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Photo: Brian Gratwicke, CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Lachnolaimus maximus
How to catch Hogfish in Florida
Hogfish feed in 66–86°F water and bite best at 72–82°F.
45 pts · trophy at 22"Feeds 66–86°FBest 72–82°FIn season nowArtificial reefLedge / hard bottomWreck
About
The hog snapper: a pig-nosed wrasse the divers spear, and the finest-eating fish on the reef. Hard to catch on a hook until you learn it — small hook, live shrimp, on the bottom.
How to fish it
A #1 hook and a live shrimp on a light knocker rig, dropped onto the hard bottom around the patches. They root; the bite is soft.
What it eats
live shrimpfiddler crabssmall crabssand fleas
Live bait for it
Live shrimpUnder a popping cork or free-lined, hooked under the horn on a #1 to 2/0 circle hook; on a jig head for the bottom. The universal inshore bait.
Fiddler crabsA #1 hook through the back corner of the shell, dropped tight to the piling — the sheepshead bait.
Sand fleas (mole crabs)On a small circle hook or a pompano rig, digger-end first — the pompano and whiting bait.What to fish it with
the sizes that fish itLeader30–60 lb fluorocarbon
Hook2/0–7/0
Braid30–65 lb
The rule
not confirmed hereMinimum fork length and a short season on the Atlantic and Keys side; Gulf rules differ — confirm at MyFWC.
The current rule at MyFWC →Month by month, water by water
When hogfish is the story
The Panhandle
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The Big Bend & Nature Coast
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Tampa Bay & Sarasota
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Charlotte Harbor & the Islands
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The Ten Thousand Islands & Everglades
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The Florida Keys
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Miami & Biscayne Bay
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Palm Beach & the Treasure Coast
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The Space Coast Lagoons
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The First Coast
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