These are just a few different species we could run into when fishing these great waters off the Westcoast of Florida. The truth is you never really know what kind or how big of a fish you hook, till you get them to the boat. Enjoy reading about our great fishery.

Tarpon:

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

There are two species of Tarpon, one native to the Atlantic, and the other to the Indo-Pacific oceans. They are the only members of the family Megalopidae and genus Megalops.

Tarpon are large coastal fish growing up to 8 feet in length. They are large-headed, relatively slender silver-sided fish with extremely large scales.

Tarpon are prized by anglers for their leaping, head-shaking fight. However they have little to no food value and are normally released un-harmed.

When swimming in oxygen-poor water, tarpons can breathe air from the surface using their swim bladder as a primitive lung. They have leptocephalic larvae similar to those of eels, which float in surface waters before taking on the adult form, at which time they migrate to inshore waters where they mature before returning to the ocean .^[2] The genus name derives from the Greek adjective μεγάλος - megalos meaning "large", and the noun ὤψ - ops, meaning "face".

Snook:

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The common snook (Centropomus undecimalis) is a species of marine fish in the family Centropomidae of the order Perciformes. This species is native to the coastal waters of the western Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea, from southern Florida and Texas^[1] to Rio de Janeiro in Brazil.

One of the largest snooks, C. undecimalis grows to a maximum overall length of 140 cm (4 ft 7 in) and a maximum recorded weight of 24 kg (54 lb). Of typical centropomid form, it possesses unremarkable coloration except for a distinctive black lateral line. It may also possess bright yellow pelvic and caudal fins especially during spawn.

Occurring in shallow coastal waters (up to 20 m [66 ft] depth), estuaries, and lagoons, the fish often enters fresh water. It is carnivorous, with a diet dominated by smaller fishes, and crustaceans such as shrimps, and occasionally crabs.

Considered an excellent food fish, the common snook is fished commercially and raised in aquaculture although it is not available for sale in the US. It is also prized as a game fish, being known for their great fighting capabilities.

Three United States Navy submarines have been named for this species, USS Robalo (SS-273) and USS Snook (SS-279) in the Second World War and USS Snook (SSN-592) in the 1950s.

The common snook is also known as the sergeant fish or róbalo. It was originally assigned to the sciaenid genus Sciaena; Sciaena undecimradiatus and Centropomus undecimradiatus are obsolete synonyms for the species.

Redfish (Red Drum):

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Red Drum (Sciaenops ocellatus), also known as Channel Bass, Redfish, Spottail Bass or simply Reds, is a game fish that is found in the Atlantic Ocean from Massachusetts to Florida and in the Gulf of Mexico from Florida to Northern Mexico.^[1] It is the only species in the genus Sciaenops. The red drum is a cousin to the Black Drum (Pogonias cromis), and the two species are often found in close proximity to each other, they can interbreed and form a robust hybrid, and younger fish are often indistinguishable in flavor.^[2

Red Drum usually occur along coastal waters. Three year-old red drum typically weigh six to eight pounds. The largest one on record weighed just over 94 pounds. When they are large they are called Bull reds, although most people do not find the large ones good to eat.

Mature Red Drum spawn in near shorelines. Juvenile red drum typically inhabit bays and coastal marshes until they reach maturity between 3 and 6 years of age. They will readily accept any bait but prefer Menhaden, Shrimp, Mud Minnows and crabs. Red Drum are relatives of the Black Drum and both make a croaking sound when in trouble.

The most distinguishing mark on the red drum is one large black spot on the upper part of the tail base. Having multiple spots is not uncommon for this fish but having no spots is extremely rare. Scientists believe that the black spot near their tail helps fool predators into attacking the red drum's tail instead of their head, allowing the red drum to escape

Speckled Seatrout:

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia 

The spotted seatrout also known as speckled trout,or spotted weakfish (Cynoscion nebulosus) is a common estuary fish found in the southern United States. While most of these fish are caught on shallow, grassy flats, spotted seatrout reside in virtually any inshore waters, from the surf of outside islands to far up coastal rivers, where they often come for shelter during cold weather. Contrary to its name, the spotted seatrout is not a member of the trout family (Salmonidae), but of the drum family (Sciaenidae).

These fish have large, prominent canine teeth; dark back with grey or silvery sides marked with scattered ocellated black spots of varying size. Plain black spots are also present on the dorsal and tail fins. Its shape and coloration is reminiscent of a brown trout (Salmo trutta), hence the name. In stained water, this fish's background may take on a golden hue.

The average size of these fish is 0.5-1.0 kg (1-2 lb), but in most areas fish up to 2.5 kg (5 lb) are fairly common. 3.5-4.5 kg (8-10 lb) fish are rare. World record is 7.9 kg (17 lb 7 oz). These fish are active most at dawn and dusk. A proven catching technique is at dark to throw out a glow stick into the water and cast around it as these fish are attracted to light (see Fishing light attractor). Shrimp is ideal bait.

Like all members of the drum family, mature males produce a "drumming" sound to attract females during the spawning season (May through early September). This fish is often found in shallow tidal creeks near flooded salt marshes, where it feeds mainly on shrimp and small fish. Spotted seatrout are also know to congregate heavily over oyster reefs. It is fished both commercially and recreationally.

The spotted seatrout makes for excellent tablefare with a firm, white meat.

This fish is more commonly referred to as "speckled trout" by coastal fisherman along the Gulf of Mexico. Residents of Florida and coastal Georgia commonly refer to it as simply "trout." The shorter alias, "specks," is also used.

Grouper:

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Groupers are teleosts, typically having a stout body and a large mouth. They are not built for long-distance fast swimming. They can be quite large, and lengths over a meter and weights up to 100 kg are not uncommon, though obviously in such a large group species vary considerably. They swallow prey rather than biting pieces off it. They do not have many teeth on the edges of their jaws, but they have heavy crushing tooth plates inside the pharynx. They habitually eat fish, octopus, crab, and lobster. They lie in wait, rather than chasing in open water. According to the film-maker Graham Ferreira, there is at least one record, from Mozambique, of a human being killed by one of these fish.

Their mouth and gills form a powerful sucking system that sucks their prey in from a distance. They also use their mouth to dig into sand to form their shelters under big rocks, jetting it out through their gills. Their gill muscles are so powerful that it is nearly impossible to pull them out of their cave if they feel attacked and extend those muscles to lock themselves in.

Snapper:

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The mangrove snapper, Lutjanus griseus, is a snapper in the family Lutjanidae. It is also known as the grey snapper, black snapper, mango snapper, or cabellerote.

Its color is typically greyish red, but it can change color from bright red to coppery red. It has a dark stripe running through its eye if you look at it from the top when it is underwater. Its size ranges from 2–6 pounds (1–3 kg) but many biologists have now confirmed that a 29.5 pound (13.4 kg) mangrove snapper was speared off of the coast of Louisiana.

The mangrove snapper can be confused with the cubera snapper, Lutjanus cyanopterus. Mangrove snappers are typically much smaller than cubera, but when they are of similar size, the two species can only be distinguished by examining a patch of teeth on the inside roof of the mouth. Many specimens caught in Florida, specifically Punta Gorda, are actually misidentified Dogtooth Snapper, AKA Dog Snapper Lutjanus jocu. The best way to distinguish is that the Dogtooth Snapper has a lighter triangle of color with a blue band under the eye, and large, sharp fangs in the front, leading to its common name. These fangs can deliver a painful bite, even in a small fish. The mangrover snapper mostly feeds on small fishes or crusteaceans.