Mangrove Snapper
Mangrove snapper, gray
snapper (Lutjanus griseus)
Description: Gray or greenish above and
light on the underside, usually with an overall reddish hue
that range from coppery to red.
Size: Average sixe
inshore is 10 to 12 inches but range from 2 to 10 pounds
offshore. They can reach up to 17lbs.
Food
value: Excellent (Very white
meat)
Game
Qualities: notorious bait theives,
can be a great fight on light tackle, making hard pulls towards
structure.
Tackle: Inshore spinning
gear spooled with 10 to 20lb test line. I recommend using a 7
ft medium action rod with a sensitive tip.
Mangrove Snapper Fishing - How to Catch Mangrove
Snapper
Do you want to catch the notorious mangrove
snapper? A couple things that you must have before you
attempt to target these great tasting fish. First off you want
to go on your good day and have lots of patience. Mangrove
snapper are great for picking bait right of the hook. Some days
they will be there but just might not bite. I will explain my
techniques and tips that WILL help you catch more snapper.
First things first, you maybe asking yourself the
following:
Where to Look?
Well if fishing inshore, smaller juvenile
mangrove snapper use the mangroves for cover hence this is
where they got there name. For larger inshore snapper you want
to try and find good natural water flow that provides the fish
with an abundant food source. One place to start looking would
be local bridges. Bridges normally hold bait and structure such
as artificial reefs. Allot of the time the snapper will be
hugging the pilings avoiding prey and waiting to ambush there
vulnerable meal.
What to Use for Bait?
There a few baits that work extremely well,
now my personal favorite, is the Spanish sardine AKA herring.
Now you will get many to argue and say shrimp is the best bait
for snapper but let me explain why I believe the Spanish
sardines are better. First off I have personally split tested
it a thousand times, ok maybe not that many but quite a few
times. The shrimp is great bait but with the sardines they have
oil that fish can't avoid. This is there candy or addiction.
Just break the tail off of the sardine or tear one in half and
soak it next to the piling, rumble or whatever and watch how
long it last. Secondly the sardines are normally abundant (In
the Summer) around piers in the south so it's free. You can
also use sardines, threadfins etc...
What Tackle To Use?
I personally am a Shimano fanatic, and think
Shimano has the best products on the market. I use a Shimano
Stradic reel spooled with 12lb test Power Pro. To compliment
the reel I use a Shimano Carbomax rod, which is a medium action
rod with a very sensitive tip. Sensitivity is important and the
Power Pro combined with a sensitive rod will improve your
hookups by 150%.
What Rig To Use?
Snapper can sometimes be very finicky when
it comes to eating, one moment they are feeding like crazy and
they next the bite may shut completely down. Have you ever been
fishing with a buddy and he is killing the snapper and you
haven't even got a bite? Then you look over at him and he is
laughing at you with those, I don't know eyes. A general rule
of thumb when snapper fishing, "lighter is better". Lighter
weight, lighter leader, smaller hooks etc... What I use is a
1/4 to 1/2 ounce lead depending on the tidal flow, 2 feet of
20lb fluorocarbon leader tied to a 30lb Spro swivel and a 2/0
Owner hook. Using this rig will help double your hookup
ratio.
How to hook them?
Now the secret on how to hook those pesky
mangrove snapper. When you find the snapper
you know they are snapper. How do you know? Well they bite
hard, that is how they got the other part of there name
"snapper" So you set the hook the first bite and come up with a
bait less hook right? What you need to do when you are getting
a bite is slowly lift your rod tip, this will make the snapper
bite more aggressively because the fish thinks the
bait is getting away (just like when you throw a string past
your cat, once they realize it is almost out of site they
aggressively pursue there target) This is the same with fish.
If that fails, try and pull the rod tip away slowly and then
let a little line out where the bait goes
past the fish and back into the school of fish, this
will cause a small frenzy, there for you get a more aggressive
bite. Once you do hook them pull them away from the structure
quick because they are determined to get back to there safe
place once hooked. I hope these tips will help you
catch more snapper. If you have tips that you
would like to add please join the forum.
Other snapper articles:
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