However you can still try using this technique, but you must be accompanied by an experienced professional.Īlways carry a shorter spear gun because you’ll dive in rocky areas. To use this fishing method, you must be a skilled diver to prevent drowning. You can use this fishing method in most Florida Keys. This method requires you to use heavier tackle that will withstand marine winds. This fishing method works best for offshore and shallow waters and targets all marine reel fish that like to hide in deep waters. You can spice up your bait by adding large live bait or placing dead bait. This technique works best for anglers who want to cover a small surface area in shallow waters, using shallow diving plugs and strip combos to lure groupers. The most appropriate techniques for catching grouper include trolling, bottom fishing, spearfishing, and jigging. Grouper is a reef fish, and regulations require anglers to use the appropriate fishing gear. Techniques for Catching Grouper in Florida They like hiding around reefs and other man-made wrecks because the waters are calm. Those seeking to catch grouper species in the fall should move to the Atlantic side of the Florida Keys. They live at the bottom and like hiding around rocks and other structures. The uneven water temperature during this season pushes them to deeper waters.ĭuring summer, you can look for grouper in all of Florida Key. The best place to find grouper in the spring is in the deep-water structures. Look for juvenile grouper on the shallower water because they are overly active during winter. In these spots, you’ll likely get mature grouper such as the Goliath Grouper. If you’re targeting grouper fish during winter, the best place to look for them is in the Key West and the Hawk Channel. However, the season you visit determines whether you’ll keep or release your catch back into the water. Like most reel fish, grouper fishing happens all year round. Best Places to Catch Grouper During the Season in Florida Here are the size limit and seasons for the most common types. When grouper fishing in the Florida Keys and the Key West, you’re supposed to follow the regulations to control grouper fishing. However, anglers are not allowed to keep Nassau and Goliath Grouper because they are being conserved. The warm weather makes mature grouper migrate to deep waters because they don’t like the temperature fluctuations in shallow waters.ĭuring this season, anglers in the Florida Keys are allowed to keep almost all grouper types. This is the most preferred grouper fishing season because the weather is warm in most parts of the Atlantic Ocean. This season mostly begins in March and ends in April, and you can only catch and release the groupers. In spring, the weather transitions from sporadic cold to warmer temperatures. Recreational fishing in most Florida Keys happens during this season. That’s why the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission only allows people to catch and release groupers back into the water. Since they move in large groups, they are at risk of overharvesting.

Grouper fish florida