How to Catch a Mangrove Snapper Fishing Florida (The Complete Guide)
The best way to catch a mangrove snapper is to use a small hook like a #2 J hook or a 1/0 circle hook and a small piece of shrimp because these snappers are excellent bait stealers. You will also want to use a light 8 to 10 pound fluorocarbon leader because they have great eyesight.
Mangrove snapper a.k.a. gray snapper a.k.a. mango are just about everywhere in Florida waters. You can catch them in the mangroves. You can catch them in the inlets. You can catch them around bridges. You can catch them around docks. You can also catch them on the grass flats or offshore reefs.
You will need to learn all of the tricks and techniques about how to catch a mangrove snapper fishing in Florida.
Mangrove snapper are delicious just like all of their cousins in the snapper family. They are also very good fighters for their size. These two qualities are bad news for the snapper but good news for people who love to fish for them like me.
I have been catching mangrove snappers since I was about 5 years old. My older brothers and I would catch a bunch of fiddler crabs and fish the mangroves for sheepshead and mangrove snapper with our cane poles for hours on end. It is a safe bet that mangrove snappers and sheepshead are the cause of my passion for fishing that I still have today.
Today, I am an INSHORE FISHING GUIDE on the Treasure Coast of Florida and have been fishing the flats and mangroves of South and Central Florida for more than 40 years. This article will cover everything that I know about how to catch mangrove snappers.
Let's get started.
Watch the video below about how to catch mangrove snapper and trout with a DOA CAL lure.
The best way to catch a mangrove snapper is to use a small hook like a #2 J hook or a 1/0 circle hook and a small piece of shrimp because these snappers are excellent bait stealers. You will also want to use a light 8 to 10 pound fluorocarbon leader because they have great eyesight.
Mangrove snapper a.k.a. gray snapper a.k.a. mango are just about everywhere in Florida waters. You can catch them in the mangroves. You can catch them in the inlets. You can catch them around bridges. You can catch them around docks. You can also catch them on the grass flats or offshore reefs.
You will need to learn all of the tricks and techniques about how to catch a mangrove snapper fishing in Florida.
Mangrove snapper are delicious just like all of their cousins in the snapper family. They are also very good fighters for their size. These two qualities are bad news for the snapper but good news for people who love to fish for them like me.
I have been catching mangrove snappers since I was about 5 years old. My older brothers and I would catch a bunch of fiddler crabs and fish the mangroves for sheepshead and mangrove snapper with our cane poles for hours on end. It is a safe bet that mangrove snappers and sheepshead are the cause of my passion for fishing that I still have today.
Today, I am an INSHORE FISHING GUIDE on the Treasure Coast of Florida and have been fishing the flats and mangroves of South and Central Florida for more than 40 years. This article will cover everything that I know about how to catch mangrove snappers.
Let's get started.
Watch the video below about how to catch mangrove snapper and trout with a DOA CAL lure.
How to catch mangrove snapper--Mangroves
Mangrove snapper can be found foraging around the roots of the red mangrove tree anywhere this tree lives. They will try to find shrimp, crabs and fish to eat within this environment. These fish love a live shrimp or live white baits with a 1/0 circle hook. You can fish this rig free lined, with a small split shot or under a popping cork depending upon where the snapper are in the water column.
That is my preferred rig for this fish because they are excellent bait stealers. The smaller hook yields more hook ups and the circle helps keep them from swallowing the hook. There is no sense in killing them if they are not keepers.
FUN FACT--Mangrove snappers spawn from June to September around near shore reefs and off shore reefs. This is where you can get the big ones. In the Summer, the snapper will be all over the mangroves, grass flats, any structure like bridge pilings....... You get the idea. You can get on a big one inshore during the spawn.
BEST ALL AROUND ROD AND REEL COMBO FOR MANGROVE SNAPPER
In my opinion, the perfect all around rod and reel combo for mangrove snapper is a 3500 series reel and a 7 foot medium or medium/light strength, fast action rod. Fill the spool with 10 pound braided line and use a 15 pound leader.
I have used many different rods and reels over the last 40 years of fishing like Diawa, Shimano and Penn.
My favorite line of reels that are out now is the Penn Spinfisher series reels. They are smooth, tough; have great drag systems; and best of all a sealed body so sand and water don't get inside the reels.
They are perfect for surf fishing, wade fishing and kayak fishing. (Any fishing technique that makes it likely for water or sand to get in them)
You can expect to pay $150 plus for these reels. BUT they are worth it.
My second favorite non-sealed reels are the Diawa BG reels.
They are the reels that I use on my flats boat because I know that they are unlikely to get dunked in the water or to get beach sand in them.
You can expect to pay $100 plus for these reels. They are a great bargain in my opinion.
Mangrove roots are the best. All that you have to do is cast your live bait up to the mangroves and wait for the hit. A frozen shrimp works pretty well too but live bait definitely outperforms dead bait.
Mangrove snapper will hit lures. I have caught them on spoons; small top water plugs; scented imitation shrimp on a jig head; soft plastic shad with a paddle tail on a jig and I am sure others that I a forgetting right now. BUT live or dead bait will out fish lures every time for this fish. If you want to fillet and release into the grease, use natural baits.
