Grouper Tackle

[RC]

This is my first attempt at posting on this site so forgive me if I get it wrong. I have been reading the site for over a year now and just got brave enough to try it. Mostly I fish out of the aucilla, ickenfina (or however you spell it) and keton beach areas for reds and trout but I am thinking about venturing offshore for grouper and snapper. I have lots of inshore tackle, too much, but most of my bottom fishing gear is old. For the last 10 yrs. or so I have been in the Titusville Fl. area and fished mostly for reds. I grew up in Albany and I am back home now and rediscovering my old stomping grounds. It seems like since the net ban and new limits that people are finding grouper in much shallower water than what we fished back in the 70's. My question is what kind of tackle. spin or conventional, line test, class of rods, are most of you using. Is anyone using the new spectra line on their bottom fishing reels. How deep are you mostly fishing and how far offshore would you need to go out of St. Marks.
Any help you can give me would help.

PS Tom my check is in the mail

[Ken K]

Welcome aboard RC.

Just because your old tackle is old doesn't necessarily mean it isn't any good. Not that I would discourage anybody from buying any new tackle or anything.

This board is usually pretty slow on the weekend but I'm sure you will get some good advice from the resident experts no later than Monday, noon.

[Tom Keels]

My question is what kind of tackle. spin or conventional,

I like conventional. A penn 112H or 113H is all you need. I also like to jig and use sligtly heaver than normal trout tackle for that.

line test,

I like 50 ande. I have used as little as 16 for jigging, and as high as 80 for deeper water out of Carrabelle. 40-50 is a good all around test. I use 60 pound flourocarbon leaders or 80 pound mono. And I only use circle hooks.

class of rods, are most of you using.

I use a spiral wrapped Billystix 6'6" rod. Before I had that I used an uglystick 6'6" BWB1130 rod. Rated for 30-50 pound test. I think a longer rod will land you a whole lot more fish than a smaller standup. Plus the longer rods double as trollers ( but that is a whole seperate thread).

Is anyone using the new spectra line on their bottom fishing reels.

I have tried it and I don't like it for grouper. Its too unforgiving and really puts a pounding on your joints.

How deep are you mostly fishing and how far offshore would you need to go out of St. Marks.

most of my fishing is done between 20 and 40 feet, with 30 being my favorite. The area around marker 24 is loaded with good bottom. This is about 12 miles from the bird rack. Going SE, SSE, S 10 to 12 miles will consistently put you in prime grouper water. But sometimes you only have to go a mile or two.

PS Tom my check is in the mail

Thanks very much! Hope this helps you.

[EddieJoe]

Tom's advice is good. We differ slightly on equipment. I love short, standup rods between 5.5-6.5' long. I use the 6.5 footer with a TLD 15 for live baiting and the shorter rods for bottom fishing and trolling. When trolling, I use aluminum spreaders that fit into the rod holders and allow you to "spread" your presentation by about ten more feet over without.

I highly prefer using PowerPro Braided line for both trolling, bottom fishing, and jigging here in NW Florida. The Powerpro allows you to feel everything on the bottom, and also gets your lure far deeper when trolling. Since we normally are not working billfish or wahoo, the lack of stretch when trolling is not a problem. However, I have seven other rods loaded with monofilament (2 ten lb class spinning; 1 six lb. class spinning; casting reel/rod; three conventional bottom/trolling rods/reels). Having choices is part of the fun!

Luck,

EJ

[dstockwell]

Welcome aboard RC..

[wevans]

Welcome RC aint much that can be added to Tom and EJ's post all great advice

[CSMarine]

Hey RC, welcome aboard. Can't offer much advice on offshore. Sounds like your getting advice from some of the best Grouper fishermen in the Big Bend.

[Sea Fox]

Welcome RC, I use mono and braid and the braided does not require as much weight to keep it on the bottom in a hard current. I have 80lb magibraid spectra and the only bad thing is you dont want to get hung up, because you cant break it and it cost to much to cut it. As far as reels I like the GTI 320 and 330 from Penn on a 6 to 7 hvy rod. I just purchased my first roller tip and so far I like it. Good Luck!

[Dale Hollow]

Hi RC,

I'm a neophyte as well. The only thing that I can pass along, is that I got a great deal at The Sports Authority next to Governer's Square Mall in Tallahassee. On Jan 1, new years day, there was a coupon in the newspaper for 25% off the total purchase! Myself and 2 buddies wound up buying 3 Peen reels - 2 320's and 1 330 along with Senator rods, and all of the colors of the Man Stretch 30's they had along with a bunch of other stuff. Needless to say, we saved a bundle! Collectively, we bought over $600 worth of gear for about $450.

I don't know how frequently they run those coupons; however, I suspect that it was only for New Years. Next year, I plan to save my Christmas shopping for myself to New Years.

We use this gear for trolling as well as bottom fishing for grouper.

By the way, I've observed that the gear is not as important as the GPS waypoints of where the bottom structure of where those groupa live!

[Lowcountryangler]

whats is the best all around hook for grouper bottom fishing?

how long of a leader is required?

Thanks

[Tom Keels]

In my opinion there is no better hook than a circle hook. I use 12/0 mustads, but that is me.

Generally a leader from 2 to 5 feet works well, but I have seen times when longer was better.

[Lowcountryangler]

thanks for the quick reply Tom. Do those hooks requir sharpening before use?

[Tom Keels]

Not usually, but sometimes you will have to knock a burr off the point.

[RC]

I love a circle hook for this type of fishing too. If you are catching undersized fish they are seldom gut hooked. almost always the hook is in the corner of their mouth. Easy to get out.
the only problem is training beginers not to set the hook like a bass fisherman. If you let the pull of the fish set the hook or just start reeling without jerking the hook will set itself. If you leave the rod in the rod holder untill the rod has a deep bend this will also work.

[EddieJoe]

Low:

Circle hooks work well, although I have had to fight the tendency to "set" the hook with them. As you know, you let the fish take the bait and just reel. Since I have used conventional "J" hooks most of my life, I have a "set the hook" habit that is hard to break.

I do prefer a lighter circle with a bit more opening than the mustads usually have. This style makes it easier to use cut bait and keep the hook from turning on itself, another problem that can happen with circles. Some anglers use a bit of rubber band to keep the bait up on the hook, as you can miss fish when the circle hook comes back around into the bait. I lost a giant cobia once that picked up a whole alewife off the bottom, ran with it almost a hundred yards, then came to the surface and spit the whole alewife and circle hook at me. The circle hook had doubled over and did not hook the fish.

You will find that circle hooks do not seem to use standard sizing, so you have to pick a size that suits you.

If I was just starting out grouper fishing I would pick a Penn Senator 3/0 or 4/0 or a Penn 320 GTI if you want a level wind, plus an Ugly Stick Rod, and maybe 40 lb mono. Braided line is great, but can be hard to learn how to use at first. Probably 60 lb leader is good, and from 4-8 oz leads. I normally use 6 oz unless there is a lot of current. My typical leader length is 4', and I rig using a "Palm Beach Rig", (I am an old South Florida boy), where you run the lead on a short (12-14") piece of leader between two swivels, then tie on the main 4' leader. This keeps the lead from running up your line when you drop, as it will tend to do with a big bait, especially on a day with a lot of current.

Luck,

EJ