Florida's Toothiest Fish and How to Handle Them

The Sunshine State’s ichthyological diversity includes several species well equipped with sharp teeth. These mouth weapons mainly serve the various feeding styles, but consider this uncomfortable truth: any fish can and will bite you when given motive and opportunity.

The danger is real when saltwater fishing in Florida, but don’t let this painful potential dissuade you from enjoying the sport. Safety starts with recognizing the species most likely to lacerate and simply learning how to avoid such mishaps.

Here’s a look at the toothy fish anglers commonly encounter in Florida waters and a little advice on how to safely handle them.

Snapper

If you’ve ever wondered where the name originates, just note the frightening speed with which a hooked fish can open and snap shut their jaws. Mangrove snapper are the most commonly encountered species, as they range from mangrove basins, piers and seawalls to reefs, wrecks and ledges well past the 100-foot mark.

Others include red, lane, mutton, cubera, yellowtail, dog and schoolmaster snapper. Different paint jobs and slightly different profiles, but each with legit biting potential. Other toothy fish, like neighboring grouper, have larger mouths, but the snapper danger comes from that blink-and-you-missed-it speed.

And don’t drop your guard around the juveniles smaller than a hand length. Quick example: When a buddy spotted a small mangrove snapper in his cast net, he dumped the pilchards into his well and instructed me to remove the auburn fiend before he ripped up his fresh bait.

“He’ll probably back into one of the corners, so just run your hand along the edge until you find him,” my friend advised. The plan nearly worked, until that little snapper saw my approaching fingers and mounted a formidable defense.

Two tiny needles stuck right into my fingertip. I said some horrible things that I regret, but I learned a valuable lesson — never grab a snapper snout-first.

While we’re discussing snapper mishaps, extend your tooth avoidance to those razor sharp gill plates. With some fish, the gill flaps make a handy holding point (be careful to avoid touching the gills), but a snapper’s gill covers present sharp edges that’ll leave a nasty slice.

How to handle: For keepers, go hand-off. Hold the leader, grip the hook shank with pliers or a hook-out tool and shake the fish into the cooler. If you need to hold a snapper, come from below and grip the fish around the pectoral fins (I like to sit one of the pecs between my index and middle finger like a handle to prevent slipping.)

Mackerels

Kingfish, Spanish mackerel and cero mackerel of legal size often end up in the cooler, but for those bound for live release, consider this sobering truth: There’s a reason we use wire leaders.

No doubt, the same low-profile teeth used to slice through bait schools and immobilize prey will do a nasty number on wayward fingers.

How to handle: With rigid tails and stiff pectoral fins, the mackerels offer a safe and easy gripping plan. Hold Spanish, ceros, and small kings by the tail and use a hook-out tool or pliers to pluck the hook (same for bluefish and Atlantic bonito). Larger kings usually require a two-person effort — one holds, one dehooks.

Flounder

Again with the painful firsthand examples, but I can tell you from personal experience that a flounder is the most underestimated danger in the inshore realm. Compared to others on this list, they just don’t look like they pose much of a threat, but a painful experience forever changed my perspective.

While working a kids event staged at a Tampa Bay marina, the 7-year-old I was assisting caught a small flounder. Doing my best to hype the moment, I explained the flounder’s sideways form and use left index finger to extend the jaws and display the lateral mouth design. Well, suffice to say, that little flounder quickly ran out of patience and with astounding quickness, the fish snapped its jaws and punched my ticket on pain train.

When that teeny little flounder sunk its needle like teeth into my finger tip, it brought tears to my eyes. I’m a pretty good actor, so I played it off like I was emotionally moved by the child’s catch — ya know, special moment kinda thing. Pretty sure everyone bought it, but man, that hurt.

Think about it — these flat fish do their best feeding by laying on the bottom, flapping themselves under a layer of sand and ambushing passing baitfish or shrimp with eye-blurring speed. The whole deal happens in a split second, so the flounder’s feeding success depends on its snaring ability.

That’s where those thin, sharp teeth come into play. They’re equally adept at grabbing meals as they are at punishing awkward anglers. (Trust me.)

How to handle: Flounder have an upper side with the continuous dorsal fin and a lower side (where the jaws hinge) with a pectoral fin and a shorter continuous fin. Reach in front of that pectoral fin and grip across the gill cover, below the mouth.

Seatrout

Speckled, white, or silver trout may not top anyone’s list of hazardous species, but don’t downplay those sharp front teeth used for snaring and holding baitfish. Unlike the gulping style by which snook intake their meals, the trout’s relatively smaller mouth requires a grab-and-hold strategy. Those sharp teeth are the tools with which the fish accomplishes its daily feeding.

