Category: Types of Fish

Barracuda

The Barracuda, also known as the water wolf, is a top tier predator of the flats and open ocean. These fish can reach speeds of almost thirty miles per hour in two times their body length. Their speed is crucial to their hunting techniques. Usually, they disable their prey’s ability to swim away with the first bite. The fish can then come back and finish eating it.

The Barracuda can be taken by a variety of different methods from live bait to flies. One of the most popular methods is throwing hard plugs and reeling them back to the boat at speed. The aggressive nature of cudas lends itself well to the reaction strike. With the “chuck and wind” method, you can get away without using heavy wire leader.

These fish are also known to learn about boats and fisherman. Once in a while they will come and wait for you to throw a dead bait out or hook another fish they can steal. If you get lucky, you can hook the offender and get what we call an “Upgrade.”

Barracudas come in all different sizes in the keys. We can find a few bigger fish on the flats and around underwater structure. The islands in the backcountry are a great place to find good numbers of cudas ranging from a pound up to twenty pounds. Out on the reef the chances of finding a cuda over twenty pounds increases.

Barracudas are a regulated fish down here in Monroe County. The regulations state the any fish to be harvested must be between fifteen and thirty five inches. You are allowed to keep one per person over the thirty five inch mark. Otherwise you are allowed to keep two per person, and six per boat max.

Call today and lets go chase some of these incredible predators on spinning tackle, or even on fly!

See other types of fish that we target here.

Goliath Grouper

The Goliath Grouper is known as one of the true giants of the ocean. They can grow up and over 600lbs and are voracious eaters. Goliath groupers inhabit shallower waters for the most part and can be found around a lot of different types of underwater structure. These structures can be natural, like rock ledges, or man made wrecks. Interestingly enough, they aren’t actually groupers, but are part of the wrasse family.

The goliath grouper was given the endangered species designation in 1990 due to over fishing. They are pretty territorial and usually unafraid of people making them an easy target for divers. They have made a good comeback and numbers continue to grow. These fish are sometimes considered to be trouble makers when they steal other fish from anglers.

Due to the regulations on them, the goliath grouper is a catch and release only fish. They are an absolute blast to try and pull up, but most of the time they win. We use the heaviest tackle we have when targeting these beasts. A good strong drag and some determination are needed to turn these fish to the boat. Baits of choice include anything that we can catch. The bigger the better as far as they are concerned.

These fish can be fed fairly easily, and in some cases we can sight fish them. Feeding them is the easy part. The work starts as soon as it turns and starts heading home. With one stroke of their huge tail the fish will start taking precious line away from you. You might even feel like you could get pulled out. If you can withstand the first few surges and get it turned, you have a chance.

This can be a very intense fight that is not for the weak. If you are up to the challenge, contact us and let’s go get one!

These are some of the other fish that we target.

Tarpon

This page is all about the Tarpon. Tarpon are also known as Megalops Atlanticus, Silver King, Chrome Cow, and a hundred other nicknames. One of the most exciting fish that swims in the ocean. Average fish in the lower keys ranges from forty to sixty pounds. We get them smaller, but we also get them bigger.

These fish make one of the best inshore adversaries because of the skill it takes to successfully hook and land one. The jumps, long runs, and sheer determination that these fish display are truly a sight to see.

We use the lightest tackle that we can when targeting these fish. It makes it more fun and challenging for everyone involved while giving the fish the respect it deserves. Tarpon can be caught using flies and a variety of artificial lures. They can also be had using different live baits like pinfish, crabs, and shrimp.

Tarpon are migratory fish and move around quite a bit. They are regularly found on deeper flats, channels, and also along the beaches. The big migration begins sometime in March and fish continuously move through into July. While we can find tarpon most of the year, the migration brings large numbers and concentrates them for us.

Ready to find out more?

Go to our Contact page and call us to book today!!

Let’s Go!!