How to catch mangrove snapper--Inlets
Mangrove snapper love to take refuge in the huge boulders along the sides of the inlets. They wait for something tasty to float or swim by with the tide and they grab it and shoot back into their hiding places. They will not ignore a live shrimp, white bait or small crab if they see it. Use as light of a leader as you can get away with when fishing for snapper in clear water. They have excellent vision.
Mangrove snapper are one of the few fish that seem to bite best on the ebb tide. Every other fish that I can think of wants the tide to be moving. These fish don't seem to care too much and may actually prefer the still water.
The video below is about how to catch a mangrove snapper.
How to catch mangrove snapper--Docks
Mangrove snapper like to hang out around dock pilings. The pilings attract the shrimp, crabs and small fish that the snapper love to eat. The best way to catch these fish is a live shrimp, crab or white bait on a 1/0 circle hook and a split shot. Use the lightest leader possible if the water is clear. If the water is murky you can go heavier if you need to.
Dead bait will work just fine too. A piece of shrimp and a split shot rig will catch them like crazy. If you are in a kayak or other boat and the snapper are spooky you can anchor up current and let the current take your bait to where the fish are. A cork works great for this type of snapper fishing. You just have to get the leader the right size so it is in their strike zone.
I wrote another article on this website that is all about dock fishing. It covers the subject in great detail and you can read it by clicking right here.
Mangrove snappers will hit lures but why bother when live or dead shrimp work so well. BUT if you are one of those purists that only use lures, here you go. A white or natural scented shrimp imitation on a 1/16 or 1/8 ounce red jig head works very well.
So does a small gold or silver spoon. All of these lures can be casted up under the docks or near the pilings to catch snapper. The snapper might be near the bottom of the water column or near the top. This means that you must test out the whole water column.
How to catch mangrove snapper--Grass Flats
Mangrove snapper love to eat glass minnows and pilchards on the grass flats. When the pilchards, glass minnows and other white baits are schooling on the grass flats the mangrove snapper will move out to ambush them from their grassy hide outs.
A great way to catch them on the flats is a live pilchard or whatever white baits are around under a popping cork. Just set the leader length long enough keep it within about 18 inches or so from the top of the grass. The snapper will slam the wounded fish on your hook. These snapper are usually a little bigger than the ones around the mangroves.
They also like to hide around the sandy pot holes within the grass flats waiting for the tide to bring them something good to eat. Your live bait offering will not be ignored if they are around.
I wrote another article on this website that covers fishing the flats in great detail. You can read that article by clicking right here.
When the snapper are feeding on fish on the grass flats is when lures work the best. They will hit small silver spoons with vigor. Another great bait is the white or natural colored scented imitation shrimp with a red 1/8 ounce jig head.
The also like the DOA CAL white soft plastic shad with a paddle tail and a red 1/8 ounce jig head. You can go down to a 1/16 ounce jig head if you think you can cast it far enough. A steady fast retrieve seems to work best for me.
The video below shows how to catch a mangrove snapper and trout with a soft plastic jig.
WANT TO CATCH A TON OF MANGROVE SNAPPER FROM A KAYAK? Give us a call and BOOK YOUR KAYAK FISHING CHARTER TODAY!
How to catch a mangrove snapper--Bridges
Mangrove snapper are always around the bridge pilings. Bridge pilings are an no brainer when it comes to catching mangrove snapper. You do not need fancy baits to catch these fish. All you need is enough weight to get you to the bottom and live shrimp or dead shrimp. That's it.
If you want to get fancy your can use some sort of live white bait and free line it if the snapper are in the shallow water but the best is going to be live or dead shrimp most of the time. Just remember to use as light of a leader as you can if the water is clear. Snapper have excellent eye sight.
You usually see sheepshead and mangrove snapper together so it you see a sheepshead around the bridge pilings, it is a safe bet that there are snapper there too. Besides if you catch a big sheepshead instead of a big snapper that is not much of a down grade.
I wrote another article that covers in great detail inshore fishing for beginners. You can read that article by clicking right here.
Best gear for mangrove snapper:
If you are going to be fishing for mangrove snapper all day you will definitely need to protect your eyes and skin from the sun's harmful rays. Polarized sunglasses are a must for mangrove snapper fishing. A high end pair of sunglasses will run about $250 and a lower end pair will run you about $25 with glass lenses. You can find them with plastic lenses for about $5 at Walmart.
Whatever price range you decide to go with you must wear polarized sunglasses or you can not sight fish for mangrove snapper on the flats or around some bridge without them. The polarized lenses eliminate the glare on the surface of the water so that you can see under the surface.
The best color lenses for inshore and dirtier water scenarios are amber, rose and copper. If you are fishing super clean and clear water or you are fishing offshore a blue or a gray lens is best.
You will also want to stock up on UV performance fishing shirts to protect your skin from the sun's harmful rays. These shirts have built in sunscreen and are moisture wicking which means they evaporate your perspiration more efficiently keeping you cool on those hot days on the water.
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