Awakening inactive monsters

If Groupers are not active, here is how to make them active! Usually, jigs are the masters of bottom species, but sometimes, the jig is too fast for the lazy fish. This might look like a game over day, but here is "how to" trigger inactive fish and make the turnover...

It was already noon! My shoulder was a bit tired from casting jigs from early morning. The results have only been two false albacores and a very early barracuda. I had caught grouper species in the past at that fishing spot, but today they were clearly not active. The last two hours the sea was very calm, resulting in equally “calm” fish! Normally it would time to go home, but as every angler, I want to spend every available minute next to the sea, even if my efforts are without results. Usually, at this point, we all start to think other solutions and try other lures. I was fishing at a spot, where the cliffs dive straight into the water and reaches a depth of 15 meters right in front of my feet and a total depth up to 25 meters at the limit of the cast. The bottom substrate contained rocks together with gravel and poseidonia. This substrate is usually inhabited by cuttlefish.

image1

Groupers usually do not need assist treble hook or single hook! Just the hook of the jighead is enough, since this fish is a “swallower” rather than a “biter”

In my box I had the new loose body Swim Squid in the cuttlefish colour at 18cm and that was the perfect moment to try it out. Cuttlefish is a very important prey for predators, full of nutrients and probably a delicacy. Without losing more time, I combined the 18cm lose body swim squid with a bullet jighead. Since the current was strong, I had to use a 90gr head! I casted far and allowed my lure to reach the bottom. I started retrieving with a steady medium speed. When I got 5-6 meters from the bottom, I allowed my lure to fall again. I felt a sudden stop on the drop, and I lifted my rod trying to set the hook, but nothing. On the very first retrieve of the reel, I felt another stop but this time I had the time to properly set the hook and I felt a violent reaction of the fish. Pumping hard to lift it away from the rocks and the possible dangers of the bottom, I finally landed a very glorious Gold Blotched Grouper. That fish had probably seen all my jigs and was very reluctant to strike with the very calm conditions. But in the end, he could not resist the very “lifelike” cuttlefish! Sometimes, all you need to do is to think and act as natural as you can, changing fishing style and the type of lure.

Swim Squid img

The loose body Swim Squid in the cuttlefish color

full size img