Can you eat barracuda from the Keys?

Local advice is no, especially the larger reef fish, because of ciguatera, a toxin that cooking does not destroy. Treat them as a catch-and-release sport fish.

Barracuda fishing in Islamorada: season, spots, bait & rules

Barracuda fishing in Islamorada

Also called great barracuda, cuda.

Great barracuda are everywhere in Islamorada, from the bridges and flats to the reef and the wrecks, and a big winter cuda chasing a tube lure across a flat at full speed is as exciting as anything in the Keys. They are an underrated light-tackle fish and a great first fish for visiting anglers.

Harvest allowedSkill: BeginnerCharter a boatBring your own boatShore, bridge, kayak & wade

Where to find barracuda

The ocean flats and channel edges in winter, where big fish sun themselves in a foot of water; the bridges and channels year-round; the patch reefs, the outer reef and every wreck, where they hang over the structure and watch the boat.

Whale Harbor Channel · Bridges
Snake Creek · Bridges
Lignumvitae Key flats · Flats
Upper Matecumbe oceanside flats · Flats
Eagle wreck · Wrecks
Reef line off Islamorada · Reef
Hawk Channel patch reefs · Patch reefs
Channel Two fishing bridge · Piers & catwalks
Channel Five fishing bridge · Piers & catwalks
Long Key Viaduct fishing bridge · Piers & catwalks
Indian Key Fill shoreline & kayak flats · Shore & parks
Sea Oats Beach wade flats · Shore & parks
Long Key State Park shoreline · Shore & parks
Harry Harris Park jetty · Shore & parks
Crocker Wall · Reef

When to go

Year-round, with the biggest flats fish from December to March on calm, sunny days. They feed in daylight and sight is everything: a bright day and clear water beat a cloudy one.

Best window on the day: Daylight hours. Today's window and score are on the conditions page.

January: Peak: big winter cudas on the flats and patch reefs.
February: Tube lures skipped over the flats.

How to catch them

On the flats, cast a long surgical tube lure or a topwater plug well past a laid-up fish and retrieve it as fast as you can turn the handle; stop and the fish stops. At the bridges and reef, a live pilchard or mullet on a short wire trace, or a big swimbait. Wire is essential; handle them with pliers and care.

Bait & tackle

Bait: Live pilchards, pinfish or ballyhoo, or a whole needlefish
Lures: Tube lures, needlefish and topwater plugs and spoons, worked fast; long needlefish flies on a 9–10 wt fly rod
Tackle: 7 ft medium spinning rod, 4000–5000 reel, 20–30 lb braid
Rig: 12–18 in of #4–#6 single-strand wire (their teeth cut mono); 2/0–4/0 hook

tube lure pilchard mullet topwater plug soft swimbait Tackle setup →

Tips for your level

Retrieve a tube lure flat out; a barracuda chases what runs away from it.
Keep fingers well clear of the teeth, even on a small fish, and let the mate unhook it.
Barracuda make a fine first fish on a charter: plentiful, strong and easy to see.

Keeping one

Not recommended: large barracuda from the reef carry a risk of ciguatera poisoning. Release them.

Keep only what you will eat, within the limit, and release the rest in the water where you can.

Questions anglers ask

Can you eat barracuda from the Keys?: Local advice is no, especially the larger reef fish, because of ciguatera, a toxin that cooking does not destroy. Treat them as a catch-and-release sport fish.