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BigBoiFishing · **Posted:** Wed Jul 08, 2009 10:01 am

Quote:

BigBoiFishing wrote: Aside from the Jacko crap. My neighbor caught a Grouper @ Bill Baggs yesterday. No pic because he was in the process of cleaning it & I didn't want to go through an awkward moment photographing his fish like evidence.

It was like 21", not a Gag or a Black. It was a "chocolate" brown with some specks & like a "swirl" of white on both sides, very ugly Grouper. I'm sure its a Grouper because of its head & fat body (even though it was 21").

I looked through my waterproof fish ID book & it short of resembles a Goliath by color but when I google small Goliaths they don't look the same.Any clue? If it turns out to be an undersized Grouper & his catch was illegal....that really sucks bcuz then Bill Baggs will become the next RickenFacker.

bolo · **Posted:** Wed Jul 08, 2009 10:17 am

Without a picture it is hard to determine to know what it is. It could be a cross bred of different grouper. Jewfish tail are usually round and black and gags have more of a square cut tail. Get a picture of the fish even if it is the head and carcass only. Worst case you can send it to FWC to help ID the fish.

permitchaser · **Posted:** Wed Jul 08, 2009 10:22 am

bolo wrote:

Without a picture it is hard to determine to know what it is. It could be a cross bred of different grouper. Jewfish tail are usually round and black and gags have more of a square cut tail. Get a picture of the fish even if it is the head and carcass only. Worst case you can send it to FWC to help ID the fish.

IF IS 21 IN dont do it LOL be carefull with bolo

BigBoiFishing · **Posted:** Wed Jul 08, 2009 10:32 am

Thats what I'm afraid of, I don't want to screw my neighbor over, especially since hes my neighbor. I'll see if I can get a pic of the head, which by now he probably made into soup.

SaltyDog · **Posted:** Wed Jul 08, 2009 10:36 am

Sounds like a nassau to me :scold:

permitchaser · **Posted:** Wed Jul 08, 2009 10:37 am

BB one this is for real i caught a snapper with the tail of a yellowtail i took a pic on a regular camera fish do get cross with races just like us

look at me in a little CHINO cool pic Scotty :cheers:

BigBoiFishing · **Posted:** Wed Jul 08, 2009 10:40 am

rebel33i wrote:

Sounds like a nassau to me :scold:

Nah, swirly white line only ran once on each side, it looked like a really ugly Grouper bro.

bolo · **Posted:** Wed Jul 08, 2009 10:44 am

All you have to do is say you took this photo from a guy fishing of a bridge. No one will get in trouble. If it is a Nassau Grouper they are protected.

permitchaser · **Posted:** Wed Jul 08, 2009 10:46 am

BigBoiFishing wrote:

rebel33i wrote:

Sounds like a nassau to me :scold:

Nah, swirly white line only ran once on each side, it looked like a really ugly Grouper bro.

BB you going to need a lawyer again sorry

PhishingPhanatic · **Posted:** Wed Jul 08, 2009 10:58 am

Was this it? This would be the only grouper legal to keep at 21"...

permitchaser · **Posted:** Wed Jul 08, 2009 11:13 am

PhishingPhanatic wrote:

Was this it? This would be the only grouper legal to keep at 21"...

thats a red i need to get one legal this weekend what depht should i go for 70' to 120' ?

PhishingPhanatic · **Posted:** Wed Jul 08, 2009 11:16 am

permitchaser wrote:

thats a red i need to get one legal this weekend what depht should i go for 70' to 120' ?

I think reds are usually a little shallower, I got my big one in the Tortuas in about 90'.

permitchaser · **Posted:** Wed Jul 08, 2009 11:45 am

PhishingPhanatic wrote:

permitchaser wrote:

thats a red i need to get one legal this weekend what depht should i go for 70' to 120' ?

I think reds are usually a little shallower, I got my big one in the Tortuas in about 90'.

thanks rory you always come thru i hope i can do some morning fishing tire of the tails the problem is neighbor dont like to get up early he is very nice so i try to please the faquer i think he's going to have to wake up early he's going to cry :mrgreen:

rory i dont care red/gag /black i know the gags hang out shallow / winter red and blacks get closed but sea is rough

BigBoiFishing · **Posted:** Wed Jul 08, 2009 12:03 pm

I went and asked his son if he had any of it left over so I can ID it out of curiosity and promised that his pops won't get in any trouble. Fortunately he took a pic b4 the slaughter. The pic is dark but it was around that same shade of color.

I wonder if this might be the baby of the Grouper battles of I've been losing there... :scratch:

I had to resize the pic.

PhishingPhanatic · **Posted:** Wed Jul 08, 2009 12:05 pm

Thats a black.

BigBoiFishing · **Posted:** Wed Jul 08, 2009 12:13 pm

PhishingPhanatic wrote:

Thats a black.

So is it possible that there I've been getting hooked up to big blacks instead of gags?

