Black grouper are one of the most sought after bottom dwelling fish. Their meat is highly prized for its taste and its flaky texture. Black groupers grow large- up to 70 pounds, even more. They will eat a variety of baits and people fish for them with live bait, cut dead bait and even troll for them. People troll for groupers usually with large lipped diving plugs. They mostly hang around the bottom structure but sometimes venture out, and in shallow water will sometimes even come to the surface to grab a bait. They are strong fighters , and will often burrow into the nearest hole and puff up , which can make them impossible to get out. A trick when a grouper rocks you and doesn’t break the line, is to let the line go slack and wait a couple minutes, and sometimes they will swim out of their hole and you can land them.
Black grouper will eat large live baits, so don’t be scared to put out a big bait for them. The will consume ballyhoo, blue runner, pinfish, pilchards, pretty much if it will wiggle around and will fit in their mouth they will eat it.