fishing for red snapper
 

Hey all, lookin for some info for fishing red snapper. I've never been and will be trying when the season opens. Think I have the rig down for live and dead bait, but what kind of bait do you use? Also, saw a post with those long jigs being used, are those for snapper specifically, or what kind of artificial do you use for that? Any info would be appreciated.:help:

get in about 60 feet of water or deeper and drop anything. spanish sardines, squid, cigar minnows, and pogies all work great as far as dead bait. for live, catch anything you can catch on a sabiki rig, put a hook in it and drop it down.

If you go out of freshwater city and head ssw only have to go to 45' this weekend anything you dropped they would hit.

Catch a bluefish / hardtail, whatever you want to call them, cut the head off put it on a circle hook drop to the bottom. Instant snapper!

thanks everyone, and yup, with my boat I think I can head out of freshwater city and get em, going to try anyway. Can't wait! so, better off going with bait than artificial stuff?

and don't be scared if you're live bait is big, you'll just catch bigger snapper

Dead pogie works best. Butterfly jigs work too. You must have a vent tool and and your hooks cant be stainless.....yes, they will check your gear, and yes you will get a BIG ticket!

thanks for that dink, I haven't seen that in any regulations!!!

damn, nevermind, now I see that about non stainless hooks, thanks a lot for that man, I sure had one rigged up! maybe I should read that book BEFORE I have those after worker beers!!!

I think you have to have circle hook as well to catch reef fish.

If you are using bait. With jigs you can use a j hook or a treble hook

if you can catch and keep alive finger mullett the snapper go crazy for them -- its like snapper crack! We used to catch live mullett out of grand chenier and put em in the livewell and tear up some snapper with those.

snapper regs
 

you also have to have an "approved" dehooker.

Is a .45 "approved"?

Fish different depths in the water column often they are suspended closer to the middle of the column rather than on the bottom. Also chumming works good at times. you can chum them to near the surface and watch them eat.

I'm not sure if there is anything they will not eat, big baits = big snapper, double dropper tipped with squid = 2fer's.

Was shark fishing a couple weeks ago with 1/2 Bonita with big circle hook tethered to a cable shark rig, big hit and for a second it appeared we may the shark we were looking for, NOT...monster friggin snapper...

Jimmy

Any baited hook as in carolina rigs have to be a circle hook. Jigs can have a j hook. never use stainless hooks. you must have a venting tool aboard also when fishing in anything deeper than 50 feet you may have to vent the fish. As far as a dehooker they have not been looking for that. THERE WAS AN ISSUE WHEN THEY FIRST TRIED TO REQUIRE THE USE OF THE ARC DEHOOKER. I have found the best dehooker on the market to be the ones made by R&R tackle company out of Florida.

You are not required to have circle hooks for snapper fishing..........yet. But with the crazy azz feds, who knows what's next.

Check out page 20 of the La wlf 2012 fishing regulations. I believe that it contradicts your statement. If natural bait is used, it states that non-stainless circle hooks are required. I believe you are correct, however, if artificial baits are used.


If I am wrong, let me know.

Dang never saw that one and I stand corrected!!! I use circle hooks snapper fishing anyway but my King rigs do not have circle hooks on them, but Kings are not reef fish so they would have a hard time sticking that one in court with me.