Also, he was short 3" now that its ID'd as a black, I'll be sure to tell him to toss em back if he gets another. Even though I doubt it bcuz the groupers I & other people have caught there have always been Gag. Thats why I had no clue what it was since I've never caught one. It doesn't look like the Blacks in my book, are they different looking when smaller?

rob762 · **Posted:** Wed Jul 08, 2009 12:14 pm

lightened pic

Attachment:

grouper.jpg [ 86.47 KiB | Viewed 767 times ]

PhishingPhanatic · **Posted:** Wed Jul 08, 2009 12:15 pm

Sometimes they have different color patterns, I have caught them that look like that. It is usually the bigger ones that lose the checkerboard pattern though. I have caught a couple of short blacks at Bill Baggs so I know there are more there. Blacks are also by far the most common grouper I catch in the Keys bridges, out of every 10 grouper I catch there, probably 7 are blacks, 2 are reds and 1 is a gag.

BigBoiFishing · **Posted:** Wed Jul 08, 2009 12:21 pm

I know a lot of people here think I'm BSing about hooking into big groupers there but I'm not. What do you think is more likely, they are big gags or blacks there. Or is it hard to come across a 15# grouper inshore? I estimate 15 because a friend of mine whos been fishing since the 70's says it felt like that (he hooked up to one when we were fishing 2gether).

PhishingPhanatic · **Posted:** Wed Jul 08, 2009 12:26 pm

BigBoiFishing wrote:

I know a lot of people here think I'm BSing about hooking into big groupers there but I'm not. What do you think is more likely, they are big gags or blacks there. Or is it hard to come across a 15# grouper inshore? I estimate 15 because a friend of mine whos been fishing since the 70's says it felt like that (he hooked up to one when we were fishing 2gether).

It is definitely not common to hook into real big big grouper from shore but it can happen. The big ones are smart and as you have found out, know how to rock you and break off. I caught this black in the Keys years ago, it weighed 17 lbs, and everyone on the bridge was amazed, telling me it was the biggest grouper they'd ever seen from shore. When I filleted him, there were about 8 hooks in its throat and stomach, that fish had obviously been hanging around for a while.

WhoDey · **Joined:** Wed Oct 31, 2007 6:39 am **Posts:** 1128

Ah, the many faces of Rory, in the example above we have BabyFace Rory.

BigBoiFishing · **Posted:** Wed Jul 08, 2009 12:33 pm

PhishingPhanatic wrote:

BigBoiFishing wrote:

I know a lot of people here think I'm BSing about hooking into big groupers there but I'm not. What do you think is more likely, they are big gags or blacks there. Or is it hard to come across a 15# grouper inshore? I estimate 15 because a friend of mine whos been fishing since the 70's says it felt like that (he hooked up to one when we were fishing 2gether).

It is definitely not common to hook into real big big grouper from shore but it can happen. The big ones are smart and as you have found out, know how to rock you and break off. I caught this black in the Keys years ago, it weighed 17 lbs, and everyone on the bridge was amazed, telling me it was the biggest grouper they'd ever seen from shore. When I filleted him, there were about 8 hooks in its throat and stomach, that fish had obviously been hanging around for a while.

That is BADA$$. I just got the itch 2 fish after seeing that. Damn. Thats what its all about. I'm probably SOL because if there MIGHT be a Grouper that size there, you know it might not get caught considering you're fishing right over the rocks and at a bad angle.

permitchaser · **Posted:** Wed Jul 08, 2009 12:39 pm

beauty

double points from shore

snakehead terror · **Posted:** Wed Jul 08, 2009 12:40 pm

Get someone you know that has some shark gear there just to see what it is. I don't think you are hooking into grouper, MAYBE a jewfish.

FysherKing · **Posted:** Sun Jul 26, 2009 12:22 pm

that is a nice black qudos Ive been dying to hit up one of those key bridges

FysherKing · **Posted:** Sun Jul 26, 2009 12:23 pm

what kind of bait do you use?

fishnfool73 · **Joined:** Tue Nov 07, 2006 6:18 am **Posts:** 10052

That fish was caught around a few years ago....believe it was on a grunt.

PhishingPhanatic · **Posted:** Sun Jul 26, 2009 12:34 pm

fishnfool73 wrote:

That fish was caught around a few years ago....believe it was on a grunt.

Yeah, I caught that guy about 5 or 6 years ago on a grunt head. Been fishing the Keys bridges 20-30 times a year since then and have only gotten 1 other keeper grouper...they aren't very common.

fishnfool73 · **Joined:** Tue Nov 07, 2006 6:18 am **Posts:** 10052

We could have played this a little better and everyone and their mother would have been heading to the Keys armed with 200 lb test and broomsticks this weekend. :lol:

Over 15 years of fishing the Keys and I have 6 keeper blacks to my name loads of shorts but keepers are far and few.

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