Florida Tackle and Bait Picker: Hooks, Line, Baits and Rigs

Pick a fish and get the setup Florida anglers actually tie on for it: the hook size and style, the main line and leader, the two or three natural baits that produce, the artificials worth throwing, and the rig that puts it all in front of the fish. All 244 species on What’s Biting Florida are covered — from bluegill on a cane pole to blue marlin on 80-pound trolling gear.

One tackle box does not fit Florida. A 2/0 circle hook and a live shrimp is snook fishing; the same hook is a rounding error on a wreck full of goliath grouper, and a 50-pound leader is a good way to never hook a bonefish. This picker scales the gear to the fish, its size, and the water it lives in — inshore, reef, offshore, and freshwater.

How to read the card

Hook is the size and style to tie on first — circle hooks where Florida reef-fish rules require them with natural bait, small sharp hooks for the panfish and bait-stealers, heavy iron for the wreck fish. Line gives the main line class and the leader to match the fish’s size, teeth, and the structure it will run for. Natural baits and artificials are the short list that actually produces for that species, and rig / setup is the standard way Florida anglers fish them. Where a species is a specialist or incidental catch — the deep-drop fish, the rays, the bait species themselves — the card says so instead of pretending there is a mainstream setup.

Then check the rules

The right rig is only half the job. Before anything goes in the cooler, run your catch through the Florida Keeper Checker for the current size, season, and bag rules. Every card above also links to the species’ full guide — where it lives, when it bites best, and the complete tactics — and you can browse all 244 species guides or see every tool on the Fishing Tools page.

Tackle guidance reflects standard Florida practice for each species. Regulations verified against FWC, October 2026 — always confirm current rules at myfwc.com before you fish.