Coastal Angler Magazine | April 2024 | AlabamaEdition

ALABAMA GULF COAST EDITION

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NO GAGS? TARGET REDS

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VOLUME 29 • ISSUE 349

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KAYAK FISHING:

By Capt. Quinlyn Haddon

RIDE THE AQUATIC SLEIGH

W

hether your vessel options are limited or you just want to spice up your inshore fishing experience, fishing from a kayak should not be overlooked as a possibility. When done correctly, it is some of the most exciting fishing. It can also be modified for the extreme, or an entirely leisure day on the water.

Kayaking is how I fell in love with fishing. Of all the different ways I have gone about it, I have enjoyed them all. From packing a lunch and fishing my way to an island for a picnic and a swim, to drifting backcountry mangroves other vessels cannot access, to cruising dock lights at night, or deploying in

1,300 feet of water seeking yellowfin tuna off of the oil rigs, kayak fishing is versatile with endless possibilities.

This type of fishing can be dangerous, and its especially important to know your limitations and be overly prepared.

Currents and wind change quickly and affect your return trip. Make sure to check tides and weather before venturing or drifting too far. Paddling against the current while battling the extreme heat can put you in a bad situation very quickly.

Make sure to have a small anchor onboard as well. Obviously, this will come in handy for fishing, and it can also provide an opportunity to rest if exhaustion is getting the best of you.

Decking out your rig for fishing is an art form, and there are many ways to go about it. Prioritize having a cooler attached to the back over all else. You do not want to get dehydrated out there. Afterall, you are the motor of the vessel, and should be well maintained just like any other motor.

Affix everything to your kayak with the expectation of getting flipped. Of course, do everything to keep yourself from that situation, but things happen.

Use dry-storage bags, and clip everything to the kayak itself. Most kayaks are designed to make this a straightforward process.

Fishing artificials will simplify your set up, but sometimes after all the paddling, its nice to relax and toss out some live bait. A bait bucket on a rope with shrimp, that can be tossed out between paddles, should be all you need.

For more extreme fishing, modify a PVC pipe with holes drilled into it to hold live baitfish.

Use common sense and check local regulations. Protect yourself from the sun during the day, be properly lit at night, and stay out of high-traffic boating areas and channels. You are also required to carry a PFD and a sound producing device, such as a whistle.

Once you have hit the full safety checklist, go out there and experience the possibilities that kayak fishing has to offer. Fishing from a kayak will intensify the tug even with smaller fish you hook up to, so hang on and enjoy the aquatic sleigh ride.

Capt. Quinlyn Haddon guides with Sweet E’Nuf Charters out of Marathon, Fla. See Captainquinlyn.com, @captainquinlyn or call (504) 920-6342.

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FRANKEN-FISH ON THE FLY

H

ybrid striped bass are the Franken-fish of anglers’ dreams.

Also known as wipers, sunshine bass and other names, they are hatchery-produced crossbreeds of white bass and striped bass. They are stocked into reservoirs across the country for angler enjoyment.

Central Georgia’s Lake Oconee is a hybrid hot spot. Georgia stocks hundreds of thousands of hybrids in the lake, and conventional anglers get after them with live baits, jigging spoons, bucktails and trolling lures.

Capt. Wayne Moore, of Oconee on the Fly guide service, is probably the only guy you’ll see on Oconee waving a fly rod from his center console.

While he admits conventional tactics are more effective, there are three situations when fly fishing is both productive and a boatload of fun.

Oconee is a 19,000-acre impoundment about an hour and a half drive east of Atlanta. The lake backs up behind a pump-back dam that creates currents that are key to a good hybrid bite. Moore said there is often a good afternoon bite when the dam kicks on and hybrids move onto main-lake points to chase threadfin shad. After locating bait and fish with electronics, Moore goes to work on them with 8-weight fly rods and intermediate sinktip lines. He fishes a cadence of five short strips and a pause with a 2-inch long white/chartreuse Clouser on a 5-foot leader of 12- to 15-pound

By Nick Carter

fluorocarbon.

When the bite is hot, a good angler might boat 8 to 10 fish, and 4- to 6-pound hybrids are not uncommon. “A 6-pound hybrid is going to fight like a 10-pound striper,” Moore said.

A fly rod is also fun for the mid-lake morning bite. When the water starts moving, hybrids herd shad to the surface and blow up on them in a frenzy. The action only lasts an hour, but the bite is consistent for two or three weeks during the May shad spawn.

