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chapcat54 · Horse Mullet Joined: 15 Jun 2015 Posts: 185

I have been dying to catch some Mangrove Snapper, but so far have had no luck. Red Snapper is one of my absolute favorite fish to eat, and since I can only afford to buy it once in a blue moon, and have no way to go offshore, I reckon the next best thing is to catch some of their close cousins.

Would some of you fine folks that have targeted them please advise on the best tactics, bait and tackle to take them and where are the best spots? I have heard that the jetties, and the T-heads are good places to catch them. I tried fishing for them at the jetty where the Lexington is moored using small strips of cut pinfish, but I had no luck. I fished using a small float with a three foot leader with a number 2 hook right down the edge of the rocks. All I did was feed the pinfish, the little cannibals. Laughing

Your advice is appreciated as always. Thanks.

landlocked beachbum · Posted: Tue Jun 16, 2015 10:10 pm Post subject:

Mangroves have a darn hard time turning down live shrimp friend! Very Happy

The larger models ( over 2 pounds or so ) LOVE small pinfish in the 2-2.5" range. Something that can make or break catching them is your terminal tackle; Mangrove are smart and learn VERY fast! I use 15-20 pound Fluoro leaders that are fairly long, and a small but sticky sharp bait hook like the Owner Mosquito Hook.

Some folks use circle hooks for them, and although I LOVE circle hooks, Mangroves are lightning fast on the hit and can inhale a shrimp, strip it and spit the hook out before you know it. Therefore, I like the ultrasharp bait hooks, and give them a hard hookset at the first hint of a bite.

I don't have much experience with them down there but do very well on them in Destin, and they act no differently in any location. They like cover!!! Fish IN the rocks on jetties, right next to bridge piers and pilings, etc.

It took many years to catch my first Mangrove in Destin, but once I figured out the formula it became fairly easy, as long as they were around. They don't like cold water! Wink

_________________
Dave

"The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has it's limits". Albert Einstein

Quick Karl · Guest

llbb,

What size hooks? And, how do you hook a live shrimp?

dion1282 · Pony Mullet Joined: 25 Oct 2011 Posts: 81

Shrimp works great but bait fish take their toll when you fish with shrimp. Try hooking them some where on the tail or the thick part of their head. Sometimes I hook them right down the middle if the action is fast . Anyway what I wanted to say was take a small cast net to the jetties and catch those black and yellow bait fish that swim close to the rocks. Use those for bait. Works better than shrimp if you ask me. I've caught several snook at packery that way too

landlocked beachbum · Posted: Wed Jun 17, 2015 7:21 am Post subject:

I usually use a 2 in Owner Mosquito or SSW category, with the SSW being stronger. The other poster is correct about the bait fish problem on live shrimp at times, but I think a lot of that may depend on water depth. The water at the end of the west Destin Jetty is deeper than those at Packery and such. I use the "through the front horn" hooking method most of the time, just in front of the black spot.

Honestly, I've never had much of a problem with bait steelers in such a situation, mainly because of the wolkpack nature of Mangroves: if they are there and in a feeding mood, they will beat the other fish to the punch when a live shrimp comes calling. Mangroves can be downright vicious at times, even the 8-10 inchers! I believe that the other bait steelers are afraid of becoming a meal, or at least being "snapped"! Twisted Evil

If I make a drop in a certain spot with live shrimp and catch undesirables, I move and keep doing so until finding the Mangroves. As with all fishing, I don't always find them and they aren't always hungry. The scour holes that develop at the ends of jetties are usually my go to place for the bigger fish. Snaggy, yes. Fish, YES! Very Happy

Lastly, I make my own rigs by using a very small, black three way swivel tied to my braid, a 12-18" leader for the hook and about 3-4' on the last swivel connection for the weight. This rig usually gets the hook a little above the rock edges and into the fish, while the weight is what's lost in a snag situation. Not always though......,
_________________
Dave

"The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has it's limits". Albert Einstein

chapcat54 · Horse Mullet Joined: 15 Jun 2015 Posts: 185

@LB

Do you ever use a float, or just drop a bait float-less right down into the rocks? What type and weight of sinker do you use, say in relatively calm conditions? Is it better on the surf side, or the channel side?

I don't like buying expensive live shirimp on my budget, so casting up some small pinfish or catching them on a tiny hook with fish bite bits seems the way to go for me. Baiting the little pinfish with a circle hook seems smart since a circle hook with its inward facing barb would be less likely to hang up in the rocks. Your thoughts? Thx.

dion1282 · Pony Mullet Joined: 25 Oct 2011 Posts: 81

Yeah hop around if they are not biting and definitely make your own leaders or whatever you use. It less expensive and more reliable.

chapcat54 · Horse Mullet Joined: 15 Jun 2015 Posts: 185

deputydawg · Posted: Wed Jun 17, 2015 11:43 am Post subject:

I always had better luck catching them with small pinfish or whatever little live fish I could cast net up. They are pretty aggressive fish and will nail one quick! Good luck!!!

landlocked beachbum · Posted: Wed Jun 17, 2015 1:41 pm Post subject:

as I said..... Small pinfish or whatever small fish you can catch seems to catch larger Mangroves, and just as always when fishing with live fish, the bait stealers are a non issue.

