Gray or light brown with wavy markings on the side that generally do not form boxes or circles. Edges of fins are bluish. Color deepens to dark brown shortly after removal from water.
Can reach 50 pounds on deep offshore wrecks and ledges, and has been recorded to 80 pounds, but 20-30 is the usual maximum range, and most catches now fall between 2 and 12 pounds. Many juveniles are caught from inshore grass flats. World record 80 pounds, 6 ounces; Florida record 80 pounds, 6 ounces.
Excellent; firm white flesh; little red.
An aggressive striker and hard fighter at all depths.
Just about anything goes. Offshore bottom fishermen tend toward stout rods with 50- and 80-pound-test lines, but such “grouper digging” rigs are strictly necessary only in very deep water. Up to about 50 feet, lines in the 20-30-pound range are adequate and allow much more sport. Many anglers catch lots of Gags on spinning and plug tackle.This is also the best of the Groupers for fly fishermen, since they are frequently found in fairly shallow water and will eagerly take a large streamer fly. Hard- lure casters use leadhead jigs, mostly, while trollers rely on large deep-diving plugs. Live baitfish of various sorts are the best natural offerings—try Pilchards, Pinfish, Grunts or Sand Perch (Squirrelfish). Dead small fish and large cut baits also work well.
Still Fishing; Drifting;Trolling.
Found throughout Florida and Bahamas.
Both juveniles and adults frequent inshore holes and ledges, often on deeper grass flats. From there they can be found around structure at virtually any fishable offshore depth.
West Central Gag
Forum member releasegear and kids got out and caught some nice grouper in 70 feet of water.
Catch and Release Gags
Forum member OU-Pilot and friends recently trolled and caught some nice gag grouper, unfortunately it was out of season so the fish were released.
West Central Gag
Some happy anglers show off a nice gag grouper.
St. Pete Grouper
Lady angler with a nice gag grouper caught in St. Petersberg
Gag Grouper
Forum member sololobo30 got a nice 33" gag off the 10,000 Islands
Cedar Key Gag
Forum member Big Bend Brian with a chunky 31.5" gag grouper caught on frozen porgy.
Bottom Fishing Grouper
Forum member arunram got this end-of-season gag on the wahoo brand Big eye Jig while bottom fishing.
Gag Grouper
This grouper was gagging while being reeled up by FS forum member the BEAST.
Gag Grouper
A nice little gag grouper caught by Florida sportsman forum member klinger while on a fishing trip with his buddies.
29 inch Gag Grouper
Florida Sportsman Fourm Member J-Rod was able to pull up this nice 29 inch Gag Grouper while fishing offshore of Jacksonville in 60 feet of water.
Bradenton Grouper and Snapper
Florida Sportsman Forum Member JEIBE is shown here with his brother with plenty for the table with some Red Snapper and Gag Grouper.
Cape Coral Gag Grouper
Florida Sportsman Forum Member Hawkboat pulls in this nice Gag Grouper while fishing offshore.
St. Marks
Florida Sportsman Forum Member KayakMacGyver shown with his family holding up some Amberjacks and Gag Groupers. They also caught numerous snapper and seabass.
53 pound Gag Grouper
Florida Sportsman Forum Member Panhandler80 with this fat gag grouper.
Gag Grouper
Florida Sportsman intern Brenton Roberts holds this awesome gag grouper caught out of St. Lucie Inlet on a live sardine in 70 feet of water.
Jimmys Grouper
Jimmy Marquez caught this nice grouper fishing patch reefs in 25 feet of water.
Good Gag
Forum member caught this solid gag grouper off Homosassa on a ladyfish chunk
Bobby's Big Gag
We were about 90 miles off Sarasota in 225 feet. We caught several fish including huge red snapper which are out of season and were released. Several of the red snapper were over 20 pounds.
Boca Grande Gag
Patrick Chapin of Orlando with a keeper Gag caught 5 miles off Boca Grande in the first few days of grouper season.
