FISH OF THE DAY GROUPER

Grouper come in many sizes and flavors and are now under stronger management by fish and wildlife agencies than ever. Grouper can be from of any of a number of subfamilies.,to many to list.

The scientific name is serranids, this also includes sea basses. Grouper have a stout body and a large mouth that does not make them suitable to move long-distances or be fast swimmers. Grouper can be very large and lengths over a 6 feet and weight up to 300-500 lbs. The Grouper is the pig of the offshore reef and bottom fish as they swallow prey rather than biting pieces off it because they have no real teeth. They do have heavy crushing tooth plates inside the pharynx. They eat other fish, octopuses, and crustaceans. Some sub species prefer to ambush their prey, while other species are active predators. The Groupers mouth is powerful and they suck their prey in from a distance. They also use their mouths to dig into sand to form their shelters under big rocks, jetting it out through their gills. Their gill muscles are so powerful, it is nearly impossible to pull them out of a hole.

In September 2010 in Costa Rica a 7.5-ft grouper weighing over 550 lbs. and the bait used had a weight of over 2 lbs. In November 2013, a 686-lbs. grouper was caught and sold to a hotel in China.

In the USA some anglers target giant grouper but these fish have to be released (Goliath), grouper are found in one form or another in most of the waters in the Gulf and the Atlantic Ocean. Several species of grouper including gag, red grouper, and goliath grouper, are found in Florida waters.

The population of the grouper is important to the health of the reef fish and other chains in the ocean health. There is a special relationship between groupers, parrotfish, algae and coral reefs that must be in place to keep the survival of the coral reef ecosystem. If humans are ever going to consider saving our population and coral reefs we must start considering conservation efforts. As has been shown by many scientists, the relationships between species in ecosystems cannot be ignored and is delicate at best. Hopefully in the future our leaders across the marine management sector will  not just say no fishing for the grouper or snapper but focus on the areas that the can and should be managed for the purpose of assure Grouper continue to flourish.

Groupers are one of many prized fish that we can catch along all coasts of Florida and the Bahamas. Hard fighting and good eating bottom fish, The Southeastern US particularly Florida Keys groupers provide the best grouper fishing in the world. Groupers are a firm, white meat fish that makes a spectacular dinner table.

Classic method of grouper fishing entails bottom fishing with heavy tackle. More coming  on that in the Grouper Tackle Box

Grouper are aggressive feeders and  inhale  bait, they will normally go right into the rocks or structure that is surrounding them as they love the cover, One  favorite method for grouper fishing is trolling. This method works in water from 15 to 40 feet in depth and works wherever grouper are found. Most of the time if there are grouper on the structure where you are, you will have a hook up fairly quickly. One hint in all this is REEF’s whether they are manmade or natural having the locations of the reefs, wrecks, or other manmade structure is critical in finding Grouper. The numbers or GPS coordinates off the best Grouper fishing spots in one of the only fishing secrets you never see on fishing blogs or forums.

It takes a lot of fuel and time to locate the holes that grouper are plentiful and the window of the season is short so trolling is a highly used method for the anglers that do not have the opportunity to fish for grouper a lot, our recommendation is a good charter boat captain that knows the holes and the species in the area. However, that is not the same as doing it yourself.

One recommendation Wahootackleandfishing makes is study maps for state and government share reef and wreck locations but more important get to know the commercial net fisherman in your area, why because the places grouper hang out net anglers do not like. So the bet is they know the rocky reefs and spots that grouper like and they  stay away. Live bait like cigar minnows, squid are very popular baits in the gulf, and Atlantic. More about the baits and Tackle for grouper coming but if you have the oppoertunty to catch a grouper you will always remember because they do pull like a train!

 

Look for the Tackle box and recipe later:

 

Terminal Tackle: egg sinker, molded-in swivels, 4-foot leader, circle hook, 60- to 100-pound test ladyfish, chunk of bait 3 x 3

4/0, or 5/0  circle hook for smaller baits, go to 7/0-9/0 with bigger baits cut or live, remember you can catch other fish species stay to the 60-100lb leader depending on your activity.250- 400-pound-test swivel; 6 to 12-ounce egg shaped sinker.

Lures for Trolling: Mann’s, Stretch 25-40 depending or the water depth  or any bait that can get down to that depth and mimic a Blue runner, pilchard, Pinfish, or other bait you see in the area. Some time you can catch grouper with a 4-8 oz. jig with a large 6-8 inch grub style bait is chartreuse, pink, white, green and blue combo colors,

 

Rod: Sturdy Stand up rod in the 6-7 foot range that can handle the 30-60lb range and a basic 209 or 309 Penn Reel works great, nothing over the top but good solid rod and reel like the Catcher rods below.

Line: Mono is our preference because you will be changing out rigs a lot, ANGE, Berkley Big Game or Hi-Seas all in the 40-100lb test will get the job done.

GAFF/BELT: Do not worry about being called weak a good economical braid belt and 4-6ft gaff if you are keeping fish if not good  long hook remover.

 

Have Fun and be a Cacther!