I was born in NJ, grew up in FL, then Costa Rica for 4 years and I'm back in Jersey now. My favorite fish to catch and why I like them are:
Snook--A high adrenaline fish when fished close to the bridges of South Florida. We use 4/0 reels on a 9 foot telephone pole rod with LOCKED 80 pound test, fishing from the bridges. Needless to say, scraped knuckles and scuffed rod epoxy are quite common.
Snapper/Grouper--Proper bait presentation is a must to consistently catch these fish. At the top of the list are mutton snapper and black grouper, both of which can be quite cunning. The large mangrove snapper that frequent the docks of the Florida Keys have been called the smartest fish in the sea and are very difficult to trick, even with live bait.
King Mackeral--A smashing hit and screaming runs, a fight very similar to that of a wahoo. Chumming with live pilchards and then free lining the live pilchards on 12 or 15 pound spinning line is my favorite method.
Blackfish--No need to give details with all the tog hype lately.
Seabass--Lots of action and hands down the best eating fish in the sea. Great for kids too
Tarpon--Catching them on 80 pound test in Boca Grande Pass = BORING. Free lining live bait to them from the end of a fishing pier with a Penn 706 or Van Staal with 20 - 30 pound test is awesome. There is a 1 1/2 month run in Southeast Florida and the fish average 60 - 120 pounds. Where else can you catch gamefish like that from a pier?
Codfish--I don't know which fights harder, the jig or the fish, but still lots of fun and good eating too.
Fluke--What else is there to do on a hot summer day?
Maybe not in that order, but they are my favorites. I started out bottom fishing and after sampling much of the sportfishing world, I can honestly say that except for snook, tarpon and kingfish, I WOULD RATHER BE BOTTOM FISHING...
Gamakatsu