Florida Lobster
Official name: Panulirus argus
average length: 8 inches-2 feet
average weight: 1-3 pounds
olive green or brown, with yellowish spots
They have long bodies covered with spines, and no claws. Two large spines
form "horns" above the eye stalks.  They have pairs of swimmerets under
their abdomens, and blue and yellow stripes on their legs.
Their tails curl rapidly under their bodies to propel the lobsters backward.
molts or sheds its shell to grow
eats clams, snails, seaweed, and small marine organisms
They move in groups in a single line called a "march" during seasonal migration.

bonefish
official name: Albula Vulpes
nicknames: ladyfish, bananafish, The Grey Ghost
average length: 14-18 inches
average weight: 2-9 pounds
good bait: live bait or small crabs, skimmer jigs
Pound for pound, the bonefish is possibly the strongest fish in the world. When it is hooked, it takes off so fast that 100 yards of line disappears in seconds.   average weight is 6 to 8 pounds, but they can get as big as 18 pounds and 3 1/2 feet long
They are silver in color, with a long forked tail and a single dorsal fin. They have pointed heads and receding mouths filled with lots of small rounded teeth.  They are bottom dwellers that live in shallow, sandy areas and feed on crabs, shrimp, and worms.  They are great game fish, but not great for eating because of their many tiny bones.

snapper
a family of spiny-finned fish found mostly in tropical coastal waters. There are 250 species of snapper, including red snapper, mangrove and dog snappers, muttonfish, yellowtail, and Atlantic grey. They are carnivorous, active, and greedy, with large mouths and sharp teeth.
mangrove snapper - average length: 10-14 inches - average weight: 1 pounds
good bait: live shrimp, squid, cut mullet
yellowtail snapper - average length: 12-16 inches - average weight: 1-3 pounds - good bait: shrimp, clam, squid, ballyhoo chunks
mutton snapper - average length: 15-25 inches - average weight: 4-12 pounds - good bait: live pinfish, pilchards or sardines, ballyhoo and jig combination

tarpon
tropical, marine game fish from the family Elopidae
nickname: silver king (because of their heavy silvery scales)
average length: 3-6 feet
average weight: 30-100 pounds
good bait: live mullet, live crabs, swimming plugs, soft plastic jigs
blue and bright silver, with a long forked tail
Tarpons are active fish that prey on schools of small fry.

barracuda
marine fish found in tropical Atlantic and Pacific waters
from Family Sphyraenidae; there are 20 species
length: 2-4 feet
weight: 3-25 pounds
good bait: live needlefish, pilchards, silver spoons, tube lures
large mouth with lots of large, razor-sharp teeth
long, slender and olive-green in color
Barracudas will strike at anything that gleams and are dangerous to swimmers wearing shiny objects.

wahoo
Official name: Acanthocybium solandri
average length: 30-40 inches
average weight: 20-50 pounds
good bait: rigged ballyhoo with red and black skirt, live bait with wire leader
A large, fast-moving fish with high-quality meat. A prized game fish.
Their long bodies are covered with tiny scales.  
Their backs are bright blue and their sides are silvery, with a
pattern of irregular blue bars. They have razor sharp teeth.
They are one of the fastest fish in the sea --
they can swim up to 50 miles per hour!

marlin
part of the Istiophoridae family of fish
average length: 8-12 feet
weight: 125-400 pounds
good bait: brightly colored trolling lures, rigged Spanish mackerel, live bonito
 an elongated body, a pointed spear-like upper jaw,
and a long rigid dorsal fin that forms a crest
They are extremely popular sporting fish,
because of their speed, size, and excitement.
They often jump out of the water when they are caught.

mahi
Official name: Coryphaena hippurus
average length: 2-4 feet
average weight: 10-30 pounds
good bait: rigged ballyhoo with green or pink skirt, yellow feather jig, live pilchard or threadfin
 surface-dwelling fish with ray-shaped fins and rounded heads
Mahi have bright colors -- golden, blues, and greens  
They are also known as dolphin, or dolphinfish, which can get
 them confused with the marine mammals called dolphins.
Mahi-mahi means "very strong" in Hawaiian.

nurse shark
Official name: Ginglymostoma cirratum
They can grow as long as 14 feet and a weigh 330 pounds.
Nurse sharks are slow-moving bottom-dwellers.
They are usually harmless to humans.
They have very strong jaws filled with thousands of tiny teeth that they use to eat shellfish and coral. They also eat fish, shrimp, and squid.
gray-brown with tail fins that are ¼ of their total length

skirt
silicone, rubber, or plastic material that is molded
around a spinnerbait to create the body

Goliath grouper
official name: Epinephelus itajara
average length: 3-6 feet
average weight: 100-400 pounds
good bait: live or dead grunts, mullet, jacks, or bonito
This saltwater fish can get VERY big - up to 8 feet long and 800 pounds
eat crustaceans, other fish, octopuses, and young sea turtles
The head is broad with small eyes. The body is strong and long. The widest point is more than half of its total length.
brownish yellow, gray, or olive with small dark spots on head, body, & fins
three to five rows of teeth in its lower jaw

boxfish
Official name: Family Ostraciide
Includes: cowfish, trunkfish, cofferfish, and 25+ other species
average length: 8 inches
average weight: ½ pound
good bait: small pieces of shrimp or squid
They have honeycomb patterns on their skin.
They swim in a rowing manner.
Move slowly
Boxfish can secrete poisons from their skin into the water, which protects them from predators.
Adult boxfish have a square shape, and the young are more rounded.