Bluefin trevally (omilu)

A streamlined trevally with an electric-blue tail, dorsal and anal fins, a bronze-green back sprinkled with small blue-black spots, and hard scutes near the tail. Smaller and more colorful than the giant trevally.

3–10 lb.

About 3½ ft and 30 lb or more.

Reef fish, small bait and crustaceans.

Hunts in small packs along reef edges, flats and channels, often in the wake of goatfish and eels to catch fish they flush. Hits surface lures and flies hard.

Found from Hawaii, Guam & Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa, South Pacific Islands & Papua New Guinea, Queensland & the Great Barrier Reef, Northern Territory & Western Australia, Indonesia (Bali, Komodo, Raja Ampat, Sulawesi), Philippines, Southeast Asia (Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam), Japan & South Korea, China, Hong Kong & Taiwan, East Africa & Indian Ocean Islands, Red Sea & Arabian Gulf (Egypt, Oman, UAE), India, Sri Lanka, Maldives & Pakistan, Pacific Central America and Galápagos Islands. Coral reefs, flats, lagoons and harbor channels across the Indo-Pacific from East Africa to Hawaii and the eastern Pacific.

Coral reefs, flats, lagoons and harbor channels across the Indo-Pacific from East Africa to Hawaii and the eastern Pacific.

Surface to 600 ft; mostly 3–100 ft.

Surface to 30 ft.

All year.

Dawn and dusk, and night along shorelines.

Moving water: the hours around the tide change, when current pushes over the reef edges and bait gets swept along.

Stable weather with clean water; a few days of steady conditions beat a front coming through.

Live small fish, shrimp and squid; in Hawaii, live baits fished from shore (slide-bait).

Small poppers, stickbaits, metal jigs, soft plastics and baitfish flies.

7 ft medium spinning rod (8–15 lb); 9–10 weight fly rod.

2/0–5/0 hooks; single hooks on lures.

20–30 lb braid.

30–50 lb fluorocarbon.

Cast poppers and stickbaits along reef edges and channel mouths at dawn, or sight-cast flies to cruising packs on the flats.

Fish the first light of dawn: bluefin trevally push bait against the reef and will hit almost any fast-moving lure.

Catch and release: wet your hands, keep the fish in the water when you can, and release it quickly. Use circle hooks and a dehooker.

Good eating when fresh.

Bleed and ice it right away. Fillet, then remove the skin and any dark bloodline.

Good when small and fresh: sashimi, poke, fried or grilled.

Ciguatera is a known risk with large trevally in Hawaii and many Pacific islands — ask locals before eating big fish. Sharp scutes and rough reef.

Hawaii has minimum sizes and bag limits for ulua and papio (all trevally); other islands and countries set their own. Check current rules. Rules differ by island: Hawaii, Guam, the Northern Marianas and American Samoa need no license for recreational saltwater fishing, but size and bag limits, closed seasons and marine preserves apply; other Pacific nations require permits, and many reefs belong to villages, so ask permission.

Keep only what you'll eat and release the big breeders; wet your hands, support the fish's belly and get it back in the water fast.