Trolling has been tough,
so we decided to anchor up and fish for Yellowtail Snappers today. My customers wanted action and dinner and were not worried about the size of the fish. This time of year that means fishing for Yellowtail Snappers.
Conditions were good.
We had a slight east wind and a slight west current. When you talk about current, you talk about the direction it is going. When you talk about wind, you talk about the direction it is coming from. That means when you have an east wind and a west current that both are going the same way. That is what you want when fishing for Yellowtail snappers. it makes the lines drift straight back off the back of the boat. Easier to fish, fewer tangles and more people can put a line out.
Also, The water wasn’t really clear.
Everything predator in the ocean likes to eat Yellowtail snapper, so when the water is clear, they stay close to the bottom. If it is not really clear, the yellowtail snapper will come up to the surface following the chum and that’s what you want. The further back the fish are, the better chance of a shark eating them on the way in. Once the sharks home in on the Yellowtail Snappers, it can be difficult to get a fish past them. Getting the fish up closet to the boat lets you wind them in before the sharks can grab them…….most of the time
The sharks got a few,
but we were able to catch our limit of Yellowtails before it was time to go. Most of the fish were in the 11/2 -2 lb range with very few throwbacks. While they are not the largest of the snapper family, they are one of the best eating. Generally speaking, I usually say if you are eating Yellowtail Snapper and it doesn’t taste good…..Slap the cook.it’s their fault.