SeaSerpent123 Posted April 8 Report Share Posted April 8 So this journey started 2 years ago when I wanted to apply for a goliath grouper tag. I had missed the small window to apply for them (October 1-10) so I proceeded to write it on my calendar for the following year which was the end of 2023. I logged in at 7:30 a.m. on the 1st and checked out not knowing if I would be awarded a tag or not. If not, it was just a small 5.00 fee for processing so no biggie. Sometime in February, I received a packaged from FWC with the kit and tag. I was pretty happy since only 200 people are able to win a tag. The season to harvest one is between March 1 - May 31st and they must be in the slot of 24" - 36" which is not a huge one but big enough. Well you all, we did fulfill the tag on Saturday the 6th. We joked about what we would do if we caught a 24" fish and sure enough, the first one to the boat was 24.5". We released it looking for one closer to 30". We played with blue fish (big school) and caught a few lanes for the box when another goliath....yes another 24.5" fish came up. We debated some but again released it looking for a bigger one. Then we started getting wrecked and losing rigs. Must have happened 2 to 3 times when we finally got one out and yep.....you guess it....fish was WAY to big. We estimated the fish to be mid 40 inch range. Nice catch and it kicked my butt. At this point, it had been a couple hours and I was started to think did we make the wrong move by releasing the smaller slot size fish. It was a gamble but it payed off. The very next goliath was the one we were looking for. It meassured 35" which it top of slot and fought me real good. We followed the tagging procedure, fin clipping etc and then took some pictures. I probably would not do this again as they really are a cool fish but I'm very happy we did it this one time. We ate a few pieces last night and it was fantastic, just like a groper only 2 inch thick filets which we butterflied in half. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jh141 Posted April 8 Report Share Posted April 8 Nice work Joe!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeaSerpent123 Posted April 9 Author Report Share Posted April 9 12 hours ago, jh141 said: Nice work Joe!! Thanks man, I was wore out that day. The big one which was right before had my heart pumping. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Waterman18 Posted April 9 Report Share Posted April 9 Awesome Joe.......What did it weigh? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeaSerpent123 Posted April 9 Author Report Share Posted April 9 Just now, Waterman18 said: Awesome Joe.......What did it weigh? That's the one thing we didn't do but I'm calling it 25 pounds. Might have been closer to 30 but I'd rather underestimate than over. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Dave Posted April 9 Report Share Posted April 9 Expensive dinner! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
THE OUTLAW Posted April 9 Report Share Posted April 9 Hear they taste great on a shell mound beach right around sunset .🌅 Strictly a rumor. 🇺🇸🏴☠️ 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wanaflatsfish Posted April 10 Report Share Posted April 10 13 hours ago, SeaSerpent123 said: Thanks man, I was wore out that day. The big one which was right before had my heart pumping. Heard they taste like Chicken great speaking with you Joe.....you knocked that one off the bucket list Should be a winner on your YouTube channel Your story of everyone looking at you as you walked to the cleaning table is priceless dc 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lemaymiami Posted April 11 Report Share Posted April 11 Years ago (another of those minor advantages of being in the "old fart" category...) the fishing club I belonged to had jewfish (what we called them back then) as a good part of any fish fry.. They were quite good eating - just not as white meat as gag or black grouper were in comparison.. This whole topic (the lack of proper management for juvenile, under 50lbs, goliath grouper in the Everglades... in particular... ) is a real sore point for me. I won't go into any detail - but a quick visit to Microskiff.com and a search for threads about the goliath will find what I've had to say about them - in more than one thread... Put simply - we're over-run with them in the backcountry, period. I've long advocated an open season for the smaller specimens - with biologists setting the slot size - and only one fish per boat per day, period - no commercial take... We're literally catching and releasing them any day we choose... while they displace other species that aren't protected at all... All that's needed is a live bait - and a willing angler. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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