Speckled Grouper (Epinephelus cyanopodus)
Common Name: Speckled Blue Grouper, Grouper, Blue Maori Cod
Local Name: Lapu-Lapu (Tagalog); Percal (Tagalog-Catanduanes); Pugapo (Cebuano);
Max Size: 122 cm (17.3 kgs)
Biodiversity: Saltwater
Depth: 10 – 250 meters
Fishing Season: All Year Long
Minimum Size Limit: None
Recommended Bait/Lures: Shrimp, Crabs, small fish, lures, jigs
IUCN Red List Status: (LC) Least Concern
Banded Grouper (Epinephelus amblycephalus)
Common Names: Banded Groper, Yellow Lipped Rock Cod, Bighead Grouper
Local Name: Lapu-Lapu (Tagalog); Pugapo (Bisaya – Cebu); Manalhog (Bisaya – Negros)
Max Size: 50 cm? (14 kgs)
Biodiversity: Saltwater
Depth: 40 – 250 meters
Fishing Season: All Year Long
Minimum Size Limit: None
Recommended Bait/Lures: Shrimp, Crabs, small fish, lures, small jigs
IUCN Red List Status: (LC) Least Concern
Exciting News!
Do you love fishing? Do you love the Philippines? We are looking for a motivated individual to join our team at Fishing the Philippines! This is a great way to earn money while doing something you love!
What we are looking for:
A team minded individual based in the Philippines who can research and write content for our website. Ideally this person would be a college graduate, with excellent communication skills in both English and at least one of the many dialects of the Philippines.
What to Do:
If this sounds like you, please send your resume to: benaiah.fogle@gmail.com
We will review your resume and get back to you with the next step.
Great News!!
It is exciting to see sport fishing continue to grow in popularity in the Philippines! We are looking for contributors willing to send us articles, photos and ads in order to keep the content up to date on our site. Please feel free to contact us at our email: benaiah.fogle@gmail.com
Tight Lines!
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Editor in Chief
Caliraya Snakehead
Striped Snakehead fish caught in Lake Caliraya
Lake Caliraya is most well known for its Largemouth Bass, but it also is home to many other species including the Striped Snakehead. Last week some friends and I took a little road trip out there for some fishing and though we were unsuccessful in landing any bass, we did manage to land three decent sized snakeheads. All three were caught on texas rigged curly tail worms that were a red/violet color.
It was interesting to note that all three fish were caught over a 30 minute period while fishing at sunrise. We had fished a couple hours the previous afternoon with no luck. The bite was on however the next morning.
We also noticed another fisherman there at the lake who had landed a large Knifefish. It was my first time to see a knife fish in Caliraya, but apparently they had made their way into that lake and are already established.
These two snakehead hit the culy tail worms that we were reeling slowly along the bottom
Needlefish ( Balo )
Had a successful morning spearfishing, landing my largest Needlefish to date. This monster weighed in at 2.4 kilograms! Needlefish are abundant here in the waters of the Philippines and can grow to enormous size. Here in Cebu we see schools of them in shallow water especially following around schools of small bait fish. Here in Cebu they have a reputation of being a dangerous fish because of their tendency to leap out of the water when spooked or when chasing bait fish. Their hard bony bill acts as a sort of spear head as they hurtle through the air and can inflict serious damage and even death on unsuspecting fishermen or boaters. Their teeth as well are incredibly sharp. It is not uncommon for needlefish to snap at your hand when you handle them. That is one of the reasons I started using cut resistant dyneema gloves when spearfishing, to avoid bites and scratches when I place these guys on the stringer.
Needlefish are actually a pretty good food fish. They have a strong fishy smell when caught which can be a turn off, however their meat is a white and flakey and is quite delicious when grilled, used in Kinilaw (something like ceviche) or used in soup. Larger needlefish can be filleted and the skin removed, this produces fillets of flakey white meat similar to mackerel.