With thousands of newly hatched shad in the water, Cowen’s Somethin’ Else, and Cowen’s Coyote are Moore’s go-to flies. Henry Cowen is a legendary angler and fly tier who developed patterns specifically for striped bass in Georgia waters. His flies work just as well on hybrids.

Night fishing under the lights is another situation when Moore would rather use a fly rod.

“We don’t have a lot of lit docks here, but the

ones that are lit will be covered with fish,” he said.

Casts must be precise, and the fights are technical, so Moore reserves night trips for experienced fly fishers.

“You better have that 15-pound leader. A 6-pound hybrid will give you a run for your money,” he said. “They’ll run you right back under that dock.”

With the May schooling bite approaching, it’s worth making plans to visit Oconee now…or try these tactics on your local hybrid reservoir.

Contact Wayne Moore at (404) 317-9556 or wmoore1700@outlook.com and check out Oconee on the Fly at www.oconeeonthefly.com.

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Alabama Gulf Coast

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APRIL 2024

ALABAMA GULF COAST 1

Flounder 101 By: Nathan Rich

A

s the water temps continue to rise the flounder are making their push up into the back bays and bayous on the Gulf Coast and there has never been a better time to go out and catch them than now! In this article we I am going to discuss a few tactics I like to use to land these tasty flat fish!

The first thing we got to do is locate the flounder, for me I like to find bayous and creek systems with a ton of ambush points (creek mouths, points, cuts, flooded marsh grass). Then I want to plan my fishing trip around the start of the falling tide, in my experience this is the peak time to catch these feeding flounder. The next thing we got to do is decide on the bait we will be using. Live bait such as Bull Minnows has always been the premiere bait for flounder, however I prefer to use artificial lures such as ¼ oz jigs with a soft plastic attached. Fishing a jig allows me to fish more efficiently, covering a ton of water in a short amount of time thus exposing my lure to more flounder during my fishing trip. Lastly, we want to make sure we are constantly maintaining contact with the bottom of the water column and working our baits very slow to trigger that bite!

For more tips and fishing videos around the MS and AL Coast check out our YouTube channel “Southern Salt “. Until next time stay safe and tight lines!

SOUTHERN SALT YOU CAN ALSO VISIT OUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL, WHERE WE HAVE SEVERAL VIDEOS GOING IN DEOTH ABOUT THESE RIGS AND SETUPS

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xperiencing a violent weather event out on the water can weaken the knees of even the most experienced boater and can deter your guests from ever stepping foot on a boat for the rest of their days. Understanding the weather can make the difference between a safe and pleasant day on the water or a stressful day that can end in tragedy. Living in our region requires that every boater become “brilliant on the basics” of weather forecasting. Here’s how to know what’s coming before you leave the dock.

As with any critical element of safe boating, weather forecasting should become part of your pre-underway routine. The prudent captain needs to be vigilant of weather conditions by employing a blended use of tools, including your eyes. One key indicator of changing weather is offered by clouds. Clouds provide visual evidence of changing conditions within the atmosphere. They are key indicators of what present weather conditions are and what may occur in the next 2-24 hours. Clouds are made up of water droplets, ice crystals, or both. Their makeup varies with temperature, and they are found mostly in the lower portion of the atmosphere called the troposphere. When boating in our area it is critical that the captain stay vigilant of changing weather conditions. It’s also critical that he or she is capable of identifying at least one key cloud that is usually an indicator of impending violent weather conditions, the cumulonimbus or Anvil Cloud.

This stand-alone cloud is hallmarked by its flat top that forms at the top of the cloud. The “anvil top” of a cumulonimbus cloud is actually caused by it hitting the stratosphere, the second layer of the atmosphere. Since this layer acts as a “cap” to convection the cooler air temperatures at its top discourage thunderstorms, the tops of storm clouds have nowhere to go but outward.

Strong winds high up fan this cloud moisture out over great distances, which is why anvils can extend outward for hundreds of miles from the parent storm cloud. Cumulonimbus is normally associated with heavy rain, snow, hail, lightning, and tornadoes and their anvil usually points in the direction the storm is moving. When you see anvil clouds and feel the telltale cool air on a warm day, it may betime to find immediate shelter or return to port.

