Barracuda

Name:

Barracuda

Fish Habits:

The collective name for a group of barracudas is a battery. They are voracious, opportunistic predators relying on surprise and short bursts of speed (up to 27 miles per hour (43 km/h)) to overtake their prey.

Adults of most species are more or less solitary, while young and half-grown fish frequently congregate. Barracuda prey primarily on fish, sometimes as large as themselves, by tearing off small chunks.

Fishing Tactics:

Use a lure with the brightest color possible, which barracuda are known to prefer. Find a bright red or neon-colored lure if available. Make sure the lure is sturdy to avoid being chewed up by the fish's needle-like teeth. Choose a heavy duty plastic or a thick wood lure.

Retrieve the line quickly in order to get noticed by barracuda. Keep up jerky movements while fishing, but keep them erratic and unexpected to excite the barracuda and entice him to strike.

Fish ID Help:

Barracudas are elongated fish, pike-like in appearance, with prominent sharp-edged fang-like teeth, much like piranhas, that are all of different sizes which are set in sockets of their large jaws. They have large pointed heads with an under bite in many species. Their gill-covers have no spines and are covered with small scales. Their two dorsal fins are widely separated with the anterior fin having five spines, the posterior fin having one spine and nine soft rays. The posterior dorsal fin is similar in size to the anal fin and is situated above it. The lateral line is prominent and extends straight from head to tail. The spinous dorsal fin is placed above the pelvic fins and is normally retracted in a groove. The caudal fin is moderately forked with its posterior edge double-curved and is set at the end of a stout peduncle. The pectoral fins are placed low on the sides. Their swim bladder is large.

In most cases, they are dark green, dark blue, or gray on their upper body with silvery sides and chalky-white belly. Coloration varies somewhat between species. For some species, there are irregular black spots or a row of darker cross-bars on each side. Their fins may be yellowish or dusky. Barracudas live primarily in oceans, but certain species such as the Great Barracuda lives in brackish water.