Triggerfish Fishing in Miami

When Miami deep sea fishing, you’re sure to find a variety of species. However, some are a bit harder to catch than others, and the triggerfish is one of them. These fish swim the warm Atlantic waters of Miami by using both the top and bottom fins and can often use them to stay in place, hovering with their dorsal fins to hover like a helicopter. They are also known to lock themselves in reefs when threatened to elicit protection, making it extremely difficult to break catch once doing so. Typically triggerfish can be tough to catch with just a hook and line since they do not strike at the bait. 

Some nicknames include the taly, leather jackets, and leathernecks, but there are few different types of triggerfish:

• Grey triggerfish: mostly found in the Atlantic ocean as far as Argentina and Nova Scotia to the north. Adults are usually an olive-gray color with blue spots and lines on the upper body. During their nesting season (April to August), they can change color - males a dark charcoal grey and females with black and white patterns. 

• Queen triggerfish: not often found by anglers, but if they are, they are found in water ranging from 10 to 98 feet. 

The grey and queen triggerfish species enjoy rock bottom, reeds, and shipwrecks and can travel in either a group or solo. Young triggerfish will be yellow and have violet dots. Both types have extremely large and sharp teeth with rough skin, so watch out if you catch one while Miami fishing!