Key West Catch of the Week - Black Grouper

Although Key West has long since entered into the fall season, the amount of amazing catches that we see week in and week out is still as consistent as ever. The temperatures and weather have been pretty great lately, one of the primary reasons as to why there were a number of highlights among this weeks catches, particularly on our Key West specialty charters. Though there were many fine catches to take note of, the one that stood above them all was the large Black Grouper that weighed in at around 40-50 pounds. This Grouper was caught by John of Stuart, Florida, an angler that was visiting Key West for a weekend getaway just before the holidays roll around.

While there are a plethora of different types of Groupers, one of the most common in the waters of Key West is that of the Black Grouper. The Black Grouper is a species of fish that can weigh anywhere from five pounds up to over 200 pounds. Even at their smaller weights, Black Grouper are exceedingly strong and are tough to reel in once they are hooked. In fact, a 40 pound Grouper will easily give most anglers a decent amount of trouble when bringing it in, which is why the catch by John of this really big Black Grouper is so impressive. Black Grouper can be found all over the place in the Atlantic Ocean, but are more prevalent within southern waters in areas such as Key West. Though this species of fish can be caught virtually anywhere, they do prefer to swim closer to the surface, at a maximum depth of around 15 to 20 ft. They are commonly found swimming among seaweed and coral reefs, especially during the moments in which they are feeding.

One of the more unique aspects of the Black Grouper is that they are a protogynous hermaphrodite, meaning that they are mostly female when they are young and turn into males as they become older. As they can vary wildly in size, the food that this species feeds on is different in many cases, though most Black Grouper will feed on smaller fish and even squid, while younger Grouper will typically feed on crustaceans such as shrimp. It is during the time when they are feeding that they can be caught more readily than any other time, though they can still be tricky to reel in.

This species of fish is identified by anglers on our Key West specialty charters through the silver and grey hues of their bodies, as well as the black spots that adorn them. Black Grouper swim alone for much of the time, which is why it's rare to catch more than one at a time. As the weather in the area has made for some pristine fishing conditions lately, feel free to drop by Key West to see if your skills are good enough to reel in a haul worthy of our next Key West Catch of the Week!