10-12 Marble Grouper

Marble Grouper on Cosmoledo Island

You can see the smile on my face and maybe a bit of fatigue in my shoulders from pulling in this 12 lb. Marble Grouper. He/she had some heft to her, and it was a ride bringing her to the boat. She had a big belly which you can see from the impresssions of my right hand. Big, round fish. I forgot to ask her estimated age which I wish I had done.

Once I hooked her, I had to pull her away from the coral and then just a fun fight with a great fish. This fish really tried to take me into the coral, so I had to completely tighten the drag and turn his head. She put up a big fight and didn’t want to be landed. Things also got very hectic as we had a double hook up so there was some moving around the boat – always fun.

An interesting fact about Groupers is that they are protogynous hermaphrodites; that is, they function as females and later transform into males. They are prime food fish around the world and provide excellent sport fishing for anglers.

A few grouper species, however, may carry toxic substances produced by dinoflagellates that bioaccumulate in their flesh (increase in concentration at the higher end of a food chain) and can cause ciguatera, a rarely fatal form of poisoning, when consumed.

In Southwest Florida they are a staple on almost every restaurant menu as the quality of the meat is so adored. It is a soft white, flaky fish that can be made in many different styles, from Creole to Indian to a simple baked/broiled grouper. When I eat it, I tend to prefer blackened grouper.

This was on one of the days when we came into camp when the birds were so active and beautiful. It was incredible to see their activity over both water and their behavior in-flight and onshore and the sheer number of them. I put together a short video of the sound of the birds at night which you can see on You Tube at:

6-8-lb Bohar Snapper

Sheepshead