How to handle: Compared to a snook or a redfish, a trout is a soft body fish, so they’re easily harmed by firm grips. Good thing is, their thin mouths release hooks fairly easily. A good gripping point is right under the chin, where the gill covers meet — safe for the fish, convenient for the angler. For tougher hook removals, support a trout in the water at boat side and use needle nose pliers or a hook-out tool to free the fish.

Sharks

Pretty straightforward here; sharks are the apex predators wherever they roam. The combination of a super-limber cartilaginous body and a superior biting machine for a face makes these fish highly efficient hunters and really good at punishing careless types.

How to handle: Most anglers that catch bigger offshore/coastal sharks generally leave the shark in the water and cut/clip the leader as close to the fish’s mouth as possible. In the boat or on a pier/bridge, there’s only one rule: Keep your hand close enough to the head to prevent a wrap-around bite (remember, cartilage bends), but well away from the teeth.

In most cases, gripping over the gills (careful to avoid injuring the sharks breathing organs) and using long handle pliers or a hook-out tool works best.

Worth a mention, surf angler that haul big tigers, bulls, and hammerheads into beach shallows need to exercise extreme caution when dehooking these brutes. Sturdy pliers will help dislodge the circle hook, but if removable becomes too stressful for the shark and dangerous for you, use long handle bolt cutters to snip the hook so it backs out of the fish’s mouth.

Also, teamwork not only makes the dream work, it prevents serious injury, so make sure you have a couple of buddies controlling a big shark before getting anywhere near the business end.

Note: We gotta add nurse sharks here, even though they lack the traditional scary dental equipment. With crabs and lobsters high on their meal preference list, these ribbony fish with the cat-like elliptical pupils, have crushers in the back of their mouths.

The average angler will never see these shell-crunchers, but I’m reminded of a young, brash deck mate who, in an effort to “educate” (read: impress) charter clients, stuck his hand inside a toothless nurse shark’s mouth. His buddies brought him lunch in the hospital and shook their heads as they viewed his broken fingers.

Barracuda

“Wicked” may be the all the rage in theatrical circles, but the word also describes the cuda’s jumble of protruding choppers. Cudas have thicker caudal peduncles and softer tail/pectoral fins, but hold ‘em the same way you’d hold the mackerels and you’ll keep all your fingers intact.

Honorable Mentions

Along with our PSA on biting hazards, we should point out a few other commonly encountered fish with hazardous armament.

• Atlantic Bumper & Leatherjacket: Both members of the jack family, the short, stumpy former and the elongated latter sport sharp belly spines. Leatherjackets also have equally problematic dorsal spines. Dip nets are your best bet for clearing these trouble makers from your live well or deck, but when you catch them on sabiki rigs, use a hook-out tool to latch the hook bend, invert the hook and use the fish’s weight to drop free. If you must handle either of these fish, do so with a gloved hand and hold them by the tail.
• Doctorfish/Surgeonfish: Mostly Southeast Florida species, these members of the tang family sport sharp, blade-like protrusions on the caudal peduncle. A few years back, I caught a doctor fish on the Channel 2 bridge in Islamorada and the fish laid perfectly still until I tried to pick it up. With a quick flip, the doctorfish literally swung that little blade toward my hand. Coincidence? Maybe, but it seemed pretty intentional to me. Avoid this danger with the same tactics you’d used for the Atlantic bumper & leatherjacket.
• Pinfish: Aptly named for the pin-like dorsal spines, this is a popular inshore and offshore baitfish, but carelessly grabbing pinfish will leave you with a sore hand. Like snapper, gripping a pinfish over the shoulder area works well, while the hook-out tool is your best bet for pinfish caught on sabikis. Another option — with sabikis or other hooks, dangle the pinfish vertically, and line up your thumb with the fish’s chin and your fingers with the top of the head. Squeeze firmly and smoothly push your fingers along the dorsal ridge to collapse those spines.
• Sheepshead: Growing much larger than pinfish, the black and white striped member of the porgy clan sprouts dorsal and anal fin spines that look more like knitting needles. For safe handling, rest the sheepshead in your palm and grip around the pectoral area.
• Catfish: From the common hardhead catfish to the larger, gafftopsail cats, prominent, serrated spines anchor the dorsal and pectoral fins. Hands-free dehooking is best, but if you must grip a saltwater cat, reach from below, come from behind the pectoral fins and push them forward. This creates a secure zone to grip the fish while avoiding the spine points.
• Cobia: A row of retractable spines positioned forward of the primary dorsal fin pose a serious threat, especially from a caught fish flopping on the deck. Pompano, permit and palometa have similar spines. Fortunately, all of these species offer plenty of body space for secure grips.

With this and any of Florida’s toothy, spiny species, safety begins with awareness. From there, go slow and keep your hands and fingers clear of any trouble spots.

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