Clouds and wind are two most important factors in short-period weather forecasting but they are not the only source of data available to the captain.

In summary, every boat captain is charged with the responsibility of knowing what conditions are expected for the duration of their intended voyage, before leaving the dock. With all of the technology available to us, knowing the weather, including what advisories, watches, and warnings are contained in the marine forecasts is easy to obtain and is a critical ingredient to a safe day on the water. Remember, if the weather is dicey, make the right decision to not leave the dock, there will always be another day.

Contributed By: Capt Jack Sanzalone Jr. 8 ALABAMA GULF COAST

APRIL 2024

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FEBRUARY 2024

ALABAMA GULF COAST 9

Alabama

This dish is a delightful combo of fried flounder and shrimp scampi. We fried the fish first and held it in the oven set to warm while we prepared the scampi and pasta. As long as the fish is on a rack, it won’t get soggy in the oven.

Kitchen Delights

By: Sean Varone

Panko Fried Flounder Scampi

I

n early spring, flounder fishing in South Mississippi and Alabama can be very productive as the water begins to warm up. Look for flounder in shallow waters near marshy areas, sandy bottoms, or around structure like docks and piers. They tend to be more active during the warmer parts of the day, so fishing during mid-morning to early afternoon can be effective. Use live bait such as finger mullet, mud minnows, or shrimp, and consider using artificial lures like soft plastics like the Hoodwink from Southern Salt Bait Company.

Pay attention to tidal movements and target areas with good water flow for better chances of success as flounder are strictly ambush predators! They look for bait being pushed by currents! When you catch a good one or two, consider this recipe, as it’s a dandy!

1 lb flounder filets 2lbs jumbo shrimp, cleaned Eggs for breading Canola oil for frying flounder Olive oil for scampi sauce Panko, we used Italian seasoned panko Linguine 1/2 cup finely diced onion 10 oz grape tomatoes 1 bunch Italian parsley, chopped 5 cloves garlic, minced Juice of 2 lemons, plus zest from 1 1/2 cup butter, cubed 1/3 cup dry white wine, we used a Sauvignon blanc from New Zealand 1/3 cup seafood stock Your favorite Cajun seasoning Red pepper flakes, a pinch or as much as you’d like for heat Frying the flounder: Boil water and get linguini cooking while the flounder is frying. Drain the pasta and let it hang out in a colander while you cook fish and sauce.

Heat canola oil in a large skillet over medium heat.

Set up a breading station with eggs, seasoned panko, and your dried flounder filets.

Bread and fry flounder until crisp and cooked through. Should take around 2 mins per side.

Carefully place fried flounder on a rack and set in warm oven while the pasta and sauce is cooked. We put the founder on the air fry pan that came with our oven and it stayed perfectly crisp!

Clean your frying pan so you can make the sauce in it.

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Preparing Scampi sauce: Season shrimp with your favorite Cajun seasoning; we used Slap Ya Mama in the yellow container.

Add a tablespoon or so of olive oil to your pan and sauté shrimp until it turns pink. It will have time to finish cooking in the sauce so don’t overcook. Set shrimp aside.

Add onion to pan and cook over medium heat until it begins to brown and break down.

Add tomatoes to pan and cook until til they begin to burst and get wrinkly Add garlic and red pepper flakes and cook for around a minute; you just want it to get fragrant and not burnt.

Add wine, lemon juice, and stock, cook til it reduces by half.

Add butter and cook til the bubbles settle Return shrimp to pan and toss in the sauce. Let the shrimp warm through completely to finish any cooking they may need.

Cut the heat and add parsley, lemon zest, and seasoning of choice.

Add linguini to sauce in pan and toss to coat the pasta completely.

Serving: Use tongs to make a nice twirled nest of pasta on your plate and place a fried flounder filet on top of the pasta. You can also add grated Parmesan to your panko crumbs and over the scampi pasta if you’d like. Enjoy!

Alabama Aquarium 2023 01 Coastal Angler Mag copy.pdf

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APRIL 2024

ALABAMA GULF COAST 15

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16 ALABAMA GULF COAST

APRIL 2024

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WORK THE EDGES A

SPRING INSHORE ACTION

By Capt. Michael Okruhlik

PHOTO COURTESY OF KNOCKIN TAIL LURES®.

FOR

s the seasons change, so should your fishing locations and tactics. In my quest to target larger trout and reds, I modify my approach slightly versus what I have been doing for the past three or four months.

