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With all the huge mangroves around the rigs we have been fishing, I am sure I need to start targeting these big fish. What line, leader, hook combinations do you mangrove experts use? What have you found to be the best bait?
I have been catching a few on each trip, but it would be nice to have ten 10 pound mangroves to go along with the limits of red snapper. I don't necessarily mean 10 fish per person either, just 10 fish on the boat.
THis is what/how I have been attempting to catch the ugly suckers. Chum them up in the back of the boat with pogies in a chum churn. Once they are there, I fish with about 6 foot of 30 lbs. fluorocarbon leader and a 5/0 black circle hook. I will either free-line my bait or add a split-shot above the leader to get the bait down a little. I take extreme care to make sure the hook is completely hidden inside of the bait. The results, well I still watch the mangroves eat all of the chum in the water and then just look at my bait as it drifts out of site. Every now and then my bait must pass by a retarded fish because I'll catch one.
Any advice you guys can give would be excellent. I fish in the Gulf Of Mexico offshore Louisiana.
Same rig, but if I'm after black snapper I cut a live cigar minnow in half and send him down still bleeding. I don't bother to hide the hook either. If the chum churn is going, I don't use any weight, and I use 20lb flouro as a leader.
__________________
3 out of 4 cannibals prefer vegetarians
2004 Grady 228/Yam 225F
you are on the right track pooldoo...almost there
once you chum them up, free line a cut pogie chunk back into the chum, constantly playing out line
i use a 5/0 frenzy circle hook and 15- 25# flouro leader, 5 to 6 feet long
hiding the hook is less imprtant than leader...keep downsizing till they start to bite
you will lose some tackle, but it's the only way once they get shy
what i do is leave the reel in freespool with the clicker on, and EASE the reel into gear with a light drag and a thumb on the spool till i know he's on, then tighten down and horse him in
I believe the most recent issue of either Saltwater Fishing or Sportfishing mag has an article about this very subject......it even discussed "flipping at the rigs".
I prefer smaller live bait hooks for dracula snapper. Light fluoro leader (20 lb) on a 7 foot speck rod w/calcutta reel. 20 lb test, sometimes 14 lb if I can chum them far away enough from the rig-leg. Nice chunk of pogy. Hide the hook. Let 'em bust the bait a few times to get in frenzy mode before setting the hook. I freeline, but once the bait drops about 5 feet, I will start jigging it slowly to the boat. Usually, the bait won't make it 1 foot down, much less 5.
Don't use a cheap reel, it will rapidly become a disposable unit. Also, once in awhile a misguided grouper or red snapper decides to horn in on the topwater action, and you need something capable in your hands.
Despite all of the good advice given by the other posters, the reality is that these guys are tough to catch. You'll lose more than you will boat, but it is alot of fun sight casting to them. And they taste great
Big Al
dracula Snapper Head
p.s. - reminds me of a story - last summer, fishing with 4 others in Viosca Knoll south, on a rig that was thick with Mangroves. We are on the bow (40' SF) having a blast. One of the guys foists a nice mangrove over the rail and onto the center of the deck, where it summarily spits the hook and goes ape poop. Well, the guy who caught it had been watching us boat fish, and he had lost every one he hooked, so he wasn't going to let that unit go over the side. Well, the snapper didn't let him go either -- he grabbed it with both hands as its flopping around and got the tip of his right pinkie clamped onto by Mr. Snapperhead. We had to kill the fish and pry its jaws open to get his fingertip out. He got to observe for the rest of the trip. He now has an interesting shaped pinkie tip, and a decent war story.
__________________ "Pedophiles must die" - Ted Nugent
Ironic topic... just got back from the Gulf out of Port O'Connor, Texas, and caught 2 of the largest Mangroves I've ever seen. (12-15 lbs) We caught them by some rigs, about 20-40 down the water column, using live croakers on a 4/0 or 5/0 hook, 4' of 100 lb. mono leader with a 12 oz. cannon ball on a sliding swivel above that on 20 lb. main line. We drifted all corners/sides of the rigs until we found the most productive spot. A large patrolling barracuda was probably keeping the snappers "tight" to the rig structure. He did manage to get one snapper we were hauling up. Live shrimp work well, but the snapper really were turned on by the croakers this past weekend.
