Sooty Grunter

SOOTY GRUNTER a.k.a. black bream, sooties

Sooty grunters are an excellent angling fish, aggressive competitors that fight for a chance to get at the bait. These great sportfish also have a great taste when they weigh in at less than 2kg.

Physical Description: Sooty grunters have stocky, dark brown to sooty black, brown or gold bodies. Some have patches of gold on a dark body.

Size: Sooties can grow to 50cm and 4kg, but are usually caught at 25cm and 0.4kg.

Habitat: Sooty grunters prefer rivers with clear, flowing fresh water, a sandy or rocky bottom and thick bankside growth. They favour areas with a deep water escape route close by. Best times to catch sooties are early morning, noon, afternoon and early evening.

Hint! Look for structures like submerged trees and weedbeds as sooties like to be close to cover, as long as there is an easy way out. They can also be found in deep holes and shallow rapids.

How to Catch:
Bait - Sooty grunters will accept frogs, shrimps, worms, insects, plant material, berries and cheese. You could also try short, fat wriggling plugs, surface poppers and bottom jigs.
Rod and Reel - Try light spinning or baitcasting gear.
Line and Tackle - Use a standard tropical freshwater rig virtually identical to what you would use to catch bass.

Hot Spots: Sooty grunters occupy northern Queensland freshwaters through to the Gulf of Carpentaria and north-east coastal systems