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Diggin’ for gold in the Florida Keys.
I eased my thumb off the spool and allowed the 8 ounce sinker to
gently make its way to the bottom some hundred feet below. A minute
earlier I had missed a solid strike and was anxious to get a second
chance. With in just seconds, I felt the tell tale thumps of a big
grouper inhaling my pilchard. A short count later, I found myself
pinned against the side of the boat doing everything I could to stop
what felt like a Volkswagen on the other end. Spurts of 50 pound mono
peeled off my reel as I struggled to gain my composure. Just as quick
as it started, it was over. The hefty grouper below won this fight and
had managed to hang me up in the unseen wreckage. I was disappointed
with the outcome of this brief battle but knew there was a silver
lining to the dark cloud.
Losing grouper to structure is a common occurrence. If you don’t get hung up every now and then, you’re not fishing the right spots, so I knew my boat was positioned right on the money. That’s a rule that I live by as it’s no secret that grouper are structure oriented. Unlike big mutton snapper whose habits include patrolling entire territories, grouper, especially large ones, prefer to lay low and call a particular hole home. They’ll emerge from the safety of their lairs to inhale a passing by bait but will quickly head back into their crevice. That’s why the first few seconds of any grouper tug-of-war is so crucial. If you aren’t able to stop the fish and pull him away from the sharp edges of the wreck or reef, you’ll undoubtedly get busted off.
Throughout this time of the year, catching hard fighting, tasty grouper is on the minds of most inshore and offshore anglers. Whether you enjoy fishing the patch reefs for quantity or deep water wrecks and ledges for larger specimens, both coasts of South Florida definitely have something for you. With broom sized tails and beefy shoulders, these brutally strong bottom dwellers have significant characteristics and preferences as far as what and when they like to eat and where they like to eat it. Let’s cover some of these topics and see if we can improve the take home quality of your catch.
Targeting grouper in the mid Keys, my home base, or anywhere for that matter involves a variety of baits and techniques. Often, implementing a new or different approach can produce the results you’ve been looking for, so don’t be afraid to experiment. I have been trying to figure out what grouper prefer to eat for over 30 years and still learn new things on every trip but there are some constants in the game that you should always keep in mind.
For starters, we all know that all species of grouper primarily feed on or near the bottom and most hang around coral reefs or around deep water structure such as wrecks. Grouper can also be found on grassy or muddy bottom around deep holes and channels, but for consistency, the reef system is your best bet. When looking for productive bottom, use your fish finder to find irregularities. The higher the relief (the height structure protrudes off the bottom), the better. More cracks, crevices and holes, mean more hiding spaces for crustaceans and baitfish. You can follow the food chain up from there.
Grouper have a diversified menu and will consume a variety of prey. Generally speaking, they’re opportunistic feeders so if it moves in front of them, they’ll eat it. Ideal baits include pinfish, grunts, small legal size yellowtails and my all time favorite, large live pilchards. Cut bait can also be quit effective, especially if it’s fresh. Anything from a mullet chunk to a ballyhoo plug can produce excellent results. In addition, small bottom fish cut in half diagonally work extremely well. As a back up plan, don’t pass up the old standby of live shrimp. Grouper love shrimp and sometimes prefer them over anything else.
Speaking of shrimp, I’ve had great success bouncing them on the bottom with small lead headed jigs. I like those Hank Brown jigs and when conditions permit, a º ounce size is all that’s needed on the shallow reefs. This shrimp/jig combo also gets slammed by yellowtail, mangrove and muttons so you may definitely want to give it a try. I prefer the yellow or white jigs and usually cut the shrimp in half and use either half on the hook.
As far as rigging is concerned, when targeting grouper in shallow water reef areas, I’ll try to get by with a 30 lb. fluorocarbon leader because of the clear water conditions. If the current is fairly light, the use of a 1oz. egg sinker with a small barrel swivel is all that is required. Depending on the bait, I’ll finish things off with a 1/0 to 3/0 Mustad 92677 hook tied to the end of my 5’ leader. If you break off too many fish on the rugged bottom, you can always bump it up to a 50 lb. leader, but the lesser the leader the more bites you will get, especially on larger fish. If the water clarity is poor, this isn’t such an issue
Along with bait fishing, trolling grouper along the patch reefs with deep diving plugs is definitely increasing in popularity. On occasion, when conditions for bait fishing are less than favorable, such as with wind against the tide situations this can be an excellent alternative and often make the difference between you eating the bear or the bear eating you. Trolling deep diving plugs is fairly simple and to the best of my understanding, if you check out the Rigging Station dept. in this issue, you’ll get all the info you need.
Red grouper in particular, tend to hang out on the shallow reef areas and throughout the spring should be fairly plentiful in the 25 to 50 foot depths. A number of blacks and gags will be in the same areas although most will be hovering around or just below keeper status. Remember that in the Keys, red’s have to be 20” and gags and blacks have to be 24”, so most of the keepers taken in shallow water tend to be reds.
Larger grouper, mostly blacks and gags prefer deeper water. Deep water techniques vary from shallow mostly in size of baits and tackle. It’s common sense that a 20 to 30 pound gag isn’t going to be easily enticed by a tiny, pinky size shrimp. He probably won’t even look at it. On deep water wrecks, live pinfish, small blue runners, speedos and legal size lanes and yellowtails all make choice offerings. Runners will often get sliced by any kings or ‘cuds in the area so take a good supply if you plan on using them. Remember that grouper spend the majority of their adult lives feeding near the bottom so a variety of large crustaceans will also do the trick. A big blue crab dropped into the heart of a wreck, rarely goes unnoticed.
To accommodate these larger baits and the larger fish they entice, heavier tackle will be required. 30 lb. conventional outfits with lengthy 50 to 80 lb. leaders are the norm when targeting large grouper with big live baits, and nothing less should even be considered. Heavier, stout rods are also in order as persuading these powerful fish off the bottom as they head for their holes is a tough task. If you find yourself unmatched, don’t be shy about stepping up to 50 lb. class tackle. Regardless, drags should be set at 50% of the lines breaking strength. Grouper do pull, but only in short burst. Fresh high quality mono should hold up to the task just fine.
Regardless if you’re fishing the patch reefs or dropping baits down on deep water wrecks, chumming will be beneficial to your success. In addition to enticing grouper out their holes, the chum will also attract a variety of other species. Worthy of mentioning, is that your chum slick will also attract a variety of bait fish to your boat which you can then easily catch and utilize.
All in all, you can’t beat grouper fishing for action, fun and great table fare. Good luck in all of your fishing adventures!
Bio:
Capt. Bob Brown, Jr. has been professionally guiding in Marathon and the middle Keys area since 1980. He has numerous tournament wins for both sailfish and tarpon and has guided many clients to victory in various events, including the MET. He is a IGFA certified captain and is currently registered in the MET. He runs a new 32’ Century powered by twin Yamaha 4 strokes and fishes out of the 7 Mile marina in Marathon. Bob is the owner/operator of Sundance Sportfishing Adventures along with his wife Anne who is also the mate on the ‘Sundance’. A light tackle enthusiast, Capt Bob is available for all types of charters in the Keys, except flats fishing. Contact him at: 800-282-1712 or visit www.Sundancesportfishing.com
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