Big red snapper, like this one from the First Coast Offshore Rodeo, ranked high on the list of favorite fish to catch and eat.

A recent Florida Sportsman Forum Poll found that many of the most popular and “glamorous” gamefish are also the most appetizing. The poll asked Forum members to note their top-5 fish and shellfish to catch and eat in two lists, inshore and offshore. The correlation between popularity and taste was probably linked by more than just flavor, but we’ll leave that examination to those with the scientific and psychological aptitude—Florida Sportsman just gives you the facts.

Offshore’s top fish family was grouper. Many forum responses were with a general “grouper” label instead of a specific species, making it impossible to tabulate specific grouper species accurately. Therefore all the different groupers listed by some forum members such as gag, black, red and snowy were thrown into the same grouper classification. The next two top fish, tuna and then snapper, not coincidentally followed the same rule. Tuna included forum members who responded with yellowfin, blackfin, bluefin, or a general “tuna” tag. Snapper included responses with red, mutton, lane, cubera and the general “snapper” label.

Some popular snapper species were not included in the general snapper aggregate. Mangrove snapper were considered an “inshore” species. Hog “snapper” are not actually a snapper, but a wrasse. And yellowtails don’t fall into place with the normal bottom-chunking techniques that catch other snapper.

Beyond the fish families, favorites included dolphin followed by wahoo. Dolphin and wahoo would have topped all offshore species if all three of the fish families were counted instead by specific species.

Inshore, two top gamefish, and different shellfish lead the pack. Snook was the outright winner. Maybe the hardest to fit in slot, savor the most on the tongue? Lobster and shrimp came in second and third respectively. Florida’s favorite flatfish came in fifth place behind the Bayou-standard redfish. Stone crab and mangrove snapper finished just after flounder. Trout and pompano, widely popular by some, did not tally top votes. To see the point system and all the species’ totals for both inshore and offshore, check out the description and numbers below.

Points were handed out for each of the top five fish/shellfish picked. A number one choice received five points, and a number five choice received one point. The intermediate choices—second, third and fourth—followed the descending point system of four, three and two points, respectively. We tabulated the votes on Nov. 20, but more votes keep coming in on the forum thread, http://outdoorsbest.zeroforum.com/zerothread?id=675762 in the Sportsman’s Kitchen section.

Fish/ Shellfish--Points

OFFSHORE

Grouper 167
Dolphin 142
Wahoo 110
Yellowfin Tuna 97
Cobia 81
Tuna 60
Snapper 58
Hogfish 57
Swordfish 54
Yellowtail Snapper 49
Red Snapper 40
Mutton 30
Blackfin Tuna 25
Kingfish 16
Triggerfish 16
Lane Snapper 15
Black Grouper 14
Scamp Grouper 13
Amberjack 10
Gag Grouper 8
Snowy Grouper 6
Cero Mackerel 5
African Pompano 5
Almaco Jack 3
Bluefin Tuna 3
Red Grouper 2
Porgy 2
Sailfish 1
Cubera Snapper 1

INSHORE

Snook 166
Lobster 131
Shrimp 113
Redfish 108
Flounder 92
Stone Crab 83
Mangrove Snapper 81
Scallops 56
Pompano 52
Trout 49
Tripletail 38
Sheepshead 33
Oysters 26
Spanish Mackerel 25
Blue Crab 23
Mullet 22
Black Sea Bass 9
Black Drum 8
Crab Claws 5
Permit 5
Clams 4
Whiting 4
Crab Claws 4