Spotted grunter

A silvery-gray grunt with a pointed snout, thick lips, a back and upper sides sprinkled with small dark spots, and a slightly forked tail. Grunts when caught.

1–6 lb.

About 32 in (80 cm) and about 15 lb.

Mud prawns, sand prawns, crabs, worms and small clams it 'blows' out of the sand and mud.

Moves onto shallow mud and sand banks with the rising tide in schools, 'tailing' with heads down while digging for prawns — great sight fishing.

Found from Southern Africa, East Africa & Indian Ocean Islands, Red Sea & Arabian Gulf (Egypt, Oman, UAE) and India, Sri Lanka, Maldives & Pakistan. Estuaries, lagoons and sandy coasts from the Western Cape of South Africa up East Africa to the Arabian Gulf, Socotra, the Seychelles, Madagascar and the northwest coast of India; tolerates near-fresh water.

Estuaries, lagoons and sandy coasts from the Western Cape of South Africa up East Africa to the Arabian Gulf, Socotra, the Seychelles, Madagascar and the northwest coast of India; tolerates near-fresh water.

1–160 ft; mostly very shallow in estuaries.

1–10 ft on estuary mud and sand banks and in channels.

Spring and summer (about September to April) in South African estuaries; the 'grunter run' after floods or into estuary mouths in spring.

Day on the flats; dusk and night in channels.

Rising tide onto the banks, especially spring tides.

Calm, sunny days for sight fishing.

Live mud prawn or sand prawn (pumped from the banks), worms and small crabs.

Small crab and shrimp flies, small soft plastics.

Light 7–9 ft spinning rod or a 6–8 weight fly rod.

Size 1–2/0 hooks.

8–15 lb mono or braid.

12–20 lb fluorocarbon.

Cast a live prawn on light weight onto the banks with the rising tide; on fly, cast a small crab pattern ahead of tailing fish and let it sink.

Look for little puffs of mud and tails breaking the surface on the banks — those are grunter digging for prawns.

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.

Excellent eating — one of the best-tasting fish in its range.

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

Excellent, firm white meat — fried, grilled or baked whole.

Sharp dorsal spines; estuaries in KwaZulu-Natal and Mozambique can have crocodiles and Zambezi (bull) sharks.

South Africa: 5 per person per day with a 40 cm (16 in) minimum; pumping prawns needs a permit and has daily limits. Some estuaries have no-take zones. South Africa requires a recreational fishing permit (sold at post offices and online), with daily bag limits, minimum sizes and closed seasons for many species; Namibia and Mozambique sell their own licenses. Recreational catches may not be sold, and marine protected areas have their own rules.

Release fish under the size limit carefully; estuaries are their nursery.