UTER
Photo: SEFSC Pascagoula Laboratory; Collection of Brandi Noble, NOAA/NMFS/SEFSC, Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Hyporthodus nigritus
How to catch Warsaw grouper in Florida
Warsaw grouper feed in 48–68°F water and bite best at 52–62°F.
90 pts · trophy at 50"Feeds 48–68°FBest 52–62°FIn season nowLedge / hard bottomWreck
About
The giant of the deep ledges: a four-hundred-pound black grouper of the abyss with a second dorsal spine like a mast, on the deep wrecks and rock in 300 to 1,000 feet. One per vessel, and a lifetime fish.
How to fish it
A whole fish on a big circle hook on a deep-drop rig on the ledge or the wreck; stand-up tackle or an electric, and a fight that takes a while.
What it eats
whole bonitobig cut baitlive jacks
Live bait for it
Bonito (cut)Whole on cable for tiger and bull sharks; fillets and chunks on the bottom for grouper and snapper; strips trolled for wahoo.
SquidStrips on a bottom rig for snapper, grunts and porgies; whole on a deep-drop rig.What to fish it with
the sizes that fish itLeader80–150 lb mono
Hook8/0–14/0
Braid65–100 lb
The rule
not confirmed hereOne per vessel within the deep-water grouper aggregate — confirm at MyFWC.
The current rule at MyFWC →Month by month, water by water
When warsaw grouper 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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