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Snapper Tips

6K views 26 replies 18 participants last post by  Day0ne 
#1 ·
Hey guys, I plan to target snapper pretty hard this year (don't we all) and I was wondering if anyone is willing to share some tips or techniques to help a novice offshore guy like myself out. I bought Rik's book and made it out a few times last year from Galveston and Freeport with decent success but also caught a fair share of sharks while targeting snapper. I mainly used cut or whole shad or threadfin herring to target them. Fishing within 30mi of Freeport what size leader, hook, and lead do you guy's prefer? Any helpful tips would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.
 
#2 ·
vertical jigs work good early in the season, bucktail jigs or snapper slapper tipped with bait both also work good. Snapper are not always on the bottom, the large one for sure. So smaller snapper slapper with whole squid often will get large ones on the slow fall or flat lines out with whole fish. Drift away from the public marks at times, the fish are not always right on top of the mark they move around it. Chumming always helps if it is slow. Live bait when you can. If sharks are bad go to straight mono and just get ready to lose a bunch of hooks if you want to fish with bait or do not tip the snapper slappers.
 
#4 ·
I can tell you, the biggest factors are bait and rig setup. We fished right next to a boat 2 seasons ago that had adults and teens using double drop leaders and bait shop squid. When they didn't get cleaned out, they were catching babies. We were catching 24-28 inch pigs and throwing 19-21 inchers back. After we limited, we motored over and gave them 2 leaders and some bait. As we trolled for our kings, they hooked up solid fish after solid fish. We were using food grade giant Korean squid bought from 99 Ranch market. Each one weighs over a pound, and is cut into 5 or 6 pieces, then frozen. The stuff is so oily (fat = flavor, remember?) that it leaves a slick when we rinse our hands off. It's also so tough, the little ones can't peck it off, so you just ignore the little bites you feel until a big one gulps down the whole thing. We use a 5 foot homemade leader of 200 pound test mono, swivel on the top, 4-6 ounces of egg weight in the "almost middle" (make the bait end slightly shorter than the lead end so if the bait helicopters, it won't tangle your braid), and end it with a 8/0 circle hook.
 

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#6 ·
I catch some bait the night before my trip. Usually ends up being the biggest pinfish and hardtails I can catch under the lights. I will also keep a bonita or jack if I can catch one on the way out and chunk it up. I rig my guests with 8 or 10/0 gamakastu circle usually on a single dropper loop tied with 50 lb mono and 6 to 8 oz bank sinker. I'm usually driving the boat and start with a vertical jig. I've found that working a jig on a drift increases the likelihood my guests get bit. Not sure if the jig helps the fish to "turn on" or what. If the fish don't hit the jig, I switch to a tipped snapper slapper. For me, the fish usually either like big baits just off the bottom or tipped snapper slapper dragged through the mid depth water column. Usually, each drift past the wreck, everyone in the boat either catches a fish, gets bit and loses their bait, or hangs up. If I cant get decent bait the night before, I will also stop at the short rigs on the way out and try to jerk up some larger baits. I use chrome freshwater jigging spoon like what is used for whitebass on spinning gear. I cast and let it sink way down then jerk it like crazy all the way back to the boat.
 
#18 ·
I will also stop at the short rigs on the way out and try to jerk up some larger baits. I use chrome freshwater jigging spoon like what is used for whitebass on spinning gear. I cast and let it sink way down then jerk it like crazy all the way back to the boat.
That is one thing we are trying to get better at. I really want to try dropping down larger live bait for snapper and experiment.

I really appreciate the input guys. Can I ask what size snapper slapper and vertical jigs you are using.
Mostly 5/7 oz. snapper slappers. Pink, chart, blue/white, red/white in that order. I have tried the purple/black ones without near as much luck.

For vertical jigs, 5-12 oz. are what I have with me. A mix of diamond, hammered, flutter, and knife. I haven't really found one working better than the other. All of mine glow so I make sure to lay them out in the sun before I start fishing.