However, depending on the weather, spring can be a tricky time to find solid and repeatable patterns. With the water temperature swings, the fish begin to move from winter to spring areas. But a slight cold front will send them right back to their winter patterns, and it will keep you on your toes.

The first major transition is from mud to a firmer sand bottom. In my area, the prominent structure will still be grass, but the base sediment will change. If your area structure is shell or rocks, you will still want to find harder sand. According to biologists, the primary reason for this is the winter forage, primarily mullet, find their food source in the mud during the colder months.

We all know fish follow the bait, and that is why we target trout and reds on softer bottoms in the winter. As the water warms, the next generation of perch shrimp and other species hatch and will be found in structure with a firm bottom. In my area, that will be grass.

Now that we know where to fish, let’s cover the how. In spring, staying tight to the cover is important. It is imperative for juvenile forage to stay in tight schools and intermingled in the structure for survival. Keeping your lure near the grass, shell, or wherever you are fishing will be critical to success. I target the borders where sand and grass meet. Each area will vary depending on if it is predominantly sand or grass. If it is mostly grass, I concentrate my efforts casting into the grass and working my lure into the sand, paying attention to the edge and giving the fish time to find my lure at that intersection. On the other hand, if it is mostly sand, I will target the grass patches and once again the edge.

Spring allows us to utilize a wide range of lures. Soft plastics danced along the bottom or topwaters skated across the surface can both be effective, depending on the mood of the fish. This will be determined by water temp and the passing of late-season cool fronts.

Whatever lure you decide to use, concentrate on the edges of the available cover to increase your odds of having a productive day. As always, take a kid fishing; you just might learn something.

Capt. Michael Okruhlik is the inventor of Knockin Tail Lures®, and the owner of www.MyCoastOutdoors.com.

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FISHING THE SECOND SHIFT

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Tim Barefoot

pring is one of my favorite times of year for many species on the inshore menu, including red drum, snook and trout. I usually fish at night for several reasons including my “day job,” which keeps me occupied for a vast majority of daylight hours. I guess I could become a weekend warrior, but I’ve noticed the best weather typically doesn’t occur on weekends. There’s an old saying that goes something like this: “You know what happens after two days of really crappy weather?”

“MONDAY!” All joking aside, I believe the best bite for older, wiser, heavily pressured fish is at night. They’re a little more at ease after the sun goes down and the boat traffic lets up.

This is when the big girls let their guard down and come back into shallower water to feed. Wherever you find shrimp and small mullet along the edges is a good place to take advantage of aggressively feeding redfish, trout or snook after dark. The patterns are similar for all of them.

Just before dark is a good time to get situated to the rising or falling tide and the water clarity, which might be affected by

frequent rains this time of year. Get used to your surroundings and how fast the current is running. Keep the lights low, and allow your night vision to kick in as darkness settles.

Music on the boat is fun, but this is a situation when you’ll want to be quiet. Don’t play the radio loud or stomp around on the deck. Close your coolers and hatches quietly. Try not to talk are laugh too loud. Sound travels extremely well in the water, and when the rest of the world is quiet, the noise you make is even more startling to the fish.

I don’t even use “spot lock” on the trolling motor at night in shallow water.

I think fish have learned to associate the sound of trolling motors with the presence of a boats and humans… just saying. Make your own choice here.

Color selection is a very important at night. Dark colors, especially with shrimp lures, work better at night, especially when there is a bright moon. It might sound crazy, but dark colors are silhouetted by the moonlight and are easier for fish to see. Dark brown, purple and black can be extremely hot on nights with a full or nearly full moon.

I’m partial to shrimp imitations, and a lot of times I’ll suspend one under a glowin-the-dark cork for night fishing. That cork carries it along perfectly with the current and you can keep your eyes on where your bait is, which is one of the difficulties of fishing at night.

If you’re like me and have a job that keeps you occupied during the day, consider fishing the second shift. You might be pleasantly surprised.

See more from Tim Barefoot at barefootcatsandtackle.com.

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APRIL 2024

NATIONAL 11

C CHASING BACKCOUNTRY COBIA in the Keys

By A. deGruchy

obia are robust, daring, and always up for a challenge. You know you’re in for some fun when you spot them cruising near the surface, sometimes in pairs or groups, hounding baitfish like a wolfpack or drawn in by curiosity at the action around your boat. If you’re geared up and ready for them, a little finesse will have you luring them in like a pro.

