Fish
Ten Pounder Springer
Elops machnata
A slim, silvery inshore speedster that leaps wildly when hooked, ranging widely through warm Indo-Pacific coasts and estuaries.
Also known as springer
- Habitat
- Coastal shallows and estuaries
The ten pounder, or springer, has an elongate body oval in cross-section, a terminal mouth and fine bands of teeth, with soft-rayed fins set well back. Juveniles gradually develop their full complement of gill rakers, complete by about 60 cm.
A warm-water inshore fish of the Indo-Pacific, it frequents coastal shallows and estuaries. It earns its springer name on the line, exploding into a series of frantic jumps when hooked, though its bony flesh makes it more a sportfish than a table fish.