Trigger Fish
The Gray Trigger
Fish (Balistes capriscus) is a very common fish found offshore near reefs and
oil rigs and at times near shore at the jetties. It has a gray body with
irregular dark markings. There are small blue spots on it's upper sides and
spinous dorsal membrane.
These fish are well armored with long dorsal spines.
They have small tough mouths that are well adapted for browsing on the
organisms that are attached to the rocks and oil rigs around which they
congregate. These small tough mouths make them very resistant to capture with
a hook and line. None the less they will readily steal your bait. At times they
are so thick around the rigs that it's difficult to get a bait down to the
bottom to the snapper that your after.
Young Trigger Fish are often found in the patches of
Sargassum weed and other objects floating about the gulf.
Texas Gulf Coast
Fishing