Location is key. When fishing for cobia in the backcountry here in the Florida Keys, we look for them to be around structures, wrecks and floating debris, often roaming the same areas in groups. They’re not pickiest eaters. Pitch a live bait out in front of them, and they’ll usually eat it, and we’ve also had great success with a Savage Gear RTF 3D Shrimp.

The action when using these Savage Gear shrimps is a hard jerking lift, then letting your shrimp fall, mimicking a shrimp’s natural actions. For the battle, the optimal gear is at least a 4500 reel, but you really don’t need more than a 6500, and we always trust our Penn Authority and pair it with a medium/medium-light Carnage III Rod for maximum control and power.

The most important thing to remember when hooking a cobia is to be ready, as it’s very common to spot “following” cobia. They often travel together and like to investigate what your hooked cobia is doing and eating. These “followers” can lead to an epic double header, but only if you have enough rods rigged and ready on the boat and hands to cast them.

Cobia are known for powerful runs, often scoping up and switching directions in a split second. Keep calm, adjust your drag, and let them exhaust themselves.

Stay alert as you reel in your cobia, as they are known for sudden maneuvers, and will sometimes dart under the boat in a heartbeat. And the fight doesn’t end even after you’ve gaffed a cobia. Exercise caution when you bring them over the rail and onto the deck because they often cause havoc on the boat. It’s best to tire them out completely during the fight to minimize potential damage.

Since regulations frequently change with cobia, staying informed is important.

One keeper cobia can feed a lot of people. Their meat is known for its steak-like texture and delicate flavor, perfect for a mouthwatering sear with butter and seasoning.

For the best shot at spotting a cobia, consider booking a full-day charter. This helps your chances to see one, and the timing should be pretty solid for in the upcoming weeks.

Book a charter at www.beansportfishing.com and follow their cobia adventures at “Bean Sportfishing TV” on YouTube.

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APRIL 2024

NATIONAL 13

PRE-SPAWN FISH BREAK STATE RECORDS

A

he had a heavy fish when it hit, but he didn’t realize it was a potential record perch until it surfaced.

The fish was 14.25 inches long.

They must grow perch bigger in Georgia. On Feb. 18, Emerson Mulhall caught a huge 16-inchlong, 2-pound, 9-ounce yellow perch that tied the existing state record set in 2013. Mulhall, who usually bass fishes at north Georgia’s Lake Burton was initially confused, because the fish he’d hooked didn’t fight like a bass. When he realized it was a perch, his father convinced him to get off the lake and go get it weighed on certified scales.

The all-tackle world record yellow perch is reported by IGFA to have weighed 4 pounds, 3 ounces. That fish was caught in New Jersey in 1865.

For more record fish, go to coastalanglermag.com.

TIPS FROM A PRO

long with blooms on the trees and frogspawn in the ponds, the annual rites of spring include an uptick in anglers reporting heavyweight catches.

A spate of recent record catches marks the transition to longer days, warmer weather and spring-spawning species putting on weight. In Indiana, an angler caught a monster 8-pound, 4-ounce smallmouth bass that crushed the existing state record by a pound. In Kentucky and Georgia, two anglers boated big yellow perch. The Kentucky perch set a new state record, while the Georgia fish earned the angler a tie for the heaviest perch ever caught in the Peach State.

In Indiana, angler Rex Remington caught his big pre-spawn smallie on March 3 at Monroe Reservoir. The fish was weighed on certified scales in the presence of Indiana DNR officials before being released. The new record was adopted a couple weeks later and is listed at 8 pounds, 4 ounces, beating a record that had stood since 1992. The all-tackle world record smallmouth weighed 11 pounds, 15 ounces. It was caught from Dale Hollow Lake, Tennessee in 1955.

Smaller, but no-less-impressive, Lynn Bumgardner caught his 1.58-pound Kentuckyrecord yellow perch at Lake Barkley on March 2.

It beat the existing 1.44-pound record caught in 2010. He was trolling grubs for crappie and knew

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HOW TO FIND AND TARGET THE POST-SPAWN FEED

advantage of bait schools. I have seen them group up and attack shad, perch and alewife schools and any other bait that is readily available.

