Catching Grouper
In Gulf Shores & Orange Beach
For those who want to catch a coveted reef fish other than red snapper, the gag grouper season opens September 1 in the Gulf. While you can find this species while targeting snapper, they are closer to the bottom of the shore and require more time and commitment to catch. However, grouper is one of the tastiest Gulf fish and is well worth the effort.
Fishing for Gag Grouper
What Are The Best Spots to Fish for Grouper?
What Are The Best Spots to Fish for Grouper?
Although you can find gags on spots with other reef species, this member of the vast grouper family usually prefers natural bottoms where rocks or ledges protrude from the bottom, which probably means a little longer boat ride. They also hang out on relatively large wreck sites in up to 500 feet of water, but you'd better have your heavier gear rigged up because they will run to the structure and cut you off if you can't stop that initial run. Many grouper anglers will use at least 80-pound-test braided line with a heavy fluorocarbon leader because monofilament line will stretch too much before you can control the fish.
What Are The Limits & Size Requirements for Gag Grouper?
What Are The Limits & Size Requirements for Gag Grouper?
The recreational angler limit on gags is two per person, four per vessel, with a 24-inch total length minimum size. The bag limit for captain and crew on vessels operating as a charter or headboat is zero.
What Are the Best Baits for Gag Grouper?
What Are the Best Baits for Gag Grouper?
Gags can sometimes be picky eaters, so it's best to take a variety of baits on the trip, including live bait like cigar minnows, hardtails (blue runners), and menhaden (pogies). If the grouper are in a biting mood, dead bait can also work. Anglers are required to use circle hooks when using natural bait. When you're using a circle hook, don't set the hook like you're bass fishing. You keep the rod tip low and reel and reel until you're sure that the circle hook has lodged securely in the corner of the fish's mouth.
Anglers must have a venting tool or descending device rigged and ready to use when fishing for reef fish species in Gulf federal waters. For more information, see the NOAA Descend Act.
What's the Difference Between Gag & Black Grouper?
What's the Difference Between Gag & Black Grouper?
Sometimes anglers have trouble distinguishing between gag and black groupers. The gag are gray to light brown with darker wavy markings that create a marbled look on the sides of the body. The key difference between the two is a bone in the cheek region. The front bone of the gill plate, which is shaped like a boomerang, can be the key. It is angular with a serrated spur on a gag, while on a black grouper, it is evenly rounded.
Can I Book a Fishing Charter for Grouper?
Can I Book a Fishing Charter for Grouper?
If you book one of the many charter boats in the area and schedule a trip for September, you can ask the captain to take you to spots where you can catch and keep both Alabama's iconic red snapper and gag grouper on the same trip. The charter boat red snapper season runs through October. So don't hesitate to plan to visit Alabama's beautiful Gulf Coast and head out to catch some of the best-tasting fish in the Gulf.
David Rainer
David Rainer has written about the great outdoors on the Alabama Gulf Coast for more than 20 years. For 14 of those years, he covered the many fishing opportunities on the Gulf Coast as outdoors editor at the Mobile Press-Register. He is past president of the Southeastern Outdoor Press Association and currently serves on the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council's Outreach and Education Advisory Panel and the Alabama Gulf Coast Reef & Restoration Foundation board.
