- Depth
- 50-65 ft
- Access
- By boat
- Best months
- March to June, September to December
- Species
- Gag grouper, Red grouper, Mangrove (gray) snapper, King mackerel (kingfish), Permit, Cobia
Ten steel boxcars from 1988 (FWC notes only one end wall still standing and plenty of ledge habitat), culverts placed between them in 1995, and a second group of 10 boxcars in two stacks of five (Bob Johnson, 1988, listed at 65 feet with about 12 feet of relief). It's 12.2 nautical miles west-southwest of New Pass in 50 to 65 feet, in federal waters about 2 nautical miles outside the 9-mile line. NOAA charts an obstruction here.
How to fish it
Anchor up-current at a safe distance from the boxcars and fish heavy bottom rigs for grouper, with a live bait out for kingfish. Keep a descending device rigged.
Watch out for: About 12 nautical miles out. Watch the GMZ853 forecast and plan around summer afternoon storms. Fish brought up from deeper than about 50 feet often suffer barotrauma.
Rules here: Federal waters: federal reef fish rules apply alongside FWC's State Reef Fish Angler designation and gear rules. Check NOAA Fisheries' bulletins and FWC's federal-waters page for grouper and snapper seasons. The rules to check in Sarasota nearshore waters