Chinaman Snapper ( Symphorus nematophorus )
Common Name: Snapper, Chinaman Fish, Chinaman Cod
Local Name: Maya-Maya (Tagalog);
Max Size: 100 cm (14 kgs)
Biodiversity: Saltwater
Depth: 15 – 100 meters
Fishing Season: All Year Long
Minimum Size Limit: None
Recommended Bait/Lures: Shrimp, Crabs, small fish, lures, small jigs
IUCN Red List Status: (LC) Least Concern
Here is a species of snapper that can be found around the Philippines. It is fairly uncommon however in terms of how often it is caught. These pics were sent to us from Patrick in Palawan who caught this fish while spearfishing. If you have ever caught a fish like this or if you have any information regarding this species please contact us. 
Ocellated Flounder ( Pseudorhombus dupliciocellatus )
Common Name: Ocellated Flounder
Local Name: Darapa, Tatampal, Darapang Bilog (Tagalog); Palad (Cebuano)
Max Size: 40 cm
Biodiversity: Saltwater
Depth: 50 – 150 meters
Fishing Season: All Year Long
Minimum Size Limit: None
Recommended Bait/Lures: Shrimp, Crabs, small fish, lures, small jigs
IUCN Red List Status: (NE) Not Evaluated
There are numerous species of flatfish in the Philippines of which the Ocellated Flounder is one of the larger. Unlike their cousins in the temperate seas the tropical flounder are generally smaller and much more rare. Omet had some good luck on this drop jigging around Mactan Island in Cebu when he managed to hook and land the rare treat 🙂
Golden Trevally ( Gnathanodon speciosus )
Don from Palawan with a good size Golden Trevally he speared in Coron.
Common Name: Golden Trevally
Local Name: Garapeche, Malapandong Dilaw, Banlog (Tagalog); Badlon (Cebuano)
Max Size: 120 cm (15kgs)
Biodiversity: Saltwater
Depth: 1 – 80 meters
Fishing Season: All Year Long
Minimum Size Limit: None
Recommended Bait/Lures: Shrimp, Crabs, small fish, lures, small jigs
IUCN Red List Status: (LC) Least Concern
Trevally are abundant throughout the water of the Philippines. Sometimes it is difficult to distinguish between the many different species. That is not the case however with the Golden Trevally. The bright golden color of this fish along with its and downward facing mouth make this fish easy to identify. Its unique mouth helps it to root out crustaceans from the sea floor. Though it may appear that crustaceans are this fish’s favorite snack, it is in reality an opportunistic feeder and will prey upon what small fish and invertebrates that it can find.
Larger Golden Trevally often school together. Small juveniles can often be seen piloting, or swimming directly in front of larger fish and predators. These fearless little golden swimmers also occasionally pilot in front of divers as well! Small juveniles are also common in the aquarium trade.
Have you caught a Golden Trevally here in the Philippines? If so send a message and share the experience 🙂
Striped Snapper ( Lutjanus carponotatus )
Common Name: Striped Snapper, Spanish Flag Snapper, Gold Band Snapper, Stripey,
Local Name: Alsis (Tagalog); Bad-lisan (Cebuano)
Max Size: 40 cm
Biodiversity: Saltwater
Depth: 1 – 80 meters
Fishing Season: All Year Long
Minimum Size Limit: None
Recommended Bait/Lures: Shrimp, small fish, lures, small jigs
IUCN Red List Status: (NE) Not Evaluated
The Stripey is one of our small species of schooling snapper that can be found throughout the islands around reefs, slopes, and bays. They often school is large numbers up to 20 or 30 individuals. Their golden colored lateral lines distinguish them from other species of snapper which have similar size and body shape. These are not one of the most common species to be caught on rod and reel though occasionally they can be. Have you caught a stripey here in the Philippines? If so please send us your photos.
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Philippines Record:
(Currently no Philippine record for this Species)
IGFA World Record at time of publication of this article: .68 kgs Caught in Singapore by Steve Wozniak, 2010.
Fishing The Philippines 