__________________ Kencraft 250 w/Optimax 225
"Give a man a fish, and he can eat for a day. Teach a man to fish, and I'll be gone all weekend!"
get your anglers on the front of the boat, point it at the up current side of the rig. start your chum to drift into the rig to pull out the larger fish. use small hook like mustad 2/0 live bait hook, dont need f-carbon (but you can just us long leader), tie right off to the hook using 30-50lb line... use live croaker hooked though the back. key is to pull the larger fish out from the structure. deadline the croaker with no weight so it will move naturally, keep steady chum ... hold on tight. I have heard EI fish are retarded so you should not have a problem
In addition to the above advice, one thing that has always worked well for us is to fish the upcurrent side if the tide's moving. If it's slack, it doesn't really matter. If you can get on a "double" platform, we like to tie up to the upcurrent structure and chum back to the second platform. Also remember to chum only and not feed the fish. Too much chum can be a bad thing. We also use light FC leaders, but light hooks are also key when free lining in the chum such that the hook bait drifts/sinks as naturally as possible. Daichi Chunk Lite Bleeding Circles in 3/0 are pretty much standard now on everything we put in the water for mangroves.
We've always had more success drift fishing rigs than tieing off. The current doesn't always put you in the most productive spot. Besides, if a patrolling King or Cobia decides to get a piece of the action, you've gotta get 'em away from the structure quickly! Whereever there's snapper, there's kingfish.
__________________ Kencraft 250 w/Optimax 225
"Give a man a fish, and he can eat for a day. Teach a man to fish, and I'll be gone all weekend!"
UNREEL- I have to confirm that the fish in the Eugene Island blocks have got to be retarded. If I would ever get a REAL reef fish fisherman out there on my boat we would fill the deck with fish.
My recent experience chumming tuna at the LUMP has really paid off on my catches of mangroves, but nobody else on the boat is trying to take the time to get the presentation just right.
Thanks, it's good to know I'm not the only one. Last weekend I set up for Yellowtails and instantly had a flock of big mangroves right behind the boat gorging on the chum. I mean right behind the boat and not at all shy. I tried everything I could think of including small hooks totally hidden in various baits but they would look at it, some even mouthed it, and then head back to the chumbag.
I don't find them that shy. We tie a hook (any hook b/c you're very likely to lose it) directly to the main line of a Penn 330 or something similar. Pitch a chunk to them and hold on. You can't give them an inch. What it amounts to is a lost hook or an intense 4 second battle
If you want to really slam the Mangroves, i.e. catch your limit, chumming is probably not the most efficient way of doing so. Free-lined live croakers are far and away the most deadly. Pay the line out as if you were chumming and allow the croaker to swim freely. Once you let out say 30 ft or so, start over again. If there are Mangroves in the area, it is an instant bite.
The other way I've noticed is to use a carolina rig with the smallest egg weight as is practical given the conditions. Use 4-5' of 20-30 lb flouro and hide the hook in a chunk of Pogie. Vary the depth you're fishing until you find them and perhaps throw some chum every now and then to get them going.
If you must chum, try using a 1/4 oz jig head buried in a chunk of pogie instead of just a hook as I find the ones most willing to eat a hook are the deepest/ farthest back in the school.
Man you got some great advise! I've been trying to come up with something to add, but can't. Good luck. I hope to be chasing them again on Saturday morning.
I think I may end up trying for Mangroves this weekend. What depth are the rigs you usually concentrate in?
The suckers are verywhere. Any rig in 20' to 400' are loaded with them. In my opinion the water needs to be some what clear, but not blue for the best bite. I would go out until you find clear green water with about 10' of visability. Then start fishing!!!
It seems they are leader shy at times when you have them chummed..sometimes nothing works...and when you get below 40#, they bust you off a good bit....if someone gets a chance, try a live shrimp...I have wanted to try that since the last time I was in the Gulf.....the smaller ones close to shore would wear them out....just curious if they will jump on them offshore...
I had some luck out of Fourchon with some Mangroves. We caught them fairly easily but some times you have to downsize your leader and would make it 12 feet or longer wind-on style. That seem to make a huge difference.
How Do You Set Up For Mangrove Snapper? 
