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The largest of the needlefishes, a long, slender, silvery-green missile of a fish armed with elongated, beak-like jaws full of sharp teeth. It cruises the surface of Red Sea reefs and bays and is known both as a light-tackle sportfish and as a genuine hazard to people on the water.
Surface waters over reefs, lagoons and open coast
Calm, sunny days over flats and reef tops where fish bask near the surface
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Light–medium spin near the surface with a short or heavy fluoro bite trace — houndfish have a beak full of needle teeth.
A thin strip of fish or a small shiny worked just under the surface.
Eating & safety
Treat the leaping beak and toothed jaws as genuinely dangerous, especially at night or under lights.
Stung or poisoned? First-aid steps →Best conditions: Calm, sunny days over flats and reef tops where fish bask near the surface
Startled or attracted to lights at night, it can leap from the water and skewer boaters with its beak, causing serious puncture wounds.