Inshore · 60 ft · beaches, bays, inlets and rips

Goliath Grouper

Epinephelus itajara. Prime water reaches Islamorada in Florida Keys right now (84°F on the bottom). Fish it 20–58 ft down — that is where 87–85°F water sits off Islamorada.

Goliath Grouper identification illustration
LaneInshore · 10 fa (60 ft)
Depth it holds20–148 ft
Prime water70–86°F (workable 70–90°F)
Holds in the column20–148 ft down (on the bottom)
Judged onseabed temperature (RTOFS at depth)
Structurerequires wrecks and bridge pilings

The water column off Islamorada

0 ft29 ft58 ft38 ft of workable water20–58 ft · 87–85°F

The strip is the water itself, coloured by temperature from the surface down to the 58 ft surveyed bottom at that spot — one band per RTOFS model level. The outlined stretch is where Goliath Grouper's temperature band (70–90°F) and the depth it holds actually overlap. That thickness is the number that matters: it is how much water you can work, not just whether the spot is warm enough somewhere. One model cycle, not a weekly archive — this holds still while the surface map scrubs.

How it's fished

Catch and release only — heavy tackle over wrecks and bridge pilings, and get them back down fast.

Region by region — right now

RegionSeasonPrime waterTempFish it atMonths
Florida Keys in season reaches Islamorada 84°F 20–58 ft
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Gulf of Mexico in season reaches Tampa 88°F —
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Southeast Atlantic in season reaches Cape Hatteras 80°F 20–60 ft
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
"Fish it at" is where this species' temperature band and its holding depth overlap in the water column, from the RTOFS profile (13 levels, 0–300 m) — the depth to actually put a bait, not just the place. "Prime water" is the furthest sampled station on the 10-fathom lane whose seabed temperature sits inside this species' band. It is water, not a sighting report.
Charted grounds on the 10-fathom lane
Key West / The Wall
Frying Pan Shoals
The Point — Cape Hatteras