Even on a calm Saturday you rarely see another boat. It’s definitely a long haul, but there’s hardly any pressure. Some of my 70-foot spots are upwards of 50-miles offshore. A lot of my honey-holes are in 40 to 60-feet of water between 30 to 40-miles offshore. I prefer to fish with artificials because they work well and even better than live bait when used properly. With red grouper averaging 10 to 15-pounds and gags weighing twice that, what more could you ask for?įishing the waters off Crystal River we certainly catch our fair share of grouper on natural bait, although it’s hard to beat the heart-pounding excitement that goes along with vertical jigging. test leader and 9/0 circle-hook does the trick. While highly dependent on the velocity of the current and depth of water, a fish-finder rig with a 16oz. Because we pass pressured ledges en route to deeper water, the grouper we catch are almost all keepers. Our fall grouper bite is usually consistent, but with any tropical disturbances funneling into the Gulf the bite really gets going along the natural reefs off the Panhandle. Although there are no doubt exceptions time after time we see the best results with live pinfish and cigar minnows. While we regularly connect with red, gag and black grouper, my all-time favorite is the scamp. Twenty-three miles south of the Destin breakwater and we’re in 200-feet of water. There are as many tips, tricks, tactics and techniques as there are anglers who target these highly prized bottom fish and although your particular rigging techniques and angling approach will be a direct result of the prevalent conditions and location you fish, successful tactics can easily be adapted for just about any scenario.īased out of Destin we’re fortunate to have a relatively short run to productive grouper grounds. While everyone loves these tasty bottom dwellers, there’s a whole lot more to successful grouper fishing than simply dropping down bait and holding on. What is important to point out is that grouper are, in fact, extremely vulnerable to overfishing and although the regulations are a burden, the ultimate goal is to protect spawning aggregations. Similar to the red snapper conundrum this issue is a particularly hot topic, as inaccurate data has forced fishery managers to deem grouper stocks overfished. Completely prohibiting the harvest of gag, black, red, scamp, red hind, rock hind, coney, graysby, yellowfin, yellowmouth and tiger grouper, the closure coincides with grouper spawning season. Although regulations can only benefit grouper populations around the state, both charter and commercial captains that rely on this bounty of the sea will have to look elsewhere. While this seasonal closure will only burden Gulf Coasters for two-months, the Atlantic ban lasts for what seems like an eternity. The National Marine Fisheries Service shallow water grouper closure once again takes effect January 1 through Apin Atlantic waters, and February 1 through Mathroughout the Gulf of Mexico. It’s going to be here before you know it-Closed Season.
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