Wednesday, January 28, 2009

The Best Saltwater Fish In Florida

By David Spates

Florida has been known to be some of the best saltwater fishing in the world. With the tropical waters and hotspots like the Florida Everglades and the Keys you can not go wrong saltwater fishing in Florida.

The best thing about saltwater fishing in Florida is the amount of great game fish there are to be caught. Some of the popular inshore fish are snook, redfish, trout, mullet, sheepshead, bonefish and small sharks. Offshore favorites consist of mahi mahi, tarpon, marlin, swordfish, mackerel, grouper and snapper.

Snook are among the favorites for saltwater fishing inshore. Some of the reasons for this is that they make a great meal, and they put up one heck of a fight. If you are fishing for snook you will need a saltwater fishing license and also a 2 dollar snook stamp., there are also closed seasons for snook so check with the locals before you intend to keep one.

One of the offshore fish that anglers love to go after are mahi mahi, which are also known as dolphin fish. They are highly colorful with a steep forehead, they can get up to fifty pounds or more. You will have to go miles offshore to catch a dolphin, and the preferred method for getting them would be trolling.

One fish that can be found both offshore and inshore are snapper. The bigger snapper are of course found in deep waters offshore, while the smaller snapper family can be found inshore by docks, mangroves, or any kind of rocky obstruction. They are also very good to eat, just make sure they are in season when fishing for them.

If you are flats fishing and want a fish that will give you a fight you can try to go for some bonefish. For their weight they will fight harder than any saltwater fish there are, you will need some experience under your belt to land one of these, as they can strip a 100 yards of line off your reel in the matter of seconds.

Sharks can be found everywhere in Florida since there are many species of them here. Inshore you can find small black tips and hammerheads. If you go to deep waters you can find much larger sharks up to a thousand pounds, you will need heavy tackle to land one and should only be fished for by professionals.

These are just a few of the more popular saltwater fish that swim the waters of Florida, there are many more out there. If you are just beginning then I would recommend starting off fishing from a dock or a pier, and then work my way to offshore fishing.

If you must do some offshore fishing, you can round up some money and hire a captain. There are fishing charters up and down every single coast in Florida, do some looking around and ask a lot of questions. Find the captain with the best local reputation and you will catch the most fish. - 16928

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