Golden Grouper

[phatdaddy]

my son had the day off, so we went grouper trolling. no luck, but managed to find this redfish. nice fight, but no good to eat. back he went.

gotta see what this new storm is going to do

[SkunkBoat]

Nice!

[Giorgio]

Pretty fish, well done.

[charlie_the_tuna]

I thought you guys ate them redfish?!?

[phatdaddy]

Florida has a slot limit of 18-27 inches. Can't keep them smaller or larger. Before that the best ones were bout 12-15 inches. They get a "muddy" taste as they get larger. That's why the cajuns started to blacken them, hide the taste.

This one was 30 inches, so pic and release.

[randlemanboater]

I regularly eat redfish with glee here in NC. Same slot limit here, but I really like them as close as 27 inches as you can get without going over.

Maybe the warmer water down there makes a difference in the taste?

[THEFERMANATOR]

I like the larger ones too. I know the taste varies alot by region.

[phatdaddy]

You can tell the one in this thread has been in the back country by the golden color, the one in the trick or treat thread has been in the bay closer to the gulf, more silver colored. Usually the silver ones are better tasting. I usually don't target redfish, so any i get is bycatch. I would always eat the smaller ones, but the larger ones were not as good to me.

My usual way to cook them was grilled, how do you guys cook them.

[THEFERMANATOR]

I've always been a fan of fried myself. I've got a recipe for oven fried that's pretty good fried flavor without the greasiness.

[randlemanboater]

My favorite way to eat them is sautéed in a little olive oil and sprinkled with a little old bay...sometimes lemon pepper instead of old bay.

My other favorite way is rolled in House Autry seafood breader and fried.

Most of the ones I eat come out of the surf, very silver in color.