Typically, I do a lot of my searching for these things with my electronics and forward-facing sonar, which is a very helpful tool for learning fish activity and seeing what’s going on under the surface of the water.

TYLER WOOLCOTT Most of the time you don’t necessarily need electronics. You can use n some parts of the country, the bass spawn is clues visible to the naked eye to help you find this “feed” that is going already coming to an end like it is down here in on. Birds feeding on the water is an awesome sign of a feeding frenzy, Florida. In others the post-spawn might not start up for another and it’s one thing I always look for. Also, always keep your eyes peeled couple months. Regardless of your phase, this post-spawn fishing tip for fish blowing up on the surface or shad flickering under the surface. should help you dial in your fishery when the time is right for you.

Sometimes the very smallest clue can lead you to much larger picture.

One thing is the same for every fishery and every species of bass Birds standing on specific banks, the sound of bluegill popping around after they spawn, they are hungry! vegetation, anything that clues you in This can create some awesome and fun to bait in the area usually means the fishing opportunities. Post-spawn bass bass aren’t very far away. have provided some of my best days on Hopefully this tip will help you the water. when the fish in your area get into the Typically, after the largemouth bass post-spawn feed. Find the bait, and you spawn, there are other fish that begin will find the bass! their spawn. I’m not a scientist, but I’m I try to imitate the prevalent sure this has a lot to do with the specific baitfish with whatever kind of lure timing of why bass do their thing when I’m throwing. For bluegill eaters, they do. In most areas of the southern I will throw a frog or a swimjig in United States, bluegill and oftentimes bluegill colors. For shad eaters, I will shad start to spawn very shortly after throw white or silver topwaters and the bass finish up. After a long couple crankbaits. weeks or months protecting eggs in the Always match the hatch if possible. shallows, bass use every advantage they Good luck out there this season, and can to feed when these baitfish group tight lines! up, and this can make for some fun Tyler Woolcott is a professional fishing. tournament angler and guide.

Smallmouth bass and spotted bass Check out his website at in the post-spawn phase are very similar www.tylerwoolcottfishing.com. to largemouths when it comes to taking

I

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APRIL 2024

NATIONAL 15

READY FOR

RED GROUPER

By Will Schmidt

W

ith gag grouper closed until late summer for many of us, it is time to be out looking for red grouper to fill our tacos this spring and summer. Fortunately, they are aggressive eaters if you’re willing to make the extra effort to go to their feeding grounds. In general, to get to decentsized reds, you’ll need to head a bit farther out, with the best fishing being found in 80 feet or deeper, especially as the water warms. You are still looking for the same type of environment; Swiss cheese bottom, ledges and artificial reefs can all hold good numbers of quality fish.

The tactics are the same and simple. They will eat dead or live bait in most cases. That said, I found a combination of the two to be the best bet. I like to start with “stinky bait.” Dropping some frozen squid or menhaden is a great way to get the bite going. Once the bite starts, which is usually quickly if they are around, I like to switch to palm-size live pinfish to entice the bigger fish. While dead bait and jigs will certainly get you keepers, the larger fish are quicker to hit a live bait.

Rigs are simple. Circle hooks must be used with natural bait and 5/0 to 7/0 hooks will do the trick. I prefer to use about 2 feet of leader, then a swivel and my weight, and a knocker rig will also work. A minimum of 50-pound fluorocarbon leader is recommended, as they will run for a hole in the rocks once hooked. Keep a close eye on your leaders, as they tend to get chaffed when the fishing is good.

Even though red grouper are typically smaller than gags, I still use my goto big grouper set up, as at these depths you could get a big gag or other sea monster. Fortunately, new lighter combos like the Accurate BV600 reel and 70H rod make a full day of fishing more fun and less fatiguing. These two-speed reels have a patented twin drag that will stop the hardiest of fish, and with that winching power you can use a lighter more parabolic rods to handle the biggest of bottom fish. Line is important too. The lack of stretch in braid is a must for landing big grouper. A minimum of 65-pound test, and a metered braid like the Nomad Panderra 8x is great for knowing how close you are to the bottom.

Moreover, these rods are sensitive enough to do double duty as trolling rods for kings, sails and mahi.

While they might not be quite as big as some of their cousins, red grouper are great table fare, and it is hard to turn down a grouper taco, no matter what variety it is.

Will Schmidt is a seasoned tournament angler who has been writing about fishing from more than two decades.

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