How Deep Do You Fish For Red Snapper?

between 30 and 200 feet.
Red snappers are both deep water and shallow dwellers. You can find them at any depth between 30 and 200 feet, usually huddled by nearby protective structures. Favorite hot spots include piers, seawalls, and old wreckage.

What is best bait for red snapper?

Pogies, squid, and cigar minnows are readily available and frequently used Red Snapper bait. For larger fish in general, live Pinfish and Tomtate ( a.k.a. Ruby Red Lips) also work well. Many experienced Gulf Coast anglers swear that Bonita strips make the best bait for Red Snappers.

Is snapper a deep water fish?

Snappers caught in deep water are related to, but different from, snappers caught on shallow-water reefs. But all belong to the snapper (or Lutjanid) family and most have common names that include ‘snapper’ or ‘jobfish’. Some groupers (Serranid family) and emperors (Lethrinid family) are also caught in deep water.

What is the best size hook for red snapper?

Hook it through the eyes because a snapper’s going to eat it head-first. But a 6-inch live pogy is just as good as anything,” says Pellegrin, who fishes both baits on a 7/0 Mustad circle hook. That’s his best hook for red snapper.

What is the best time to fish for red snapper?

summer
When is the best time to fish for red snapper? Well, the summer is when spawning season begins. The exact dates will change each year based on various spawning conditions. It hits its peak in June and July.

How do you catch a big red snapper?

10) Use big baits for big red snapper. Although you may catch big snapper on a piece of cigar minnow about the size of your thumb, you may take more big snapper using a fillet of northern mackerel, a squid pie, a large pinfish or a beeliner. Large snapper generally prefer big baits.

Why is red snapper expensive?

The high demand has led to a high price and the high price has led to fish fraud. A study by University of North Carolina researchers found about 73% of fish they studied that were labeled as red snapper were mislabeled. 2 While this practice is illegal, it’s difficult for the USDA to enforce it.

What kind of lures do snapper like?

Baits & Rigs
Best baits include fresh mackerel, fresh kahawai, pilchards, squid, skipjack tuna, mullet, shellfish and crabs. For big snapper, try live mackerel, live squid – even live kahawai if they’re not too large – fished near the bottom. Soft baits, jigs and flasher rigs are also very effective.

What is the best jig for snapper?

“If you want to catch snapper, drop a nylon jig down that’s tipped with a whole pogy,” says Marvel. “But if you want a chance to catch grouper and snapper, drop a 16-ounce diamond jig down to the bottom and work it back up slowly. If a big grouper or snapper is down there, it’s going to eat the diamond jig for sure.”

Do you have to use circle hooks for red snapper?

Federal regulations require that fishermen use only non-stainless steel circle hooks when fishing natural baits for red snapper. Artificial baits can have J-hooks.

What kind of line do you use for red snapper?

If you are fishing for large snapper like muttons and red snapper you can land them with 20-30Lb monofilament. Smaller snappers like mangrove snapper and yellowtail can be landed on much lighter tackle like 12-20Lb monofilament.

Do you have to use circle hooks for snapper?

Do you use circle hooks when fishing offshore in the Gulf of Mexico? Non-stainless-steel circle hooks are required when fishing with natural baits for reef fish such as snapper, grouper, and amberjack. Natural bait is anything that was once alive.

How long should a red snapper leader be?

The leader should be 60 lb test 6ft long with a 7/0 Owner Mutu Light hook or similar. As for the size of lead I like the lightest possible to be able to fish straight up and down in the current. A good rule of thumb is 1oz for every 1 ft of water.

Where do you find red snapper?

Red snapper are generally found at 30 to 620 feet deep in the Gulf of Mexico and along the eastern coasts of North America, Central America, and northern South America. They are rare north of the Carolinas.

What size rod should I use for snapper?

A “standard” snapper outfit is a 4000 sized threadline reel spooled with 20lb braid and coupled to a 4–7kg rod of around 7′. This outfit will handle bigger snapper (provided there isn’t too much current flow or depth), and is still fun on smaller fish.

What’s the best reel for snapper fishing?

The Stradic FL and Twin Power FD reels in the 2500-4000 size range are well suited to snapper fishing. These reels should be matched to a lightweight graphite rod like the Raider and Jewel series, rated to fish between 4-10kg braid Power-Pro or Kairiki line.

How much drag do you need for snapper fishing?

Registered. My rule of thumb is pretty standard – like amaracfina – set the drag to about 1/3 the breaking strength of the line with the lever at the strike position.

What size hooks for snapper fishing?

The best hook size for mangrove snapper and sheepshead is a #1 J hook or a 1/0 circle hook. Smaller hook sizes are a must for catching excellent bait stealers with small mouths like mangrove snappers and sheepshead.

Do red snapper fight hard?

Do Snapper Fight Hard? Snapper do fight hard for their size. The bigger Snapper could feel like very hard fighters on ultra-light tackle like 4 lb. test line and a light-action rod.

Why should red snapper not be eaten?

When it comes to fish fraud, red snapper is usually one of the victims. “Research has found that 74 percent of sushi places and 38 percent of restaurants mislabeled seafood, and snapper topped the list,” says Shemek. In addition, overfishing has caused the Gulf’s red snapper population to plummet in recent years.

What are the four fish you should never eat?

Making the “do not eat” list are King Mackerel, Shark, Swordfish and Tilefish. All fish advisories due to increased mercury levels should be taken seriously. This is especially important for vulnerable populations such as young children, pregnant or breastfeeding women, and older adults.