The Shallow-Water Stout: Gag Grouper on the Flats

Most people think you need to go 50 miles out to catch a Gag Grouper, but around Punta Gorda, we have a unique “nursery” fishery. We find “grass grouper” right on the shallow flats and in the nearshore rock piles. These fish are incredibly powerful and will try to “rock you up” (pull you into a hole) the second they feel the hook.

Hunting the Holes

We don’t find these guys in open water; we find them where there’s a place to hide:

• Limestone Outcroppings: Small “rock piles” scattered throughout the harbor and nearshore Gulf.

• Deep Channel Edges: Where the flats drop off into the deeper shipping channels.

• Residential Canals: Some of the largest “backcountry” gags hang out under deep-water docks and seawalls.

Gear for the Grunt

• Heavy Light-Tackle: We use medium-heavy spinning gear with a lot of “backbone.” You need to be able to “turn the fish’s head” immediately, or he’ll wrap you around a rock.

• Lures: Large, deep-diving plugs or heavy lead-head jigs with big paddle tails. We work these right along the bottom, bouncing them off the rocks to get a reaction strike.

• Leader: I rig with 40lb to 50lb fluorocarbon. Between the rocks and the grouper’s abrasive mouth, you need the extra protection.