Tripletail

Telling the tale

    How about a short tale about a fish with three tails, who only has one tail. It sounds complicated, to say the least, yet simply explained. The anal and dorsal fins are so enlarged they extend almost to the real and only one tail belonging to this odd looking fish. Adults are flat sided, deep bodied, and you will find many heavy scales adorning its body.

They are also known as blackfish.

    The tripletail fish comes in three basic colors or combinations of yellow, black, and brown. A mottled brown and yellow body color gives the baby tripletail an appearance of a dead leaf, until they are about three inches long. This is a unique way for deception when escaping from predators; they float or swim on their sides with floating plant life mimicking the debris found in shallow water.

Where is the best fishing hole?

    Adults are offshore fish caught near piers, offshore wrecks, markers, and reefs down to 150 feet. They are edible having a good flesh texture, but due to its flattened body the size of the fillets will be considerably less. You may be lucky and catch a granddaddy weighing up to 50 pounds and it may be 3 feet in length. Their preferred food is live bait, such as shrimp, mullet, and clams. Artificial bait will catch them also.

Now, for some trivia about tripletail
(Answers are below)
  1. Describe the tripletail's teeth.
  2. What is the maximum length for tripletail?
  3. Do they have huge or small heads?
  4. Give two nick names of the tripletail with the word "buoy" in them.
  5. Does its lower jaw project in front of the upper jaw or visa versa?
  6. Do they strike live bait or artificial bait or which one is preferred?

Answers:

  1. Small, pointed
  2. About 3 ft.
  3. Small
  4. Buoy bass, buoy fish
  5. The lower projects further
  6. Both; live preferred