Gulf Coast Fishing Guide
Offshore Fishing for Grouper
 Editor’s Note: Let's face the fact that in the South, we have some of the finest saltwater fishing, both inshore and offshore of any region in the nation. During the spring and summer months, we can fish by day and by night with great success. I've named some of the top inshore and offshore fishing destinations in our area, all places where I've caught fish before, and you can, too.
Destin, Florida - Anglers long have considered this port the Grouper Capital of the Gulf Coast. Not only does it have plenty of natural bottoms where the grouper can live and feed, but it historicall y has homed some of the finest grouper fishing in the country. Fishermen must employ big baits, heavy rods and strong tackle to get those big brown fish out of and away from the wrecks and reefs. If you'll ask the Destin captains, they'll take you to spots where you can get a limit of grouper first. Then you can go toanother region and catch a limit of snapper.
You may have a tough time catching a limit of grouper since these bottom feeders have their Ph.D.s in breaking lines, tangling lines in a wreck and destroying tackle. An inexperienced angler will spend more time hooking and breaking off grouper than he will putting grouper in the boat. A fisherman only has about 60 to 80 seconds after the grouper takes the bait to move the fish away from the bottom or the wreck to get it up into open water where he can play the fish. So, as soon as you feel the bite, you have to start reeling and continue to reel to get the grouper up. If you don't reel, and simply try to play a game of tug of war with the grouper, thatfish will beat you every time.
Honorable Mention for Grouper:
Orange Beach, Alabama - Although fisheries biologists can't prove this fact scientifically, after a big storm, grouper invade the wrecks and reefs around the Orange Beach region. Last year, when Hurricane Ivan destroyed much of Orange Beach and Gulf Shores, it broug ht a tremendous number of grouper into the area.
The Information You Need for the Best Grouper Fishing:
* Destin, Florida
Action Fishing Charter Service: (850) 837-2028, www.destincharterboats.com
Destin Chamber of Commerce: (850) 837-6241, http://www.destinchamber.com/
* Orange Beach, Alabama
Captain Jonny Greene – see Orange Beach Fishing Assoc. website
AGCCVB: (800) 745-7263 (SAND), http://www.orangebeach.com/
Tomorrow: Inshore Fishing for Speckled Trout
|
