Cold Gulf weather provides great snapper fishing opportunities, Manatee angler says

A good week of weather finally allowed Gulf anglers to get offshore, and those who did found a bounty and a variety of hungry fish.

The good weather started last Sunday. I was fortunate enough to be able to join Tom Howard aboard his 32-foot Andros as we ventured west into the Gulf of Mexico. With red snapper season active through the end of the year for weekends, we thought it would be best to try for the popular bottom species first then work our way back in for other snapper and bottom species.

During the summer months, red snapper hung in deeper water, requiring runs beyond 50 miles to 150 feet and deeper to find consistent legal-sized (16”) fish. For this trip, I thought we’d start a little shallower as they tend to move shallower during colder months.

We stopped in 120 feet and the Garmin fish finder lit up like a Christmas tree with fish coming up in the water column. I had a good feeling the spot below was loaded with tasty snapper.

The first drop of a light jig head with a shrimp was eaten quickly about 80 feet below, some distance off the bottom. The fish screamed drag trying to get to the rocks. At the same time, the flatline of a sardine also was pulled tight and a doubleheader with the first two baits was a great sign.

I worked my fish up from the bottom on light tackle and was rewarded with a 28-inch red snapper. The flatline was also a red snapper just a little smaller. Having them hit that high in the water column signaled the bite was on.

With five anglers on board, we made quick work of the two fish per-person red snapper limit and a quality average for the “shallower” depth.

From there we bounced around. While yellowtail snapper were a bit finicky, giant mangrove snapper were willing eaters at the next spot.

Big baits like pinfish and threadfin were key. The mangrove snapper were the biggest I’ve seen this year and seemed aggressive for other anglers as well.

Moving back in shallower we also were able to land about 10 hogfish and a bounty of lane snapper and porgies. Spots varied immensely as some had fish extremely willing to eat while others had lock-jawed swimmers.

For the first time since our back-to-back hurricanes, I saw my social media feeds also fill up with offshore fishing pictures. It was apparent other anglers also experienced great fishing as I saw many hogfish, mangrove snapper, yellowtail snapper, kingfish and more.

Lane snapper season is now closed, joining the list of gag and red grouper for species anglers cannot legally keep. Red snapper will be open on weekends, but as always check a species before you keep it with so many seasons changing in real time.

December is shaping up to be a great fishing month, but it could be a cold one as well. Fishing between fronts in warm weather and calm days will be the most productive. Light tackle on nearshore structures will yield great results.