The Tampa Bay Times
After this upcoming Friday, spearfishermen and fishermen’s harvest list will have one less grouper to take. Recreational harvest of red grouper in federal waters of the Gulf of Mexico (Gulf) will close at 12:01 am, local time, on July 21, 2023. So, if you can get out before Saturday it will be your last chance to spear or catch a red grouper until 2024. Red groupers are out there but they are farther offshore in the heat of mid-summer than earlier in the year. In the last couple weeks, our divers found legal size red grouper in depths exceeding 80’ of water. The summer red snapper season is still open, but it will close at the end of the day on July 31st. The three-day weekend fall season will run every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday from October 6-8 to November 24-26. Some nice sized red snappers are on most of the hard bottom areas in depths over 80’. The big ones are in deeper water. We speared some in the past month that weighed in over 17 pounds in depths over 130’. The water in these depths has been very clear with a nice thermocline at the bottom. We found these snappers as far south as Naples, Florida and as far north of Hudson, Florida. Some cobia are still hanging out in the eastern Gulf. However, be aware because some have sneaked up on our divers swimming down limestone ledges instead of over their normal haunts, like ship wrecks, sinkholes and artificial structures.
- Jay Mastry - March 26, 2024
- Captains Corner, Gorta - March 23, 2024
- Dave Zalewski - March 12, 2024
