I caught this Unknowm Scamp Grouper in Ponce Inlet.
Shayna, A St. Cloud native, like a lot of locals was fishing for red snapper during the east coast season out of Ponce Inlet and caught this amazing scamp grouper.
We got tired of sitting and waiting so we decided to slow pitch jig and drift the reef further Offshore away from the boats.
We were in about 170’ of water and the current was really strong but we stuck it out.
It was really hard to find bottom with the current and it would only stay close to the bottom for a short amount of time, all of a sudden the rod ripped down and we thought for a minute we were stuck on bottom, then it started to pull drag and dig real hard. I knew it was a big fish. While reeling up the fish, exhausted from the depth and fishing all day, I took a break, I could tell I close to the boat, suddenly the rod took an unexpected dip and shuttered violently. I knew we had been taxed by the man in the gray suit. I am still grateful to have seen this fish, I am 5’9” for proportion. Just the head was close to 10 pounds. I dare to say it was close to or over the state record(26 pounds) but unfortunately we will never know. It will make for a great fish story for years to come
Using a 300gram jig with a Shimano Ocean Jigger reel and a levitate jigging Rod