Do red grouper in the Gulf get tagged occasionally?
I was diving/spear fishing on Monday and swear I saw a yellow "tag" on the back of a red grouper. It was maybe 18" in size (so I didn't shoot) but just thought it was odd.
I was diving/spear fishing on Monday and swear I saw a yellow "tag" on the back of a red grouper. It was maybe 18" in size (so I didn't shoot) but just thought it was odd.
Replies
My posts are my opinion only.
Be thankful we're not getting all the government we're paying for. Will Rogers
Yeah, it was in 60 feet of water so definitely could have been orange but washed out a little. Pretty cool to see, but definitely not 20" so I'm glad I didn't shoot it
It is a learned skill. I won't lie and say I've never shot a short fish, though it happens a LOT less than it used to when I was starting. Now I don't pull the trigger unless the fish looks HUGE to me, and with hogfish there are ways of knowing they are male and that almost always means they are legal. Gags are tough because some of them LOOK big due to their girth, but they aren't long enough. The really long, thin ones often look too small but they aren't.
I do wish FWC would give us a LITTLE slack on fish size when spearing - like say 5%, to account for this, or for shrinkage, etc. Maybe for just one fish in a batch, so that way you don't end up pitching a 23.5" over the side for the sharks.
That's exactly what he looked like.
and tag fish: