BigBendFishing.Net

With the grouper closure coming up on February 1, 2009 I was trying to determine how you identify the difference between a black and gag grouper. Gag grouper closes in both state and fed waters on 2-1-09, black grouper however only closes in fed waters. This past weekend we caught one really nice grouper (26") in St. Andrew Bay and I was not sure if it was a gag or black grouper. Looking online I was not able to find anything that really helped me to distinguish the two fish.

I just returned from the local FWC office where I was told that there really were no black grouper in our part of the gulf, that all the "black grouper" up here were really gag grouper and that people are just ignorant and call them all black grouper. I was informed that any "black" grouper I caught in St. Andrew Bay would be a "gag grouper" as far as law enforcement was concerned and that a ticket would be written after 2-1-09 if I possessed one.

What do you guys think? Is this information correct? I really do not do that much grouper fishing. I only fish for them in the winter months in our bay because I know of a few deep holes that sometimes produce legal fish. I have no interest in being written a ticket but I always thought we had some black grouper around here.

There are black grouper up here and they are caught every so often. That being said, they are mostly caught well offshore in depths greater than 70 feet so the chances of you catching one is pretty slim. You are more likely to catch a scamp, and they are pretty plentiful and do not fall under the closure either.

Here is a true black caught off Carrabelle.



If you've ever seen a true black up close, they don't look like a gag at all (at least to me).

There was a post on this a couple of weeks ago...don't remember the title. I believe, if I remember right, you won't find blacks in as shallow water. You would have to travel out a fer piece to like the Middle Grounds to really find them. So, unfortunately, I believe there were speaking the truth.

just ignorant

That's the description for the folks that told you that, there were several nice blacks caught around Indian Pass/St. Joe last summer that I saw pictures of. Just because they aren't caught regularly around certainly doesn't mean that they aren't here. How many times have you caught something on the flats or got that nice surprise offshore that you would have never imagined was there? That is why I love to saltwater fish, the unknown, it's why we spend a small fortune chasing whatever is outhere. And just to be safe, I would carry a fish identification chart on board to keep that itchy pen hand from stroking a ticket because the officer can't identify it. .02

Oh, and once you see a chart you will immediately notice the distinct connected circle/oval markings on the Blacks! You can see them in the pic above on the top of the fish. Hope that helps

Thanks for the information guys. From looking at the picture above I am guessing that I have never caught a true black grouper. The big one we caught last weekend did not look like that. I am guessing that it was a gag. As far as the scamp are concerned I have never caught one in our bay. I have caught a few undersized red grouper. Even caught a small goliath grouper two summers ago on some structure in the bay on a whitebait.