Red Snapper Catches In The Bag As Season To Open With New Rules

By FRANK SARGEANT The Tampa Tribune

Published: Apr 13, 2008

Florida's recreational red snapper season reopens Tuesday and continues until Nov. 1 in state waters of the Gulf of Mexico, extending 9 nautical miles from the shore.

The bag limit has been lowered to two fish per angler per day, and the captain and crew of charter boats are not permitted to keep limits for themselves under new regulations. However, the state did not agree to a federal request to shorten the season to match the new offshore season from June 1 to Aug. 5.

Reef anglers in waters from Tarpon Springs southward have been reporting the best red snapper fishing in the last 25 years, and the state's Game and Freshwater Fish Commission based more lenient rules in part on those reports.

Some anglers believe the abundant snapper here, where they were virtually absent for decades, is a result of fish following the Gulf pipeline east. The line passes under the Sunshine Skyway and comes ashore at Port Manatee. The pipeline remains, by far, the best place for anglers new to chasing snapper to find them, but they are now also found on many rock piles and ledges miles from the structure. In fact, on some drops they are so abundant they are offseason pests.

"There are some numbers out there that you just can't get a bait down to the grouper through all the snapper," said captain Randy Rochelle of St. Petersburg.

Red snapper are distinct from the more common mangrove or gray snapper, which is found offshore and inshore. Reds display a brilliant reddish-pink color over their entire body, and that coloration, along with a bit of good marketing, has made them the star of many a restaurant menu. Actually, many anglers believe mangrove snapper are as good or better-tasting, but "mangos" don't have the prestige of reds. They also don't get as large; red snapper frequently exceed 10 pounds and can be more than 40 pounds.

In general, red snapper off our coast are found in water deeper than 50 feet, though some historic reports indicate they were found inside the larger bays, including Tampa Bay, in the early 1900s. It appears the eastern Gulf population was fished out or killed by red tide; whatever the reason, from the 1960s to late 1980s, they were rarely reported here, though they remained common out of Panhandle ports.

Tactics for snapper are similar to catching gag grouper. They usually take small live baits best, with pinfish a favorite of many anglers. Frozen squid is also effective, and when you hit a "hot" school, frozen sardines work just fine.

Snapper are schooling fish, and they often gather in a what appears to be a "Christmas tree" when seen on the screen of a depth finder, in a triangular formation extending well above the reef. This is one of the ways bottom-fishing pros distinguish snapper from grouper; the grouper usually stay closer to the bottom.

The tactics for catching snapper take advantage of this behavior. Anglers typically fish 60- to 80-pound tackle, 4/0 to 7/0 hooks, and use egg sinkers of 4 to 6 ounces, more in deeper water. The trick is to drop the bait all the way to bottom, then crank it up at least 2 to 4 feet into the area where the snapper are hanging. Some anglers have switched to microfiber line, which provides a more immediate connection to deep fish than monofilament.

Most experts advise against "setting the hook" on a deep bite. It's tough to move the hook enough on a long drop to sink the barb, so most experts simply start cranking when they feel a bite.

Reds are powerful fighters for the first 30 feet or so. After that, like most reef species, they often give up as their swim bladder expands, forcing them to the surface.

The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council recently considered penalizing Florida for not matching the shorter offshore season, but this past week council members could not agree on the rule and let it drop. The size limit on reds is 16 inches total length for recreational anglers.

For more details, visit www.myfwc.com/marine.

SNOOK CLOSURE NEARING: Anglers who would like to take home a snook have only two more weeks until the summer closure, May 1 through Aug. 31. The best bet is likely to be around the larger sloughs, outside passes and along the beaches, where the fish will be moving as the spawning season nears.

Live scaled sardines are by far the top bait, and these are free-lined on size 1/0 hooks, typically on 10- to 15-pound spinning tackle.

The beach at Anclote Key, Fort DeSoto, Egmont Key, Anna Maria and Longboat are good places to try, as are holes and sloughs around Bishop Harbor, Cockroach Bay, Double Branch and Rocky Creek, all inside Tampa Bay. The slot limit is 28 to 33 inches, bag limit one per day.