[Waverunner]

I learned to dive in southwest florida in the 70’s.
I spearfished and collected specimens for my salt water aquarium with a slurp gun and net.
We would see Goliath Groupers ( they went by the name of Jewfish back then) 6-8 feet long at the old phosphate docks at Port Charlotte.
The best eating grouper are in the 40 to 60 pound range.
Larger grouper are usually full of worms.
Don’t keep the really big ones.
It is an awesome experience when a 140 lb 16 year old first encounters a 3 to 4 hundred lb fish that looks like it could swallow him. Adrenaline level elevated. Like encountering a large gator on a fresh water dive.
Ahhh for the good old days when common sense trailed intelligence by a wide margin.

‘

[11Bush]

Got my NASDS card in 1971 in Hollywood Florida. My instructor was a HPD diver. He was an extra on some of the Thunderball scenes, next to the guy that gets shot in the face with a speargun during the big battle shots. Remember finding myself in a huge school of Barracuda when I was diving the third reef off of Port Everglades, high pucker factor.

[Daffynition]

**Larger grouper are usually full of worms.**

EEEUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!

Just don’t eat it raw, is my advice.

[Damifino]

There are giant Goliath Groupers under just about every bridge and on every reef in the Gulf now. The moratorium on fishing them has been successful to the degree that there should be a 1/per season tag for purchase.

You/re right about them getting wormy - even the 10 pounders are riddled with worms at times, especially in the summer.

BTW that's not a Goliath (Jewfish). It's a Warsaw and legal to to take.

[PIF]

In the 60s the sport-fishing piers’ dumpsters were filled daily with the day’s catch - many took pictures with their trophies, then chucked them in the nearest dumpster - Jewfish, Grouper, Swordfish, varieties of Tuna, you name it.

Ahhh for the good old days ...