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Looking to connect with more snapper?
Hop on a drift-boat and bounce the bottom for consistent success!
Whether you employ effective techniques or not, late season snapper
fishing can be a world of fun or quite frustrating. Unfortunately, a
percentage of local and most visiting anglers simply don’t know how to
properly target snapper during the fall. And the results are even worse
when inexperienced anglers find themselves elbow to elbow on a crowded
drift boat with 30 other anglers.
Just about all of the snapper fishing done in the Florida Keys and the Gulf of Mexico is done while on anchor, but if you’re targeting tasty snapper anywhere along the southeast coast, say from Jupiter down to Fort Lauderdale, 99% of the snapper fishing will be done while on the drift. In fact, if you look closely, you won’t even see an anchor on most Atlantic coast drift-boats.
Effectively bottom-bouncin’ for snapper can of course be done from a private, rental or charter boat, but for the sake of this article, we’ll be exclusively discussing drift-boats. My personal preference is to board one of the many South Florida based drift-boats that sail on ½ or ¾ day trips and if you’re like me and prefer to fish a little bit closer to home instead of heading out after bigger critters, there are plenty of snapper just waiting to be caught.
A quick glance around the boat will usually tell you which customers are going to catch keeper size snapper before the boat even leaves the dock. Visiting anglers are a dead giveaway as many dress in all white, and if the fishing is hot, by days-end they often look like they have been hit by a heavyweight boxer. On the other hand, hard core anglers often wear darker clothing and usually carry a rag to wipe off their hands. Tourists will generally use a boat supplied rental rod while the ‘ringer’ carries two or three outfits of his own on board. It often pays to fish by the locals who regularly visit drift-boats, as they usually know how to score the best results. If you’re friendly, they may even give you a tip or two on how to increase your catch.
Forgetting appearance for a second, let’s talk about the equipment you’ll need. Guys who are looking to hang a beast on the scale will use up to 40 lb. conventional outfits. Their rod may be 8 ft. long and have a non-forgiving tip. I’ve seen many of the better anglers’ fish this way and they often produce plenty of fish. However I would recommend going much lighter which will normally produce better results. A 7-1/2 ft. flippin’ stick with a fast retrieve bait-casting or conventional reel capable of holding at least 200 yards of 20 lb. mono is probably ideal. Where a typical party boat rental rod may be 6 ft. long and coupled with a Penn 4/0 Senator, a lighter rod & reel is more sensitive and easier to handle during a long day. On occasion, I’ll even scale down to a light weight 12 lb. outfit, but something in the 20 lb. range with a fairly stiff, yet light rod will generally be all you need.
When it comes to line, no-stretch braid is often the way to go, but on a drift boat loaded with 25-50 other anglers, the mate may be unhappy about you using such line. The problem arises when you get tangled with your neighbors as it will be far more difficult to get untangled due to braid creating a tighter snarl. Plus, if you get hung in the bottom, you’ll have difficulty breaking off and if you’re not careful, you could easily slice a groove into your hand.
Whether you’re using your own outfit or not, there are a few basic things you should take into consideration. Since it has taken me years to learn, has cost me more than several pounds of lead and because I’ve heard so many comments and complaints along the way, let me try and explain successful bottom bouncin’ as easily as possible.
Visiting anglers traveling from the northeast part of the continental United States are familiar with drifting for sea bass, codfish, porgies, summer flounder and many other species. The key that ties all of those anglers together is the need to hold bottom, and holding bottom is far easier to accomplish with the heaviest sinker possible, right? Well, that may be true up north, but it's not the proper tactic here in sunny South Florida, especially in the specific geographical area being discussed. The bottom you’ll primarily be fishing over is home to sharp rocks and jagged coral heads. In order to consistently catch snapper, you have to fish on such bottom and unfortunately the heavier your sinker, the easier it will be to hang up. If you want your bait to consistently be where the snapper live, you’ll need to know how to consistently present your bait in the strike-zone without getting hung up too often. If you don’t ever get snagged, then you’re not fishing close enough to the structure!
For starters, your sinker should be of the egg type. Its weight will be determined by the speed of the drift, the depth of the water and the diameter of your line. Anywhere from 1 to 6 ounces will be required, but again conditions will dictate the correct size. Your egg sinker should be dull and dingy, not bright and shiny. If it flashes as it falls you could encourage a king mackerel or barracuda to snap at it and inevitably cut you off.
Slide the sinker up your line and tie on a small black barrel swivel. Add a length of mono or preferably fluorocarbon leader material to the other end of the barrel swivel. The length of leader is determined by several factors. If you’re targeting yellowtail snapper, the leader can be as short as 3 to 4 ft. If there is a lack of wind and current and the drift is very, very slow, a shorter leader may be advantageous. But if you are targeting larger mutton and mangrove snappers, a longer leader of at least 8 to 10 ft. is preferred since these bigger guys can be line shy.
