While you love fishing, you don’t necessarily love reading through the regulations and rules to make sure you understand them when you go saltwater fishing. We get it. This article will help you to understand the basics of fishing. These are just a few of the regulations.
You should familiarize yourself with the rules for the type of fishing that you are going to be doing before you go. You can get all the information you need from Salty Knots charters if you’re going out on a charter. Let’s take a look at some of these rules.
CATCHING BILLFISH
There are many types of billfish. These fish include sailfish and white Marlin. Sailfish are limited to a minimum size of 63 inches. Blue Marlin is 99 inches, white Marlin is 66 inches, and roundscale spearfish is 66 inches. There is a limit on the daily recreational bag for these fish. These fish are measured from the tip to the lower jaw to their forks. All fish caught must be reported to NOAA within 24hrs.
MAHI-MAHI CATCHING
20 inches is the minimum size that mahi-mahi can be caught in the Atlantic. For those who fish in the Gulf, there are no minimum sizes. A daily recreational bag limit is 10 per harvester. A vessel cannot carry more than 60 bags per day. This vessel limit does NOT apply to for-hire vessels.
CATCHING THE GULF KINGFISH
You might be surprised to find the Kingfish absent from the Florida Recreational Saltwater Fishing Regulations. It is actually only briefly mentioned. Unregulated species include the Gulf Kingfish. It is important to remember that although they are unregulated, this is not the whole truth. This simply means that 100 pounds of fish or two fish would be considered commercial quantities and require a commercial license. This is a very important point to remember.
CATCHING WAHOO
You will notice that the daily recreational bag limit for the wahoo is two per harvester. There is no limit on the size of fish that can be caught.
CATCHING TARPON
One tarpon per harvester is allowed per year, and there is a $50 harvest tag. A vessel limit of 1 fish is also in place. A rule states that tarpon over 40 inches must be kept in the water until release. These fish are not permitted to be speared snatch hooked. Boca Grande also prohibits bottom-weighted jigs.
CATCHING COBIA
Cobia has a maximum size limit of 33 inches fork length. There is a daily recreational limit of one fish per harvester for Atlantic fish caught in the Atlantic. There can only be six vessels. There is also a limit on the number of harvesters in the Gulf. There can only be two vessels.
The article was written by a professional charter captain at Salty Knots Fishing Charters with 15+ years of experience in the Gulf of Mexico. Salty Knots Fishing Charters is a local fishing charter service based out of St. Pete Beach, Florida. “We know what it takes to catch a giant trophy fish!” Salty Knots Is the best when it comes to Deep Sea Fishing St Petersburg FL.