I haven't fished the packery jetties but a few times and am far from a "guru" on those jetties. My experience comes mainly from doing the same in Destin, Vero Beach and once in Port Isebel. In that experience, said scour holes at the ends of the jetties are where all of my eye popping Mangroves have come from, because they feel more secure in the deeper water, me thinks. The smaller ones hang shallower, bullying up on the local baitfish populations. I have had great luck on both tides, with the important thing being good tidal flow. When the tide starts to go slack, things went dead on me until it turned AND picked up speed again.

For me at least, calm or rough hasn't mattered as long as the tide is running strong and the water looked nice: no chocolate milk! Snapper really use their eyes when feeding. I will have to say that 80% of this has been from a boat, and that makes it a little easier to fish the scour holes without snagging too much, but I've done the other too.

There is no magic to this, just reading about catching Margrove, catching or buying the right bait and using the right rigging in the right spots. Sounds a lot like every other kind of fishing, and with many of those species I still struggle. Embarassed

The day that I caught my first 18", 4-5 pound "football" Mangrove is one of my top fishing memories!!!
_________________
Dave

"The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has it's limits". Albert Einstein

Quick Karl · Guest

landlocked beachbum · Posted: Wed Jun 17, 2015 2:39 pm Post subject:

I'm self employed with no employees, and that means that time isn't an issue. My chosen work is sailmaking, but Arkansas is NOT a hotbed of sailing activity! Therefore, I very often have the time to come down, but the interment and/or seasonal work means that the funds may not be there after food, bills and beer..... Mostly in that order! Rolling Eyes

Believe me, if things were not so stretched on the funds part of the equation, I'd be down there at least 3-4 times a year! Wink

This is why I wear myself out fishing when we manage to get away to Destin. The condo is free, there's a party barge in the boat canal and my wife enjoys it too. Honestly...... After two weeks of fishing parts or most of everyday down there, I very often feel like I need to go back to work to relax!!!! Shocked

I'm working on that issue, trying not to be so hard on myself, but man, I LOVE fishing the salt, and fish is my FAVORITE food! I often hear Dirty Harry in my head........ https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=CG2cux_6Rcw
_________________
Dave

"The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has it's limits". Albert Einstein

TexGator · Flour Bluffian in training Joined: 22 May 2012 Posts: 429

Like Lb my experience is in Florida specifically Vero Beach where my Mom lives. A free lined live shrimp next to pier pylons has always been the trick. I personally like a fluorocarbon leader with a number 1 or 2 Kahle hook. I think the fluorocarbon works better in clear water.

Another tip a good redneck buddy taught me was to scrape the pylons with a homemade scraper to knock off the barnacles and all the little goodies inside brings them coming like a chum slick. Not to mention sheepies and black drum as well.

Not sure if this is applicable to CC but thought I would add my 2 cents worth of experience to the conversation.

Quick Karl · Guest

landlocked beachbum · Posted: Wed Jun 17, 2015 5:13 pm Post subject:

ChapCat54,
Not trying to hijack your thread man, sometimes one thing leads to another.... But it all still comes back to Mangrove fishing!

QK, you're preaching to the the choir dude!!!! Embarassed

I've been in business since 1985, and a few years ago things were really starting to click..... Then.... Last year was my worst since my very first years of "hanging my own shingle"! Rolling Eyes

I agree with you about this country being finished, well, at least 95%. When over half the voters can vote themselves more government handouts and have no regrets about it, things are over the cliff. We are there or close to it!

Back to the topic at hand: Texgator, I bought a scraper my last trip down to clean the oysters and baracles off the party barge and meant for it to serve double duty as the "chum" scraper.

On Vero Beach; My older sis and BIL live there. I have fished the jetties at Sebastian inlet on the south side to avoid the crowds, but wasn't fishing for Mangroves. I DID get into some darn nasty ones under the wooden dock on the south side of the inlet, but never could get a solid hookset in any of them. Talk about educated!!!! Shocked

I had to keep downsizing the Fluoro leader and hook to even get some hits on my small live baitfish, but the fish would just slam it once and let go when they felt any tension, and the strong current rolling through made it impossible for me to freeline an offering without it washing under 2-4 pilings within seconds, so I was using a weighted rig to maintain at least a tad of control. I know they were Mangroves because I saw them flash a few times, and the baitfish had the tell tale fang rips down their side!!! Shocked

_________________
Dave

"The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has it's limits". Albert Einstein