Adult snapper typically spawn their eggs in areas of highly productive waters, adjacent to estuaries and harbours. The Hauraki Gulf (a large embayment) is an important area for snapper spawning.
Where is the best place to catch snapper?
Red snapper are most commonly found in the Gulf of Mexico, but they can also be found off the coasts of Florida, Alabama, and Mississippi. In general, red snapper fishing is best in the spring and summer months.
How far should snapper be from the shore?
Generally a 40-100m cast is necessary. Snapper are more commonly caught on our inshore and offshore reefs by the boat anglers. The vast majority of landbased anglers rarely catch snapper, and rarely specifically target them from the shore.
What’s the best time to catch snapper?
Early morning and evening is the best time for snapper, since many fish feed at night and rely on low light for camouflage, especially in shallow water.
How old is a 50 cm snapper?
In waters off Shark Bay, pink snapper reach maturity after three to four years on average, when they are around 40 centimetres long. In contrast, in the cooler waters off the lower west coast, snapper may be five to six years of age and 50 to 60 centimetres in length by the time they reach maturity.
What is best bait for red snapper?
Pogies, squid, and cigar minnows are readily available and frequently used Red Snapper bait. For larger fish in general, live Pinfish and Tomtate ( a.k.a. Ruby Red Lips) also work well. Many experienced Gulf Coast anglers swear that Bonita strips make the best bait for Red Snappers.
What is the best tide to fish for snapper?
Snappers seem to be most active at high tide, so start fishing at least 3 hours before.
How deep do you fish for snapper?
between 30 and 200 feet
Where the Wild Fish Are. Red snappers are both deep water and shallow dwellers. You can find them at any depth between 30 and 200 feet, usually huddled by nearby protective structures. Favorite hot spots include piers, seawalls, and old wreckage.
How do you target snapper?
When targeting bigger Snapper head baits or butterfly baits of slimey mackeral, whiting, tommy rough work well. Other great strip baits include cuttlefish, squid and octopus. Snapper will take a wide variety of lures. Soft plastics would be up there with the most effective methods.
Are snapper bottom feeders?
It might surprise you that the following fish and shellfish are classified as bottom-feeders: halibut, flounder, sole, cod, haddock, bass, carp, snapper, sardines, anchovies, mackerel, squid, octopus, catfish, shrimp, crabs, lobster, crayfish, snails and shellfish.
What size hooks for snapper?
Suicide hook patterns ranging from size 1/0 for pinkies, through to size 5/0 for large snapper are recommended. Best times would be early morning and evening although snapper can also be caught throughout the night. Medium-sized soft plastic lures in minnow or shad patterns are also very effective on snapper.
What do snapper feed on?
They prey predominantly on crustaceans, but they also eat shellfish, sea urchins and other fish.
What makes a good snapper rod?
They need to be light and long enough to cast effortlessly, with a little tip action to work the lure and plenty of backbone to handle big fish. A ‘soft ‘rod which folds away under pressure is not practical because it is too hard to set the hook, and we have looked at how important this is.
What is the biggest snapper ever caught?
A youthful Mark Hemmingway with the current world snapper all-tackle record of 17.2kg, caught at Motiti Island in November, 1992.
How heavy is a 75 cm snapper?
Snapper
| Fork Length (cm) | Weight (kg) |
|---|---|
| 72 | 6.9 |
| 74 | 7.4 |
| 76 | 8.0 |
| 78 | 8.6 |
How long does it take snapper to grow to full size?
Snapper: Adult
Most snapper mature between 3 and 5 years of age or around 230 mm in length. Adult snapper can grow to 1 m in length (over 15 kg) and live to over 60 years in age.
How far out are red snapper?
The bulk of the big red snapper are 20 to 30 miles offshore, but I’ve caught them as close as 10 miles offshore. They never ever used to be in that close.” When fishing for big red snapper, Brown anchors over natural bottom, artificial reefs and wrecks — any structure that holds baitfish — on his boat Teaser2.
Is it better to fish incoming or outgoing tide?
An incoming tide, or rising tide, is considered one of the best fishing tide times. Water that enters an estuary area from the ocean can have a lower temperature, contain more oxygen, and have better clarity than the water that exists in the estuary during low tide or slack water periods.
Is it better to fish high or low tide?
THE BEST TIDES FOR FISHING
Typically, the best times to fish are when the tide is “running” — that is, when it’s on the move from high to low or vice versa. Once the water approaches the extremes of high or low tide, it slows down and stops moving, becoming what’s known as “slack,” and the fish are less likely to bite.
How many snapper can you catch?
Table 1: Individual species daily limits within the combined bag limit
| Finfish species | Maximum daily limit per active fisher | Min fish length (cm) |
|---|---|---|
| Snapper (Auckland East – SNA1)** | 7 | 30 |
| Snapper (Auckland West)** | 10 | 27 |
| Snapper (Auckland/Kermadecs) | 15 | 27 |
| Southern bluefin tuna | 1 | — |
What lures to use for snapper?
Popular options include ZMan 5″ Scented PaddlerZ, 6″ SwimmerZ and 8″ Mag SwimZ. It’s the jerkbait style plastics that dominate the snapper catches however and these are the best starting point for those getting into offshore soft plastics fishing.