Grouper Fishing at Sebastian Inlet

Grouper at Sebastian Inlet

Grouper do not run. They go down, and they go into structure, and if you let them get there the fight is over. Everything about grouper fishing is the first few seconds and whether you can turn the fish before it reaches the hole it lives in.

Off Sebastian Inlet that means gag, black and red grouper on the reefs and wrecks, plus goliath grouper, which are a different proposition entirely — a fish that can exceed several hundred pounds and will test every part of you and your tackle.

Captain Richard Ladrew targets goliath grouper alongside sharks on the big game trips, and the other grouper on offshore and nearshore bottom fishing. Both need heavy tackle and both are supplied.

Where Captain Richard Finds Them

Hard structure. Reefs, wrecks, ledges and live bottom off Sebastian Inlet and Vero Beach, some of it reachable nearshore and more of it further out.

Goliath grouper hold on the heaviest structure they can find, including wrecks and the inlet itself. Captain Richard knows which pieces hold fish and fishes them by what the conditions allow on the day.

Best Time of Year

Grouper are on the structure all year and Captain Richard fishes for them all year. What changes is whether you can keep one. Red and black grouper are open to harvest May through December and gag only from May to the start of August, with all of them closed to harvest January through April — in those months you catch them and put them back. Goliath grouper are catch and release whatever the month, so the big game trips run regardless.

How Captain Richard Fishes for Grouper

• Live or fresh dead bait on the bottom, on tackle heavy enough to turn a fish immediately. There is no finesse version of this.
• Get the fish up off the bottom fast. Captain Richard will tell you before you drop what to do when it eats, because there is no time to work it out afterwards.
• For goliath grouper, everything scales up — heavier rods, heavier line, and a fish that may simply not come up at all. That is part of the appeal.

Rules and Regulations

Current status: Seasonal — closed January to April, 3-fish aggregate

• Gag grouper: 24″ minimum, open 1 May – 1 August only. One gag or black per person, within the aggregate.
• Black grouper: 24″ minimum, open 1 May – 31 December. One gag or black per person, within the aggregate.
• Red grouper: 20″ minimum, open 1 May – 31 December. Up to 3 per person, within the aggregate.
• Grouper aggregate: no more than 3 grouper or tilefish combined, per person per day.
• Goliath grouper: harvest prohibited without a permit. Caught and released, always.

A closed season means you cannot keep the fish, not that you cannot fish for it. Captain Richard Ladrew targets every species on this list year round — in season you have the option to take fish home within the limits, and out of season it is catch and release. The fishing does not stop.

Regulations checked September 2026. Size limits, bag limits and seasons change — the current rules are always on the FWC saltwater regulations site. Captain Richard fishes to current regulations and will tell you on the day what you can keep. Florida fishing licences are provided for everyone aboard, so there is nothing for you to buy.

Trips That Target Grouper

• Offshore Fishing — Full Day, $1200
• Big Game Shark - Half Day — Half Day, $600
• Big Game Shark - Full Day — Full Day, $975