If you learn just one thing from this article, it should be that you must keep your bait near the bottom to consistently score. There are occasions when yellowtails and even muttons and mangroves will swim up in the chum slick, but for the most part the bottom is where the consistent action is at. To do this effectively with spinning, bait-casting or conventional tackle, open the reel and drop your baited rig all the way to the bottom. Get it down as fast as you can while avoiding a backlash. You may not feel the sinker bounce right away, especially if the drift is fast and your experience is limited, but after a while you’ll know you’re in the zone, if only by the feel of a slight thump.
Visiting and/or novice anglers will usually feel bottom and lock the reel while waiting for a strike. Not realizing that with a 2, 3 or 4 ounce egg sinker, even with a modest drift the locked reel will result in your baited rig rising off bottom and out of the strike zone. While an occasional critter may happen onto your bait, it will be more of an accident than anything else. For the most part, 90% of the fish you’ll catch higher up in the water column will not be of the targeted snapper species.
Ideally, your rig needs to be bottom bouncin’. It will take a trip or two for even the experienced angler to get the right feel, but trust me, with a little patience and practice, you will. Once your bait hits the bottom, you now need to control the release of line. Don’t let out too much, but release a few feet at a time so your bait remains in the strike zone. Release as much as a third to half your spool before reeling up, putting on a fresh piece of bait and starting over. Of course, if you miss a strike at any time, you may want to reel in to check your bait. The goal is to keep the sinker directly on the bottom and your bait fluttering just above the reef.
Now is when it gets kind of tricky, especially for young or novice anglers. A hefty snapper will usually strike with aggressiveness. A dozing angler may heave back and forget to put their thumb on the spool and end up with the mother of all backlashes. When your bait gets whacked, keep your sanity intact and either lock the reel or at least clamp a thumb to the spool before attempting to stick the fish. When drifting, I prefer to keep my rod tip up high. Once I feel a solid strike, this allows me to quickly point the rod tip down toward the water, close the ball and wait for the line to come tight before I strike back. This tactic removes any possible slack and allows for a solid hook-set.
Rental gear or your own, never tighten the drag so much that the reel becomes unforgiving. A 10 lb. fish on a tight drag can break even 50 lb. line. If you get stuck in bottom and can’t bounce your sinker out, you may have to tighten the drag to bust yourself off, but always remember to back off afterwards. If the drag is too loose, you may have to tighten it a bit in order to land your fish. Remember, you can always tighten a loose drag, but it will usually be too late to loosen a tight drag and you’ll end up with a lost fish and/or lost rig.
For yellowtail and vermilion snapper, I would recommend just enough weight to get down to the bottom with about a 6 ft. leader. Rather than a hook, I tie a small ¼ ounce yellow bucktail onto the end of the line with two additional hooks added inline behind the jig. Your egg sinker will get you down to the bottom and the lightweight bucktail jig will bounce along while rarely getting hung. Your main sinker may, but not the jig.
Since you’re after snapper, you can always anticipate a chance at a big grouper, so forget weak, light wire hooks. Even a 5 pound fish can straighten a soft wire hook in a heartbeat. Some anglers prefer offset beak style hooks from leading manufacturers such as Eagle Claw or Mustad, though I prefer straight, 3X strength non-offset hooks.
When it comes to baiting the jig, a freshly cut fillet of sardine is first on my list. Close seconds are a ballyhoo or cigar minnow fillet. A strip of fresh-cut bonito will also do the trick but will need to have all but a ¼ inch of flesh cut away for the strip to enticingly flutter in the current. Whichever bait, always bring the hook up through the flesh and out the skin side. Trim away any excess to make your strip bait streamlined and lifelike. Properly prepared, this drifting bait will get whacked so often that you will thank your lucky stars that you sprung for this issue of the South Florida Sport Fishing Magazine.
A triple hook rig without the bucktail will also work well. This is especially true when using a longer leader and a whole baitfish while targeting large mutton and mangrove snapper, but I’ve caught enough of each on my yellow bucktail that I hardly ever use any other rig.
Thanks for reading and until next time, I’m going snapper fishing!
Southeast Florida Drift Boats:
Ft Lauderdale The Mary B III 954.525.4665
Pompano The Helen S 954 941-3209
Riviera Beach Capt. Bob 561.630.0077
Lantana B-Love Drift Fishing 561.588.7612
Miami Reward Fishing Fleet 305.372.9470
Bio:
Since 1971, Manny Luftglass has had over 1,500 fishing reports, columns and feature articles published. His work has appeared in newspapers, The Fisherman Magazine, North American Fisherman, and Hunting & Fishing Magazine. A former Mayor of Somerville, N. J., Manny retired from his insurance agency in 1995 and now spends most his time fishing and writing about it. Manny just published his 13th book, entitled "Gone Fishin' ... Florida's 100 Best Salt Waters". Readers can order an autographed copy by sending $13.95 to Manny Luftglass at Box 556, Annandale, N. J. 08801. Manny and his wife Karen Kelly are typical snowbirds and can’t wait to get down to Lake Worth again this year.
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