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The Barracuda is not a fish we see very often while fishing the Homosassa waters.  They are caught on occasion in the summer off of deeper structure.  I have seen several very large ones out in 86' foot of water on one of my favorite holes.  They are very opportunistic and have eaten grouper we were bringing back to the boat.  Tube lures on a wire leader will work but eels seems to do the trick when we are trying specifically to catch these fish.  Chumming will get them stirred up.

 

Sphyraena barracuda
Great barracuda

   

Sphyraena  barracuda  (Walbaum, 1792)  
 Family:  Sphyraenidae (Barracudas) picture (Spbar_uc.jpg) by Randall, J.E.
Show available picture(s) for Sphyraena barracuda
 Order:  Perciformes
 Class:  Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes)
 FishBase  name: Great barracuda
 Max. size:  200 cm TL (male/unsexed; Ref. 7251); max.weight: 50.0 kg (Ref. 6949)
 Environment:  pelagic; brackish; marine ; depth range 0 - 100 m
 Climate: subtropical; 30°N - 30°S
 Importance:  fisheries: minor commercial; gamefish: yes; aquarium: show aquarium
 Resilience:  Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years (K=0.09-0.11; tm=2-4)
 Distribution: 
 Gazetteer
Indo-Pacific: Red Sea and east coast of Africa to Hawaii, Marquesas and Tuamotos Is.; throughout Micronesia. Western Atlantic: Massachusetts (USA), Bermuda, and throughout the Caribbean Sea to Brazil (Ref. 9626). Eastern Atlantic: Sierra Leone, Côte d'Ivoire, Togo, Nigeria, Senegal (Ref. 6949); Mauritania (Ref. 5377); St. Paul's Rocks (Ref. 13121); São Tomé Island (Ref. 34088).
 Diagnosis:  Dorsal spines (total): 6-6; Dorsal soft rays (total): 9-9; Anal spines: 1-1; Anal soft rays: 10-10. Distinguished by the double emarginate tail fin with pale tips on each lobe, and (usually) the presence of a few scattered black blotches on the lower sides (Ref. 1602). Top of head between eyes flat or concave; mouth large (Ref. 26938).
 Biology:  Found predominantly at or near the surface (Ref. 6949). Juveniles occur among mangroves, estuaries and shallow sheltered inner reef areas; adults occur in a wide range of habitats from murky inner harbors to open seas. Diurnal and solitary, but can also be found in small aggregations. Feeds on fishes, cephalopods and sometimes on shrimps (Ref. 9626). Sold fresh. Utilized also dried/salted (Ref. 9987). Although this species is ciguatoxic elsewhere throughout its range, it has not been reported to be poisonous in the eastern Atlantic (Ref. 6949). Rarely attacks humans, usually with one quick, fierce strike, which, although serious, is rarely fatal. The world's record on hook and line is a 5.5-ft. fish taken in the Bahamas that weighed 103 lbs. (Ref. 13442).
 Threatened: Not in IUCN Red List  , (Ref. 36508)
 Dangerous:  traumatogenic , Halstead, B.W., P.S. Auerbach and D.R. Campbell. 1990
 Coordinator:   
 Main Ref:  Daget, J.. 1986. (Ref. 4339)