Venice Gag
FS member perlman1234 with a nice gag grouper caught in 90 feet off Venice.
Memorial Day Gag
Lee Waldrop and Billy Joe Lovett Memorial Day 2013 Gag in 35' of water just 6 miles off Alligator Point Fl.
Nice Gag
Gag Grouper caught 6 miles offshore in Dunedin, FL on a frozen sardine. Julie Kielts
Rocked Up Grouper Tournament
Joshua Flamm caught this 42 lb "BlackBelly" gag grouper while fishing in the inaugural Rocked Up Grouper Tournament with Captain Brian Middleton.
Tampa Gag
Mason Moreno, Fall gag grouper, caught with 550 spinner 7 miles off shore, Tampa Florida with captain John Thomas, on 33 Invicible.
Gulf Gag
Josee Lanzi caught this grouper 30 miles off the coast on the Gulf
Gag Grouper for Evan
Evan Wells caught this gag grouper in 180 feet of water on a butterfly jig with his dad Branden.
Clearwater Pass Gag
Tyler Murcko's first gag grouper on a dead sardine.
Tampa Offshore
Gag grouper.
Good Day on the Water
The morning low tide didn't make catching pinfish easy. So we headed out to 60ft in choppy seas without much bait. Bounced around a couple spots until we located the fish. Hit a spot in 62ft and boxed 11 keeper Red Grouper up to 28" in about 45 minutes. Made a couple more stops to finish out our limit by 3:00 when the seas slicked off. We headed inshore with about an hour to kill so Trout were on the chopping block. Caught 12 legal Trout on gulp in about 30 minutes until the storms rolled in.
Offshore Grouper
Abby Speicher caught this grouper offshore.
First Gag Grouper
Erika Almond caught her first gag grouper in June on a fishing trip offshore in the Southwest region.
Are You Going to Eat That?
10 year-old, Kailei, caught this gag grouper while her dog, Sierra, looked on and drooled over the tasty fish.
Family Fishing Day
While fishing with his family offshore of the Stuart Inlet, Henry Andrade, 12, caught his first grouper. They caught this grouper and a few other fish while bottom fishing and using squid for bait.
Venice Beach Gag
Talk about a slick day offshore of Venice Beach, this nice gag grouper was surely a bonus to a beautiful day.
Katie and Casey
Looks like these grouper have no issues biting when the weather gets a little on the chilly side of things.
Father and Son Grouper
This little gag grouper made the day for a father-son fishing trip.
Gag Grouper
Smiles all around after landing this gag grouper caught while trolling a diving plug.
Rosemary's Gag
Rosemary White of Clearwater caught this gag the second day after season opened
Fort Pierce Gag
Jonathan DeWitt's gag grouper caught off Fort Pierce Inlet.
Beth's Gag Grouper
Beth proudly displays this healthy looking gag grouper on a calm day offshore.
Trevor's Gag Grouper
Before hitting the fillet table, Trevor shows off his impressive gag grouper catch.
Tim's Gag Grouper
Tim proudly displays his hefty gag grouper.
Shawn's Gag Grouper
Looks like a gag grouper duo.
Crystal River Gag Grouper
Hunter caught this nice gag grouper while fishing Crystal River.
Adam's Gag Grouper
FS Member Adam with keeper-class gag grouper.
Bob's Gag Grouper
Fishing isn't always bright and sunny, the seem to bite better when the weather is cold.
Cracker Gag
Self-proclaimed "Florida Cracker" Victoria Marlow holds her fat 32-inch gag grouper offshore Sarasota.
Panama City Gag Grouper
FS Member KayakMacGyver posted this gag double from Panama City.
Panama City Gag Grouper
FS Member Beck caught this gag grouper off Panama City.
Snapper and Grouper
FS Member reel stamas caught this large mixed bag off the Panhandle.
Rock Harbor
FS Member SIGN4U posted this pair of gag grouper caught by his wife out of Rock Harbor.
