# Black Sea Bass???



## k-dog (May 15, 2013)

Just did a search and came up with nothing on this fourm on black sea bass. florida fish regs says gulf waters 10 inch and 100 lbs per person a day. I used to catch then in SC and thought they were great to eat my ? is I have never caught on off destin area so are they not this far up or what.


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## afishanado (Oct 26, 2009)

I have caught a few here, but nowhere near the size and quantity that you encounter on the East Coast. Here I think they are more an incidental catch vs. a targeted species. But I agree, they are great eating if you catch a keeper.


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## k-dog (May 15, 2013)

well the east coast has a 10 per person limit a day and gulf you can keep 100 pounds per person one would think there would be more of this fish in the gulf because you have a bigger bag limit or im seeing things


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## Smarty (Nov 23, 2008)

If only we could have a decent size resource here. That's the best mild flaky white meat fish out there. Unfortunately here they are small and limited to certain areas.


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## Sea-r-cy (Oct 3, 2007)

They are common around Carrabelle. We went over a few years ago, caught all we wanted.


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## h2o4u (Dec 1, 2011)

Sea-r-cy said:


> They are common around Carrabelle. We went over a few years ago, caught all we wanted.


Amen!


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## WAHOOU39 (Jan 14, 2008)

There are good numbers of them in Appalachee Bay....which is south of Tallahassee.....they crush them in the shallow waters off of St. Marks.


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## JD7.62 (Feb 13, 2008)

We have em here, in decent numbers too. You just have to find a reef that isnt loaded with snapper to get on them pretty good...


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## k-dog (May 15, 2013)

WAHOOU39 said:


> There are good numbers of them in Appalachee Bay....which is south of Tallahassee.....they crush them in the shallow waters off of St. Marks.


Anyone catch them at port st joe


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## Chris V (Oct 18, 2007)

We have OK numbers but nothing like the west central coast from Cedar Key and south to Venice. They are super thick there and a day of drifting patch rocks in 25-40ft will yield a cooler full. I think they have too much competition here with a greater volume of other predatory reef fish, especially red snapper


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## Chapman5011 (Mar 7, 2013)

JD7.62 said:


> We have em here, in decent numbers too. You just have to find a reef that isnt loaded with snapper to get on them pretty good...


We caught a bunch of small ones in December at the ono island oyster reef
10 to 12 inches


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## JD7.62 (Feb 13, 2008)

Chapman5011 said:


> We caught a bunch of small ones in December at the ono island oyster reef
> 10 to 12 inches


The small in that pic was 10.5" :thumbup:

If I catch BSB I wont even catch a baby snapper, but if I catch any snapper its rare I will catch a BSB. BTW these were all caught on artificial to stay away from the ruby red lips and other junk.


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## panhandleslim (Jan 11, 2013)

These Black Sea Bass are on a lot of 'near shore' reefs. This is another species that I can include in my, ever growing, list of stuff that wasn't here when I was growing up.


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## Nitzey (Oct 9, 2007)

I have been fishing here for over 20 years and last year was the first time I ever caught any??? When I lived on the Atlantic coast, black sea bass were plentiful. I think they are mostly a northern fish. In deep waters, I caught some five pounders. Great eating.


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## Captdroot (Jan 18, 2012)

Eastern gulf, Florida Big Bend, & down to Crystal River, is full of BSB.

Find them plentiful in 20' - 50' year round.


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## k-p (Oct 7, 2009)

St. marks is the capital of ill tempered 10" black sea bass. Can catch them all day long there.


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## shootnstarz (May 4, 2011)

Same as black drum?

Rick


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## Five Prongs Of Fury (Apr 15, 2008)

shootnstarz said:


> Same as black drum?
> 
> Rick


No, they are nothing like a drum. Completely different family of fish.


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## Fowlweather_13 (Jan 14, 2013)

The Jetties in Panama City is Loaded with them but they are all 8 inches when we sheephead fish there we catch them all day long but rarely catch any keepers. They will devastate a fiddler crab or live shrimp. But we have a few holes offshore that hold some nice 2 to 4 pound BSB.


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