New FWCC rules approved for gag grouper

The Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission last week bent to pressure from the federal regulators with the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council and agreed to match state gag grouper closures to those set by the council, with a shutdown from November 1 to June 30 yearly, a move the feds believe is necessary to restore the breeding stock of large adults in offshore waters.

The council and National Marine Fisheries Service officials had earlier hinted that they would tighten the rules in federal waters even farther if Florida did not agree to the current rules. Since the vast majority of gags are caught in federal waters, more than 9 nautical miles from shore, the threat was highly effective.

However, FWCC members also authorized Chairman Kathy Barco and Executive Director Nick Wiley to issue an executive order opening gag season in state waters off Taylor, Jefferson, Wakulla and Franklin Counties, including Apalachicola Bay and Indian Pass, for an April-May-June season, as a tradeout for opening the July-August-September-October season elsewhere in the Gulf.

The Big-Bend area has a noted shallow-water grouper fishery inside the 9-mile limit at depths from 8 to 30 feet, and local charter skippers, marinas and bait shops make an important part of their annual income from the spring bite. The ruling, if put into effect, will open these waters during prime time.

Elsewhere, anglers will have to deal with fishing during mid-summer when fish are far offshore and the bite is slow—as well as the threat of hurricane season. Some anglers say the rule will be the death of recreational reef fishing in most of west coast Florida.

Gag grouper harvest has been closed in the Gulf since November 16 of last year. Formerly, the season was closed only during the spawn, from Jan. 1 to March 31, with nine months of open season. The new regs will cut the open season more than 50 percent, a move which the federal regulators say should allow stocks to recover eventually.

Though small gags are abundant, federal scientists say numbers of adult males, which convert from females at about age 10, are extremely low on the offshore reefs, endangering the spawning cycle if more fish are not allowed to reach full maturity.

The bag limit is two gags daily of 22 inches or more as part of a four grouper limit in the Gulf. For more, visit .

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While keeping gag grouper won't be legal in state waters this spring, catching and releasing them is allowed, and with the early warm-up, it's likely that the "on-the-rocks" action that occurs from Hernando Beach north to Crystal River will kick in early this year.

Each spring, gags move onto the many rockpiles on this part of the coast, sometimes in water just 8 feet deep. Anglers catch them on large crankbaits and even on noisy topwater plugs, a real rarity with this bottom species.

Experts like Captain Mike Locklear of Homosassa use heavy spinning tackle and 50- to 80-pound braided line to control the powerful fish, which are likely to dive into the rocks and break off if not powered clear immediately.

Considerable chart study is advisable before you try this tactic on your own, because it's possible in this area to be motoring along five miles from the nearest shoreline and suddenly run up on a rock the size of a couch that's barely a foot under the surface.

The rocks not only hold gags, but sometimes cobia and large mangrove snapper, as well. The cobia hit the plugs, but the snapper usually want live shrimp, so take an assortment of baits if you go.

Nice thing about this sort of catch-and-release fishing is that the gags always survive thanks to the shallow water. When cranked up from the depths, they often die of a fishy version of the bends, but those caught at depths under 30 feet rarely have issues if not deeply hooked.

Catch-and-release fishing can also be very good inside Tampa Bay in spring, for those who troll the edges of the shipping channels with large plugs behind downriggers. Experts like Vance Tice advise suspending the lure up to 50 feet behind the rigger ball, and trolling just a bit faster than walking speed. The fish typically hang on the shoulder of the "ditch", which averages around 42 feet deep—the shoulder is nearer to 20, making a steep, often rocky ledge for the grouper to hide in.

This tactic is noted for turning up the occasional bull redfish and large cobia, as well, and while the oversized reds are off limits, you can invite the cobe' home for dinner while you wait for that distant summer gag season to arrive.