We were at the vet about 3:30pm on Tues and at least 2 of the Jews were there. We did not see them but we did hear them. They seemed to be taking extra care not to be seen. The one I was near started popping and I was not really even that close to the hold he was in.
Thanks, Use to hate GG for 30 years when I had a commercial lic and all I did was shoot fish and catch lobster. Always a pain in the Butt, trying to eat my fish or lobster. I have seen how they can clean a ledge out of all it"s lobster over night. They just swim up to the lobster and inhale them. I watched a video where one ate 10 big lobster in a row. They love lobster like the rest of us. I have noticed over the years when a GG moves into one of my ledges that is loaded with fish that the fish move off if it pretty quick. I am talking my Good shooting ledges where there will be 20 to 50 big (10 pounds or bigger) fish on it.
Kind of like the way Bull sharks leave about a minute before the tigers come in and even the tigers leave when the Whites come in or the smaller Whites leave before the Biggers whites come in. NO one wants to hang around and be the lower part of the food chain.
Had one GG take a kicking 40 pound cobia I free shafted out of my hands and swallow it on the Tarpon Tug. One of my friends shot a GG years ago and noted it was skinny. There was a turtle stuck in its mouth that it tried to swallow. Jim, The owner of Ocean Sports last week told me he had one the other day stalking his shot fish.
Where I sold my fish and lobster in the Keys the GG meat sold more per pound then the grouper did. I have a way of cooking it I learned from my dad where it taste just like the fresh lobster I catch. Think of a 20 pound chunk of lobster meat sitting in front of you with a bowl of butter!
I hope in these hard times no one is taking them for food.
TODAY with the charter business I LOVE THEM. BIG ticket draw for my divers. I now get a LOT more special request to dive the barges once the divers have seen our pictures and video we posted to our web site
Scuba Dive Florida - Tanks-A-Lot Dive Charters - Diving Tampa, Clearwater, St.Petersburg - Dive Trip Charter Boat of the GG there.
The last three weeks when the bait came in the GG followed.
When the water was cold and no bait we only saw that one smaller Yellow GG on the Sheridan Tug. There is a Cute Picture of him sneaking a peak at us thru the port Hole window of the Sheridan on our Trip Photos page. The last time I was in the water there I saw 4 GG including one very large dark one over 300 pounds.
The biggest GG I ever seen in shore were on the Mexican Pride about 30 years ago. The Big boys back then hung out on the stern section. All the old time divers remembers the story of one of the divers they lost on the Pride that they thought was eaten by a Very large GG they saw that dive. The other divers went right back down and found his mask and stuff but never the diver.
Commercial divers fear them while working deep. The care less about sharks. That family of fish, grouper/GG will try to swallow anything that moves. Ever keep one in a fish tank? Had on 3 inch grouper swallow a fish the same size as him. (a $ 100.00 fish he swallowed!!) Half the fish stuck out of it mouth for days.
The biggest GG I ever saw was about 25 years ago on one of our 3 day trips on a commercial boat to shoot fish in the Middle Grounds. That one I guessed to be close to 800 pounds. It made a 300 pound GG look VERY small.
The ledge Boulders had two on it last week and we counted 4 on the Vet Barge and Two on the Vet airplane barge also last Weekend.
Several years ago on the barges, right after the Ban on taking GG there was a shooters that put Golf Balls on the end of his shafts and were using the GG for target practice. Do not know why. Maybe to scare them off.
I am sure that is NOT the problem now.. (I hope)
HOPE the GG will be back. My divers love seeing them.
PLEASE post of any you see.