Looking for gulf fishing advice

[reelynew]

Hey All,

I'm hopefully headed to visit my folks in Florida this weekend and I would like to do a little fishing in the gulf.  I'll be near the Punta Gorda area and am thinking of trying some surf fishing for grouper near Boca Grande.  I would really appreciate any advice on what rigging and bait you all would recommend.

Thanks,

Matt

[JasonGotaProblem]

Are you driving or flying?
Do you wanna fish spinners or conventional/baitcasters?
Inshore or from the beach?
Are you looking for fun fights or table fare?
 Also do a bit of research before you dedicate half your cargo space to tackle or a significant portion of your time to grouper from shore. That's only really a thing during a brief portion of the winter. Maybe it's different down there but I suspect water temps are already too warm. If I'm wrong please someone let me know because i want grouper too.

Beyond that you need to decide if you're going for shark, snook/redfish, or tarpon. There's lots of awesome by-catch in those groups but those are the basic categories of Florida fishing near shore.

[reelynew]

Thanks Jason,

I'll be flying and using a spinner that I left at my folks fishing from the beach.  I'm looking for a meal.   

Each time I go down there, I have to have my fill of grouper and I was thinking of trying to catch it this time.

I used a chicken rig the last time I was there, but was curious if something else might be better suited for onshore fishing.

Thanks - Matt

[JasonGotaProblem]

Ok so going on what I have: 2/0 circle hooks, 20# flouro leaders, and live shrimp for inshore. Least weight you can get away with, with no weight being preferred.

Start scouting spots now. The first rule of florida fishing is that if you only have a brief time to fish, it'll be low tide. So start scouting deep water structure close to shore that you can hit during low tide. It's close enough to the weekend that you can preview what the wind will be doing.

[Gobi King]

Hey All,

I'm hopefully headed to visit my folks in Florida this weekend and I would like to do a little fishing in the gulf.  I'll be near the Punta Gorda area and am thinking of trying some surf fishing for grouper near Boca Grande.  I would really appreciate any advice on what rigging and bait you all would recommend.

Thanks,

Matt

Surf only? how about those fine fishing piers?

[reelynew]

Surf only? how about those fine fishing piers?

Yes, for sure pier fishing, but I was thinking it would be easier to keep the whole family happy on the beach for that outing.