Still dont know why folks put bait on lures. The fish are eating the bait and not the lure. Why buy the lures in the first place ? Take the bait off the lure and use it. You gonna catch lot less fish. Jus sayin.
No it won't. I've experimented a fair amount, mostly drifting.

SS with bigger bait catches mostly bigger snapper (generally).
SS with smaller bait catches mostly smaller snapper (generally).
SS with no bait doesn't catch much.
Smaller bait on circle hooks catches mostly smaller snapper.
 
#7 ·
Honestly the snapper are so thick as long as you have some good bottom numbers and decent bait live or dead you shouldn't have any issue stacking up some bigger ones. I just use JB offshore snappers leaders and cigar minnows. If you want to catch some of the reallllly big sows you might consider live bait. In my opinion they look great for photos but the 10 pounders are much much better eating. If I'm going to pan fry or bake any of the fish the 19-20 inch fish are even that much better eating.
 
#8 ·
I just go out and try to catch amberjack, grouper, or anything other than snapper....and end up with 15-20# snapper.

In all seriousness, they actually did get a little harder to find at the end of the season last year.

I was able to find a solid box on the last day by drifting off the structure a bit.

Also, work the spots that may not be directly out of the jetties. Run north or south a bit. They get less pressure than the easier spots.


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#9 ·
as the season progresses, don't be afraid to try different baits/rigs. Last year I switched to a Carolina rig with 50lb flouro leader as my 100lb chicken rig wasn't getting bit and I became the only one on the boat catching fish. Also don't worry about large baits. A few weeks ago, I went out with some guys trying to get them on a large AJ since neither guy had caught a fish bigger than a bass...we had stopped and caught some hard tails that were 15-20 inches long...the sow snapper would crush these things! It's hard putting 20lb fish back...but it definitely showed me how big a bait they eat.
 
#13 · (Edited)
5-6 oz lime green snapper slapper with a hole sardine or cigar minnow

Drop to the bottom (If it makes it that far) then reel up 10’.

Same size Glow in the dark white for night fishing

And hold on tight!! Cause ya going to get tight!!

Just another tip: Bigger fish are farther away from the structure when looking for red snapper, at least that’s been my experience

One more tip: take off one of the assist hooks on the snapper slapper and save it for when the one gets chewed up!
 

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#15 ·
The reason I make my leaders out of 200 pound mono is because they get chewed up and you can catch fish over and over without them getting ruined. Later in the season I cut the hardware off and put it on new mono. love Snapper Slappers, but because I like to fish around heavy structure, that can get really expensive really quick. I find it that many times the little snapper will eat cigar minnows and sardines off of my rig before it gets a chance to get down to the big ones


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#20 ·
At the end of the last season they were more picky but down there in the right spots. They are easy to catch.

Fish finder rig works just fine. Dead bait or live bait. With live bait you are more likely to get an AJ. We use ~130lb/150lb fluro. I don't want to spend my day changing line and red snapper are not line shy. around here.

Butterfly jigs in various colors also work.
 
#21 ·
We keep it simple. Carolina rig with 50lb mono. Whole sardines or whatever we catch out of the canal for bait (live is always gona be better for bigger fish) As light of an egg weight as we can get away with.
I agree with Charlie on the fancy stuff.
 
#23 ·
Hopefully will get to show you a spot this year that the grouper will only hit tipped vertical jigs, and the jig has to be the right color, and the cut bait has to be exact bait they want. It is the damnest thing, five guys fishing side by side and once the one guy gets the combo right it is non stop action for drifts that are a mile long. Jigs alone catch couple, bait alone catch a couple. Jig+bait is nonstop.
 
#22 ·
If you want to target the bigger snapper get away from the main school until you only see 3 or 4 on your depth finder these are usually the bigger ones 20# to 28#s. Ithink someone said to get off of the structure and they are correct. the main school is usually smaller and stay together for protection.
 
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