Offshore—the blue water—begins the depths descend quickly, and beyond, where the shelf itself drops off to deep canyons and the seabed floor. It’s the realm of big game fishing, offshore tournaments, fun days at sea getting lots of good fish to eat like dolphin, wahoo and tuna, and bottom fish, primarily snapper and grouper in Florida. At first glance, it’s all open water, but anglers know the features and structures—both on the surface and below—that lead them to target species.

Reefs and wrecks are habitat for the bottom species like snapper and grouper and their prey, and they’re temporary ports for migratory fish. Reefs and wrecks are grouped together for good reason—they’re often found in the same vicinity, where the ship wrecks on the reef. Deeper, as the sea floor slopes downward, anglers know where the canyons and the humps and mounds are, attract bait and sport fish and create turmoil on the surface—called rips—as currents pass over them. These rips are likely trolling grounds for surface feeding fish. Even deeper, at the edge of the Continental Shelf and along its cracks and crevices, is habitat for bottom dwelling species of snapper and grouper and the hunting grounds for the biggest gamefish, including marlin, big tuna and swordfish.