral trout tastes as good as any fish in the sea, so it’s little wonder that coral trout fishing is so popular.

Coral trout is found from the Sunshine Coast all the way around the top, and down the West Australian Coast to around Geraldton. It can be caught (or speared) in shallow, reefy areas.

The most popular way to catch coral trout is to use bait. The tip here is to use your sounder to find some structure and anchor up.

Ideally, you’ll need a reef anchor so you don’t get stuck – the anchor’s soft tines will bend out of shape rather than dig into the coral.

It is then a matter of dropping down a simple running sinker rig (less it best when it comes to sinker size) and a fresh bait. Pilchards and squid will work.

Fishing for coral trout really is simple. We spent a few days with a commercial trout fisherman around the Swains on the Great Barrier Reef, and he’d use a pilchard, hook, sinker and a heavy handline – that was it.

He wouldn’t even bother about a fancy rod and reel, because he found it easier to hook the trout and the rip it away from its coral home.

The best running sinker rig has the sinker, usually a bean sinker, running all the way to the hook. This is great for avoiding snags because if the hook gets caught, you can kind of jiggle it free by bouncing the sinker up and down.
A paternoster rig will also work if you are fishing deeper, more rubbly bottom.

Coral trout also are suckers for lures. We’ve caught them on jigs, plastics and even poppers and stickbaits.

The fish tend to live in the really shallow waters, particularly around the Great Barrier Reef, so fishing the surface is great fun. However, once hooked they will make a run for the reef, so you do need to use decent tackle.

So how does coral trout rate in our hunt for Australia’s Greatest Fish?

Coral trout are not too difficult to catch.

You will need a boat, but go looking and you will often find them.

The key is fresh bait and keeping your rig simple, with just a hook and a running sinker.

Score: 6 out of 10

Coral trout fight pretty well when hooked. They are very aggressive and will fight dirty if you let them.

They also have a set of big, sharp teeth, perfect for eating reef fish. That means you’ll need a robust leader, say no lighter than 50 pounds, a decent size rod, and a reel with no lighter than 50 pound braid line.

You can go smaller if you are casting plastics, but expect to get busted off a few times before landing one.

Score: 6 out of 10

Coral trout is a pretty fish, showing different shades of of red, pink or orange depending on where you catch them.

However, it’s the coral trout’s brilliant bright blue dots that really catches the eye.

Score: 7 out of 10

You won’t want to waste any part of a coral trout.

One of our favourite recipes for coral trout is to cook up the backbone and the wings after the fish is filleted. This provides some of the sweetest meat!

Score: 8.5 out of 10

Unless you live in or near the tropics, you’re going to have to travel north to target coral trout.

You’re also going to need a boat to get out to the shallow reefs, but once there you’re going to have a lot of fun pulling in a fish that’s sure to light up your Instagram feed.

And speaking of feeds, coral trout ticks many boxes when it comes to the dining table.

Coral trout scores 27.5 out of 40 and rockets to third on the Australia’s Greatest Fish leaderboard!

Next time on Australia’s Greatest Fish: Flathead

The latest season of Hook, Line and Sinker airs each Sunday on 7Mate. Check your state's fisheries website for bag and size limits, and closed seasons.