The folks I have on board today have fished with me the last 6 or 7 years. The always take advantage of my vacation package and fish 3 full days. They do like to take fish home, but they also enjoy just catching fish for the fun and the action. Today is their first trip, so we decided to go fishing for snappers on the reef to start. That way, if we were successful, they would have some fish to eat while they were here. There is nothing better than a fresh fish dinner after a day on the water. It will never taste better than the day you caught it!
The conditions were not ideal. We had very clear water. We could see the bottom in 40+ ft of water. Snappers bite better in water that is not so clear because the predators can see them from a distance. Also, we had a slight east current and a Southeast wind. This means the chum was going up under the boat and so do the lines. It works better when the chum and the lines are going straight back from the stern. but you have to work with what you’ve got.
The first spot we went fishing for snappers on the reef was difficult because of the barracudas. As I mentioned, the predators can see the snappers in clear water. They can also see when a fish is struggling. We kept losing our biggest Yellowtail snapper to the barracudas hanging around the boat.
So I made a move to the west and we started doing better. We started catching some Yellowtail snappers and also some Mangro snappers. The Mango, (also known as a Grey snapper), move out to the reef to spawn in the summer. It’s a little early, but by the numbers we caught, I’d say it’s about to happen. We did not crush them, but we caught more than there should have been in that spot this on a normal day. They are gathering to spawn.
We ended up having a pretty nice day. By the end of the day, we had our limit of Snappers, Both Yellowtail and Mangro. We also caught some nice Porgies. Porgies are another bottom fish. Firm white meat and delicious eating. One of my favorites from back in the days when I used to work on the Can’t Miss party boat.
I think we are going to get some live bait and fish the wrecks or go offshore looking for dolphin tomorrow. We’ll decide over a beer at the dock this afternoon.