It is no denying fact that the controversial snapper ban continued in 2010, hurting both coastal economies and keeping fishermen from navigating offshore. The National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration’s ban on red snapper continued to be a thorn in the side for many deep-sea fishermen in 2010.
Despite the healthy stocks of red snapper NOAA continued to keep red snapper fishing closed. The agency’s ban on red snapper kept fresh fish from being served in local coastal restaurants and seafood markets. More importantly, many fishermen simply stopped fishing offshore and targeted backcountry waters.
Despite the ban some of 2010’s best fishing action came from many of the near shore natural and artificial reefs. Grouper weighing to 30 pounds headed the list with a nice showing of king mackerel, cobia and amberjack. James Raysor passed up a good chance to target a huge school of spawning black drum circling on the surface at the St. Marys south jetty rocks.
During the 2010 kingfish season, many of the larger king mackerel were caught close to shore, where kingfish weighing to over 40 pounds were holding at lime rock reefs. This was good news for many kingfish teams that did not have to make that long, gas-burning run to far offshore kingfish destinations.
