Giant African Threadfin (Polydactylus quadrifilis)

The threadfins are an unusual group of elongate, predatory fishes that use a cluster of tassel-like fins, attached to the base of the pectoral fins, as feelers in the rough surf and murky water where they prefer to hunt various small fish and crustacean prey. They take lures, especially oversize plastic tailed jigs, medium-sized deep-diving swimming plugs as well as various natural baits. Although they do penetrate a long way upstream, they are not usually found in the lagoon in targetable numbers and are usually fished for in the lagoon mouth over low tide periods and/or in the surf zone. Giant threadfin are powerful, hard and fast-running fish that regularly attain weights of 30kgs and grow to more than 50kgs.