Crystal River Gag Grouper
FS Member Dragon60 caught this gag grouper caught off Crystal River.
Clearwater Gag Grouper
FS Member snowman caught this monster-size gag grouper in 70 feet, off clearwater.
Ponce Gag Grouper
FS Member Pegleg Pete posted this gag grouper from off Ponce Inlet.
Sebastian Gag Grouper
FS Member snapperscrapper posted this grouper photo from off Sebastian.
Gag Grouper
FS Member allout posted this 26-inch gag grouper caught near shore.
Nice Gags!
FS Member Phescador helped these kids catch two nice gags off the 10000 Islands.
Bonita Springs Gag Grouper
FS Member Rusty Trumpet helped land this gag grouper out of Bonita Springs.
Anna Maria Island Gag Grouper
FS Member Sagory posted this gag grouper photo, caught offshore of Anna Maria Island.
St. Pete Gag Grouper
FS Member JEIBE caught this hefty gag grouper off St. Pete.
Homosassa Gag
FS Member troutman57 posted this Homosassa gag.
Islamorada Gag Grouper
FS Member Captain Easy posted this gag grouper caught off of Islamorada.
Miami Gag Grouper
Florida Sportsman member Cudaman posted this gag grouper, caught on the Reward Won off Miami.
Miami Gag Grouper
Florida Sportsman member Cudaman posted this grouper, caught on the Reward Won off Miami.
Flamingo Gag Grouper
Florida Sportsman member Sierra Bravo posted this gag grouper caught near Flamingo.
10,000 Islands Gag Grouper
FS Member tg caught this gag grouper offshore from the 10,000 Islands.
Great Day for Grouper
Shawn Cassey and friends had quite the day bottom fishing for grouper out of Tampa
Great Day for Grouper
Shawn Cassey and friends had quite the day bottom fishing for grouper out of Tampa
Tampa Gag
Head at least 5 to 10 miles into the Gulf to get to the gag grouper grounds off Tampa.
Great Day for Grouper
Shawn Cassey and friends had quite the day bottom fishing for grouper out of Tampa
Gag Grouper Bag
FS Member sololobo30 posted this grouper bag from an offshore trip off the 10,000 Islands.
Flamingo Grouper
Florida Sportsman member Jeff Peteria caught this grouper out of Flamingo.
Marco's Gag Grouper
Chunks of bait or live baits attract gag grouper in Gulf Coast waters.
Cedar Key Gag Grouper
FS Member Big Bend Brian caught this gag grouper off Cedar Key.
Flamingo Grouper
Florida Sportsman member Canadian Julian Emond caught and released this grouper near Flamingo.
10000 Islands Gag Grouper
FS Member sololobo30 caught this nice gag grouper off the 10000 Islands.
Fort Pierce Grouper
When bottom fish are open to harvest, waters off Fort Pierce are hot.
Crystal River Grouper
Jeremy Johnson caught this nice gag grouper while fishing aboard MAKA KOA out of Crystal River with Captain Chris Ensing.
Middle Grounds Partyboatin'
This gag grouper was caught on a head boat at the Gulf Middle Grounds.
Tampa Gag
Rick Ramjohn's catch and release grouper was caught 8 miles off Fort Desoto
Gag Grouper Fishing
These Panhandle anglers landed this gag grouper during in-season.
Lovely Gag Grouper
Al's first keeper out of Crystal River.
Lipping Gag Grouper
A lip-gripper handles this fun size gag grouper.
First Catch of the Day
Terrance Pearson lands the first catch of the day, a gag grouper, while fishing offshore.
Gag Grouper Gamer
Gags are popular statewide. Find structure, find fish!
Ryan's Gag Grouper
Gag grouper caught off Fort DeSoto, on Florida's West Central Gulf coast. It was the 14th gag of the day for this angler and his crew.
Connor's Grouper
Gag grouper on Florida's Gulf Coast.