Shane3203

I need someone to point me in the right direction if they don't mind. We've been fishing out of Dauphin Island this summer and since Snapper season is closed we need to figure out something else to fish for. Is anybody catching any mangroves? We've caught a few around the Triple rig south of Petit Boi island last year around this time of year but not a single one this year. Where should I be looking for them ? I'm not asking for anybody's secret spot but just a general idea of water depth or structure to look for. Thanks

cbrantley531

They hold pretty good between 12-20 miles on most structure. Have to fish live bait right on the structure. I'd suggest 40lb leader, 4/0 hook, and a rod with a strong backbone and reel with good drag. Once they hit, you have to get them up away from the structure quick or they will break you everytime. Once they get up a little, back off the drag so you won't pull as many hooks. It will still happen a decent amount.

Most importantly, be patient. These are no red snapper and they are smart and very leader/hook shy.

Will also more than likely catch about 100 red snapper going for them as well, so have ALOT of bait.

Shane3203

Thanks for the info. I can't believe that we haven't caught a single mangrove out there. I guess it's hard to get past the red Snapper to get to the mangroves. What bait do you recommend? Any tricks to get past the red snapper ?

cbrantley531

The red snapper are the hard part to be honest. We were using a 4-6oz egg weight with about 5-7ft of 40lb fluorocarbon for the leader. Send that thing straight to the bottom and try to make sure the weight doesn't leave the bottom until you have a fish. Those mangroves are very very skidish. We had our bigger fish caught on live croaker, had a few hit some smaller pin fish, and had 2 caught from some live ground mullet.

Shane3203

Thanks for the help, I'll give them another try