Yeah, the "Jewfish" I am referring to are definitely Grouper, they look identical, just WAY bigger. Upon very close inspection, you can see some very minor differences in their coloration (nothing major though), other than that they are virtually identical in stubby body shape, head structure and so on. And yes, they are EXCELLENT eating fish!! Firm, white, flaky meat and delicious flavor. Probably some of the most sought after fish of all for table fare. Definitely not a commercially fished fish though...which is probably a very good thing.
Definitely a gamefish too, in terms of putting up a fight. Getting them up, off of the bottom, is the hardest part. They immediately swim straight down and head for line-cutting cover like reef structure and underwater formations.
Snook, Grouper and Redfish are three of the best eating fish in Florida. Pompano, Snapper, Wahoo and Flounder kind of round out the top fish for eating (in my opinion). Mahi-Mahi also. A lot of people really like Spotted Seatrout, and Kings, along with some others, but I am kind of "Meh" on those. Tuna is also popular (pretty much everywhere), and it's good for sure, but I never really used to target fishing for Tuna exclusively. Usually caught Tuna when fishing for billfish offshore. Can't really eat billfish, IMO (i.e. Swordfish and Marlin), it's too "fishy", but some people love it.
Edit - Two other fish I used to really like to eat, which other people considered garbage fish, were Sheepshead and Mullet. Fried up and in a sammich, those are two of the unsung heroes of the fish world, IMO. And, they were everywhere. Mullet you had to get with a castnet though.
Definitely a gamefish too, in terms of putting up a fight. Getting them up, off of the bottom, is the hardest part. They immediately swim straight down and head for line-cutting cover like reef structure and underwater formations.
Snook, Grouper and Redfish are three of the best eating fish in Florida. Pompano, Snapper, Wahoo and Flounder kind of round out the top fish for eating (in my opinion). Mahi-Mahi also. A lot of people really like Spotted Seatrout, and Kings, along with some others, but I am kind of "Meh" on those. Tuna is also popular (pretty much everywhere), and it's good for sure, but I never really used to target fishing for Tuna exclusively. Usually caught Tuna when fishing for billfish offshore. Can't really eat billfish, IMO (i.e. Swordfish and Marlin), it's too "fishy", but some people love it.
Edit - Two other fish I used to really like to eat, which other people considered garbage fish, were Sheepshead and Mullet. Fried up and in a sammich, those are two of the unsung heroes of the fish world, IMO. And, they were everywhere. Mullet you had to get with a castnet though.