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.
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