LEATHER JACKET
Oligoplites saurus
English: Leatherjacket fish, skipjack or leather jack, jackets, butterfish, triggerfish.
Spanish: Sabalos.
This diverse and extensive group of relatively small, scaleless, rough-skinned fish have tiny mouths, beak-like teeth and a stout, serrated dorsal spine behind the head. Colouration varies enormously; from the brightly-hued and attractive six-spined leatherjacket to the drab and well-camouflaged rough and fan-bellied leatherjackets. Identifying the different species can be a difficult task, and is not overly important to the average angler.
Leatherjackets can be taken on almost any type of tackle. Most are caught on light handlines or the same rod and reel outfits used to catch bream, flathead, inshore snapper and the like. When present in good numbers, leatherjackets are quite easy to catch, especially if a relatively small hook is used.
The leatherjacket species mentioned have white, sweet and slightly moist flesh and make very good to excellent food fish.