White Grunt fishing in Florida

White grunts are the blue-lined, yellow-tinged grunts of Florida's rocky bottoms, most common from shore around the southeast coast jetties and inlets, the Keys bridges and piers, and the rocky stretches of the Gulf coast. They school around rocks, rubble and pilings and bite willingly through the day, which makes them ideal for families and a mainstay of the classic grits-and-grunts breakfast. Fish on or near the bottom with a double-drop or knocker rig, size 1–1/0 hooks, 20 lb leader and 1–3 oz of lead, baited with small pieces of shrimp, squid or synthetic strips. Light to medium spinning tackle with 15 lb line lets you pull them out of the rocks. They grunt when landed, and their dorsal spines are sharp, so handle them by smoothing the fins down. Small ones also make good bait for grouper and snapper. Check current FWC rules before keeping one.