Ok so I have a nice spot along the Indian River in Florida and I was wondering what fish are the best for eating and what are the seasons for them. I've heard good things about Flounder, Sheepshead, and Snapper but I want to know if there are any other good tasting fish out there and their bag limits.

Grouper  yes snapper   redfish    flounders ok.  one fish monger used to get me flounders "Big as doomats".  sea bass 

Grouper yes snapper redfish flounders ok. one fish monger used to get me flounders "Big as doomats". sea bass

Best fish I ever ate was sea bass in louisville in the rotating restraunt (Hyatt)

Flounder stuffed with shrimp, crab, & oyster

Inshore, flounder > redfish or specks. Snook > most. 

Sheepshead, not really worth the trouble of cleaning, unless you are really hungry and have nothing else to eat. PITA to clean, about like a triggerfish. You will find a bunch of grey/mangrove snapper in the rivers, they are good to eat, catch you a bunch, filet, fry'em up or grill them with the skin on, good stuff. 

Thanks guy you're making me hungry!

Three-way tie:  Dolphin (mahi-mahi), Tripletail & Yellowfin Tuna

Hot on their heels:  Black Sea Bass, Pompano & Blackfish (tautog)

 

Roger

No difference than freshwater, it's personal choice.

My favorite is flounder, but not the warm water variety.  I prefer cold water flounder and of the flatfishes it's dover sole for me.  I also really like cod.

As far as Florida fish goes, grouper, dolphin, barracuda are pretty good, all are fairly mild.  Snapper has a a bit more of a robust flavor, yellow tail gets my nod.

If you catch snook take the skin off.

Naturally a lot has to do with personal preference. Up North a lot of people love bluefish ,,, yuck!

 

Secondly a lot has to do with how the fish is prepared and cooked.

 

The following are my preferences: Seatrout are OK. Blackened redfish are very good. Tripletail are excellent.

 

But the best tasting fish  (in my opinion) is snook. The snook has to be caught in saltwater. Those caught in freshwater or even brackish water don't have the same flavor. Check the regulations in your area before bringing any home!

Spanish mackerel are also pretty good too.

I once bought a tin of octopus, is that a fish? Lol

Incidentally it was without pleasure.. ( gross )

Does lobster count?

In the irl - redfish, seatrout, flounder, snook, sheepshead, black drum, rock bass, silver trout, weakfish, cobia, tripletail.

Surf side- whiting, pompano

Some people like to smoke Spanish mackerel and lots of people eat gafftop catfish (sailcats) . Yellow tail jacks and some sharks aren't bad if you know how to prepare them- yellowtails are NOT jack cravelle! Lol.

Whiting, specifically freshly fried in a tortilla with chipotle ranch sauce, shredded lettuce, a couple jalepenoes, tiny bit of cheese, few shots of Frank's Red Hot, topped with a dollop o' Daisy.  Yeah it's pretty good.

In the irl - redfish, seatrout, flounder, snook, sheepshead, black drum, rock bass, silver trout, weakfish, cobia, tripletail.

Surf side- whiting, pompano

Some people like to smoke Spanish mackerel and lots of people eat gafftop catfish (sailcats) . Yellow tail jacks and some sharks aren't bad if you know how to prepare them- yellowtails are NOT jack cravelle! Lol.

Rock bass are freshwater and cold water how are they in the irl??? Unless there is a different rock bass I don't know about.

Yeah I normally only eat trout or reds and I will fillet them and pan blacken them. Its not trully blackening- but its delicious and takes 12 minutes.

Also either fish wrapped in tinfoil with butter, lemon slices and seasoning and baked in the oven or campfire for an hour or so is equally delicious and you feed more people.

Rock bass are freshwater and cold water how are they in the irl??? Unless there is a different rock bass I don't know about.

Sorry.

"Rock bass" is black sea bass here. We don't have actual rock bass in Florida.

Sorry.

"Rock bass" is black sea bass here. We don't have actual rock bass in Florida.

Haha I know that's why I was confused. Thanks for clearing that up.

triggerfish, poon-tang,  amberjack, scamp, 

Dolphin/mahi +Old Bay+butter in a cast iron skillet. There are a lot of tasty fish in the salt, it's really up who ever is doing the eating. Some people will even tell you how much they like mullet.

Tog, triggers, stripers, sheeps, . All good but any order.

 

Flounder breaded deep fried ,swimming  in catsup.

 

BTW triggers and sheep are not to hard to clean if you make the first cut from the inside out.

 

Blues mostly cat food, but I did have smoked that was really good.

 

C22

Croaker ..snapper blues are good also

Yeah, personal preference, but as a Chef, whether a specific species taste better than another, has a lot to with preparation.

Fresh Blackfin with some soy and wasabi is my #1 favorite. Yellowfin and mahi are also excellent that way. On the grill, Cobia is probably my favorite.

There are just all sorts of saltwater fish that are EXCELLENT eating... Black Sea bass, flounder, trigger fish, sheepshead, tog, redfish, sea trout....the list goes on and on.

Mahi-Mahi/Dorado/Dolphin fish....whatever you want to call them, I just call them delicious!

 

Jeff