French Grunt
Haemulon flavolineatum
French grunt is a small tropical marine grunt common on Caribbean and western Atlantic reefs. It forms schools over sand, seagrass, and coral, and makes a distinctive grunting sound when handled.
Identification points
- Bright yellow longitudinal stripe from snout through eye to tail
- Several narrow yellow stripes along a silvery-white body
- Black diagonal mark on the chin/throat with a deeply forked tail
Habitat
Shallow reef edges, patch reefs, seagrass beds, sand flats, and hard-bottom areas from the surf zone to around 60 m; usually schools by day near cover and feeds over open bottom at night.
Bait notes
Small pieces of shrimp, squid, clam, or cut bait work well. Tiny jigs, shrimp imitations, and small bottom rigs can catch them when they are actively feeding.
Behavior
A nocturnal bottom feeder that picks benthic invertebrates such as worms, crustaceans, and small mollusks. By day it shelters in schools around reefs and moves out to forage after dark.
Caution
Generally edible, but larger reef fish from its range can carry ciguatera risk in some areas; avoid eating large individuals from known risk reefs.
Fishing notes
Fish light tackle on the bottom near reef edges, grass-sand transitions, and ledges; a small hook and minimal weight are usually best. Night fishing often outperforms daytime action.