Boatless Fishing Forum, Reports, Info

anyone have any advice or tips on how to get some big groupers at ch 5 ???
what bait to use, how to set up my rod, where to cast
anything is appriciated

Keeper Groupers are really hard to come by without a boat. Goliath Groupers are many places...even bridges in the city...in the middle they make there homes in the pilings.

But the rest of the species really need the right structure and depth...and you are just hard pressed to find that off keys bridges....they are for the most part very shallow.

Now this doesn't meen that someone might get lucky and get one but they really are not to migratory when they get of size and make a home somewhere in the depths with their preferred structure.

They are there but just not of keeping size...still migrating.

You couldn't keep a grouper right now even if you got a keeper since the season is closed...there are some decent grouper on the bridges but it is rare to get a keeper. Try big live baits or fresh dead baits on the pilings, pinfish, live grunts, gogs, large pilchards or threadfins are good baits to start with. If you do catch a keeper in season, make sure it is not a Goliath Grouper, as that is what 95% of the big grouper you catch off a bridge will be.

PhishingPhanatic wrote:You couldn't keep a grouper right now even if you got a keeper since the season is closed...there are some decent grouper on the bridges but it is rare to get a keeper. Try big live baits or fresh dead baits on the pilings, pinfish, live grunts, gogs, large pilchards or threadfins are good baits to start with. If you do catch a keeper in season, make sure it is not a Goliath Grouper, as that is what 95% of the big grouper you catch off a bridge will be.

Except for that one place Hopefully

I used to get keeper blacks a good amount of the time certain times of the year on a few bridges until they raised the size limits. Big baits and beefed up gear and put in your time to find them. Try the deeper channels on the bridges. Once you catch one fish you tend to catch a few more from the area. Most people undergun them and thus lose the few decent size fish they hook. I use 125 lb mono on an 80 -130 lb blank on a tricked out 4/0. Same setup I use on the boats for them.

fishnfool73 wrote:I used to get keeper blacks a good amount of the time certain times of the year on a few bridges until they raised the size limits.

Yep, I swear the grouper know what the size limit is and as soon as they hit 23 11/12" they move offshore. I have caught a ton in the 20-23" range in the last few years.

Yes I caught 9 one day down there on a bridge all 21 - 23 1/2 inches but finally got a 25 inch keeper. I have had a few nice ones hooked up on 50 - 80 lb mono down there and had my butt handed to me thus why I upgraded to my Tugas grouper stick.

If you didn't use those crappy VMC hooks I would have landed one for you on your new rod.

You kooked that fish plain and simple stop blaming a faulty hook. Both my 45 and 55 lb black came up on the same VMCs.

fishnfool73 wrote:You kooked that fish plain and simple stop blaming a faulty hook. Both my 45 and 55 lb black came up on the same VMCs.

You set the drag on that fake Accurate. If the hook straighten had nothing to do with me my friend. Just buy better hooks.