Barracuda are very common in the Florida Keys and Key West. They are a long thin kind of fish, similar to pike or pickerel.
Aggressive
They have rows of huge teeth can be very aggressive, attacking fish almost the same size as them. They make a habit out of stealing fish from anglers on popular fishing spots and can be a full blown nuisance when targeting other fish.
Their razor sharp teeth can actually cut most smaller fish in half in the blink of the eye. Some places you will have to horse your fish to the boat and get them out of the water as quick as you can to keep them from being cut in half.
Good to Eat
They are actually very good to eat and are very popular with local Cubans as a food fish. They have a bad reputation for having ciguatera and very few non-Cubans eat them. There is actually are not much more of a ciguatera risk than with any large reef fish, but the stigma remains.
They are Everywhere!
Barracuda live pretty much everywhere based on the water temperature. They will live inshore under docks and in canals, in the back country around mangrove islands, on the flats, and almost any large reef structure will hold at least a few of them. They also absolutely love any large wreck or artificial reef. It is common to see people trolling over wrecks like the Vandenburg in Key West, trying to catch cudas.
They can be Targeted Many Ways
Popular ways to fish for barracuda on purpose is trolling and sight fishing them on the flats. They tend to be a favorite of fisherman that aren’t catching anything else. They can be a day-saver when nothing else is biting.
Fishing Charters In Key West
If you are using live bait sometimes you will be catching a lot of cudas you don’t want to be catching.
They also make impressive mounts and it is common to have them mounted.