Shallow Water Grouper Report
Report 06/19/2009.
The latest shallow water grouper report came from two friends that spent last week fishing everyday. They fished in 12-14 ft of water and limited out everyday. Most keepers where 25 - 27 in while the biggest was 32 in. They also caught many shorts (but fewer than the offshore reports) as well as a few short red grouper. Which I believe is a strong indication that the red grouper are making a very healthy recovery.
Off of Hernando/Citrus counties there is a large flat area that starts in 10ft out to 13ft. This large area of grass flats is about 4 -6 miles wide and it has many low profile rocks. Most of these rocks are very hard to find on a depth recorder, unless you go directly over it. Over the years I have found many, but I know there are many many more out there. The way I found most of them is in the fall drifting trout. Sometimes you will hook grouper other times you can see them busting the top of the water chasing bait. Yes grouper will hit surface baits. The largest shallow water grouper I have caught was 24lbs while trolling a skip baits. When something like this happens make sure you mark the area. If the water is murky, you may not be able to find the rock. If you mark the location, you can always come back when the water is clear.
Typically by this time of year, all the larger grouper have moved to deeper water and will return in late September. This is another good sign that the grouper population should continue build over the next 7-10 years, unless gas prices stay high. Then I could see the grouper stock returning to their maximum potential levels.
The latest shallow water grouper report came from two friends that spent last week fishing everyday. They fished in 12-14 ft of water and limited out everyday. Most keepers where 25 - 27 in while the biggest was 32 in. They also caught many shorts (but fewer than the offshore reports) as well as a few short red grouper. Which I believe is a strong indication that the red grouper are making a very healthy recovery.
Off of Hernando/Citrus counties there is a large flat area that starts in 10ft out to 13ft. This large area of grass flats is about 4 -6 miles wide and it has many low profile rocks. Most of these rocks are very hard to find on a depth recorder, unless you go directly over it. Over the years I have found many, but I know there are many many more out there. The way I found most of them is in the fall drifting trout. Sometimes you will hook grouper other times you can see them busting the top of the water chasing bait. Yes grouper will hit surface baits. The largest shallow water grouper I have caught was 24lbs while trolling a skip baits. When something like this happens make sure you mark the area. If the water is murky, you may not be able to find the rock. If you mark the location, you can always come back when the water is clear.
Typically by this time of year, all the larger grouper have moved to deeper water and will return in late September. This is another good sign that the grouper population should continue build over the next 7-10 years, unless gas prices stay high. Then I could see the grouper stock returning to their maximum potential levels.
Labels: grouper, grouper fishing, shallow water grouper
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