How To Catch Boatloads Of Big Mangrove Snapper (3 Simple Keys)
- By: Joseph Simonds
- on
“Oh no, Luke’s stuck on the bottom again!”
Capt. Hollywood was joking with Luke, who appeared to have caught a rock…
But then the rock started pulling drag!
Was it a shark?
Was it a grouper?
We were out in the middle of nowhere in the Gulf of Mexico, filling up the cooler with mangrove snapper.
They were destined to become fish tacos that evening and since so many species are closed (but us anglers still want to catch some dinner) I busted out the camera for a LIVE and on the spot podcast.
There were three main keys that let us catch so many snapper on this trip, so check out this podcast to see what they were.
You can watch the video version of this podcast below (which I definitely recommend since there’s a ton of awesome fish-catching footage), listen to the audio version by clicking the play button underneath it, or listen to it on iTunes, Stitcher, or Spotify.
P.S. Don’t forget to subscribe on iTunes, Stitcher, or Spotify and leave us a review!
How To Catch Loads Of Keeper Mangrove Snapper [VIDEO]
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How To Catch Loads Of Keeper Mangrove Snapper [PODCAST]
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Key #1: Choose The Right Spot
We did a video similar to this podcast a few weeks ago and one of the main questions was, “Are you really in the middle of nowhere?”
The answer is yes and no.
We weren’t at some secret wreck that nobody else has the numbers for.
But we weren’t in a barren wasteland, either.
We were simply in an area with grassy bottom.
The area has about 150 square miles of grassy bottom, so there was lots of habitat for baitfish (and therefore, predators).
But how do you catch so many fish when there’s so much area that they could be swimming in?
That’s the next key.
Key #2: Attract Fish To You
With the only type of structure being grass in this area, the best way to congregate lots of feeding fish is to chum them up.
To do that, we used your standard frozen block of chum in Capt. Hollywood’s new favorite toy: the Chum Dinger chum box.
It’s simply a plastic chum box, instead of a chum bag, so it’s easier to clean and doesn’t smell so bad.
And now that we had hungry fish coming to us, we just needed to use the right type of bait to catch the fish we wanted.
Key #3: Use The Right Bait
When most people target mangrove snapper, they use shrimp.
And that will catch a ton of mangrove snapper…
But, unfortunately, it will also catch a lot of undersize snapper and pinfish.
Instead, we used chunks of cut ladyfish.
They’re too big for small fish to get in their mouths (even though they still peck at it), so we caught more bigger fish and fewer smaller fish.
Conclusion
What a fun trip!
If you want to catch tons of mangrove snapper, find an area with structure (even if it’s just seagrass), chum them up, and use cut ladyfish to catch the bigger ones.
Have any questions about catching keeper-sized mangrove snapper?
Let us know down in the comments!
If you’re in the Florida Keys and want to book a trip with Capt. Hollywood and his crew, you can find them at FloridaKeysFunFishing.com.
And if you know someone who wants to catch more mangrove snapper, please TAG or SHARE this with them!
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What area of Florida are you fishing, Ft Desoto, the Keys, Crystal River?
Thank you Salt Strong for all that you do! Using your tips from this video and numerous others, my family and I were finally able to catch over a dozen keeper size mangrove snappers on our fishing trip. They are so yummy and my cats love them too!
If you guys at SS want to make some extra money, just get a fabricator to make some of those plastic chum holders you have in your store for $70. You should be able to make one for $10 that you can sell for $25.
When fishing for Mangroves, how do you handle a wind against current situation? I was in the gulf last week freelining chunks and doing very well while the current was moving in the same general direction as the wind was blowing. In this case, the lines moved pretty directly away from the back of the boat and the fish came tight on the hook pretty quickly. After awhile though, it looked like the lines were still going away from the back of the boat, but I now think this was probably only on the surface because it was hard to maintain a feel for the bait. When I thought I had more line out than I needed, I would reel in, only to find that I came tight to a fish directly under the boat and many times it would hang me up and break me off on structure. Thinking about it later, I think the current probably started running against a pretty strong wind. So, I think the upper layer of the water was going west, while the current below it was running east. How do you fish for Mangroves in this situation?
I like Hollywood’s redfish belt where did he get that
Cheeky fly reel company
Great content again, guys. Were you guys paying the line out like Peter Deeks teaches or just enough to get it on the bottom and tight lining it from there?
Happy birthday pap Simonds
Fun video and happy birthday to your Dad. Can us in the Big Bend go out to 6’+ in seagrass or spotty bottom and find Mangrove Snapper like that? Most tell be they catch them out deep.
Great video, family time is one of my favorites things about fishing.
Great day with your dad! Happy Birthday!