Pro Fishing Tips to Catch a Mangrove Snapper

The gray snapper is so commonly found at the roots of the mangrove trees that the 'gray' word was changed to mangrove. Therefore, the gray snapper is also known as mangrove snapper.

Mangrove snapper are found all over from the Caribbean sea to Brazil and from Massachusetts to the Atlantic Ocean. A school of snapper be around rocky structures, oyster bars, mangrove-lined banks, docks, and pilings. It has gray or orange spatter over its body along with a reddish-brown border over the dorsal fins. It owns huge canines on the upper jaw.

This snapper is found at several places, right from the docks at the beach to inlets, making it easy to catch this fish. So, let's go through some handy tips to catch a mangrove snapper.

✦ For inshore fishing, a medium-light spinning tackle can be used. A 10- to 14-pound monofilament along with a fluorocarbon leader is of great help while inshore fishing. The hook size plays a great role in catching the mangrove snapper.

✦ The mangrove snapper has a sharp eyesight. A larger hook will leave you empty-handed. Therefore, smaller the hook, better the chances of the mangrove to commit to the bait.

✦ In case you are using a circle hook, you have to be more patient. A 5/0 or 7/0 circle hook is ideally used.

✦ If the fish are being jumpy, make sure that you are using a leader that is at least 4-5 feet long. Keeping in mind the fact that snapper have a sharp eye, the use of a fluorocarbon line is always a necessity.

✦ Fishing around areas where the baits cluster (like shrimp and sardine) will also be beneficial for fishing a mangrove.

✦ It is very essential to learn to sense the bite, otherwise the mangrove will escape with the decoy, and you will have to leave frustrated without any mangroves to take home. Quickly reel in before the mangrove gets away.

✦ Just upcurrent of the mangrove fish, a live bait can be cast through a hook. The fish will be pushed in the direction of your bait. If there is no current in the water, cast in the zone of your prey.

✦ Being aggressive feeders, the mangrove snapper will forcefully attack the bait. Start reeling in when you sense the attack. Due to their size, they will not be able to break your line if you firmly jerk up.

✦ Artificial lures should be avoided if you are aiming to bag a huge number of mangrove snapper.

✦ While using a live bait, make sure that it is alive. Shrimp, small crabs, and pinfish, other than mud minnows, can be used effectively.

✦ But if there is no way to find a live bait around, a fresh chunk of mullet will perfectly do the task for you.

✦ If you are planning for an artificial bait, hook up a piece of mullet to a nylon jig and try your luck!

✦ But in case you are looking for offshore mangrove snapper fishing tips, you will not need a casting. You can have a weight that is just sufficient to reach you to the bottom accompanied by a thin line.

✦ A rigid bottom rod and a 30- to 50-pound monofilament is a must for the tackle. Please use live bait such as cigar minnows or pinfish. But if you fail to locate live baits, use a fresh dead bait.

✦ A mangrove snapper positions itself upstream in order to catch its prey. Don't forget to lure your bait upstream as this is an ideal spot to target the mangrove.

✦ Summer is the time that mangrove spawn, and this is also the time when they have an immense appetite. So be sure that the cast is spread wisely in summer. If so, you will bag a huge stack of mangrove snapper.

✦ Remember the fact that if you bait a fish, your chances of getting a bigger mangrove are all the more than when you bait a shrimp.

✦ Live shrimp are not only better, but also cheaper than shrimp that are frozen.

✦ If the mangrove is shying away from shrimp and sardine, try out with a crab.

✦ Dead minnows, pet food, or cereal used for breakfast can be thrown into the water to lure the mangrove. This is called chum. But chumming is illegal in some states. Stirring up the natural chum by scrapping the bottom of the water body also helps while eying a mangrove.

If you are a beginner and are eager to have a huge pile stacked up with mangrove snapper, then all we would suggest is that patience is the key to everything.