Fishing for Red Snapper Presented by Dan Van Treese Half Hitch Hosted by Bob Fowler bob.fowler@marinemax.com (850) 708-1317 marinemax.com 5/23/2012 treasureislandmarina.net halfhitch.com 1
Red Snapper Season Federal & Statet June 1, 2012 July 10, 2012 5/23/2012 2
Snapper Records Red Snapper 50.4lb 1996 LA Mutton Snapper 30.4lb 1998 Black, Mangrove or Gray Snapper 7.0lb Bahamas Cubera Snapper 121.8lb Cameran, LA Vermillion Snapper 7.3lb Mobile, AL 5/23/2012 3
Red Snapper Rebuilding Plan 74% Shrimping Reduction of by catch Hurricane Katherinereduce shrimp boat fleet & effort by 85% Commercial Red Snapper IFQ(Individual Fishing Quota) Commercial Red Snapper 13 size limit to reduce discards 5/23/2012 4
Black Snapper One of the toughest fish to hook Best fished for at night Stomp Bait crushed a cigar minnow, tail half is best tough tail keeps it on the hook 5/23/2012 5
Grouper All are females most aggressive becomes male Spawn early spring December April, gather near 40 fathom to spawn 5/23/2012 6
Gag Grouper Season July 1 st October 31st 5/23/2012 7
Grouper Regulations 4 Red Grouper 1 Gag (Black) Grouper 5 Aggregate* http://www.gulfcouncil.org Download the Gulf Council App for your smart phone for fish identification and regulation information. 5/23/2012 8
Grouper Records Gag Grouper 80.6lb 1993 Destin Goliath Grouper 680lb 1961 Fernandina Bch, FL Red Grouper 42.4lb 1977 St. Augustine Warsaw Grouper 436lb 1985 Destin YellowFin Grouper 47lb 2002 LA 5/23/2012 9
Red Grouper Total Allowable Catch 24% Recreational 76% Commercial 5/23/2012 10
Trick How to get a grouper out of the bottom Free spool & leave slack for 1-3 minutes Will think he s broke off & will come out of his hole on his own 5/23/2012 11
Compliance Kit Pliers will meet dehooker requirement however; fish flipper do work faster and better. Required: Dehooker Venting Tool Both must be used 5/23/2012 12
Release Brochure Venting tools allow air to be removed from fishes air bladder so they will be able to return to the bottom 5/23/2012 13
Amberjack Amberjack 155lb 1981 & 1992 (tie) Bermuda Season Closed June 1 st July 31 st 5/23/2012 14
Trigger Fish Record Gray Triggerfish 13.9lb 1989 SC 5/23/2012 15
State Federal Texas/FL 9 miles, all other Gulf States 3 miles Indicate on chart as natural resources line 5/23/2012 16
Rod Action Light tip rods are more sensitive but lack backbone for pulling fish off their wreck Long slow action rods are called picking poles Easy to feel bite but very poor leverage Stand up vs picking Pole 5/23/2012 17
Rod Leverage Shorter people need shorter rod butts Shorter rod increase angler s leverage by reducing fishes leverage Rear Butt Length STD 12-16 16 Angler leverage Fish Leverage 5/23/2012 18
Conventional vs. Spinning Spinning reels by nature twist line & have poor leverage Conventional reels offer greater leverage and better drags 5/23/2012 19
2 Speed vs. 1 Speed vs. High Efficiency i Gearing High efficiency gearing allows for best of both worlds easy cranking like low speed & fast 2 Speed reels give extra retrieval like high speed leverage in low gear to get large fish away from their hole & off the bottom. 5/23/2012 20
Rod Belts 5/23/2012 21
Super Braid vs. Mono Mono Reasonable priced Able to stretch Multiple colors Has memory Braid Zero Stretch Small Diameter No memory Can not color, coat only not able to die Pricey Very durable 22
HiVis, Clear, Colored Mono If using Hi Vis use long mono leaders Mono is a light transmitter similar to fiber optics Use a variegated mono to reduce light transmittal 23
Power Pro Low stretch helps with hook set Keep fish from getting g in the bottom Small diameter increased line capacity Less water drag High abrasion 5/23/2012 24
Power Pro Knots with only 2 or 3 twist do not work well with braids most knots with 6 or more twist will work best knots palamar Uni Bimini twist When using Super Braid s most tknives and wire cutters will not work scissors, preferable braid scissors work best 5/23/2012 25
Uni to Uni Knot 26
Fluorocarbon Great Leader High abrasion resistance Stiffer Larger Diameter Same density as water Carbon fleck stops light transmittal Has UV inhibitors last longer in sun 5/23/2012 27
Tie vs. Crimp Best to tie all mono under 80lb 80lb-125lb can tie or crimp 150lb & up best to crimp Remember when crimping use a mono sleeve & compression style crimper Barrell sleeve Mono sleeve When a Barrell sleeve is crimped only limited contact with the surface of mono. Mono sleeves compress all around mono for more contact and holding power. 5/23/2012 28
Circle Hooks Required by law where fishing for reef fish Less gut hook fish Less release mortality Offset vs. non-offset Circle hooks work best for live baits. Remember with circle hooks, don t jerk, just reel. 90 To be a legal circle hook, the hook point must be 90 degrees to the hook shank. ------- 5/23/2012 29
How to Snell Best way to tie circle hook Helps make the hook turn into the fish 5/23/2012 30
Use of Beads & Stainless Swivels Beads prevent damage to knots from weights & rod tips Monofilament knot strength Decrease 40% after 24 hours Stainless steel swivels small with high brake strength 5/23/2012 31
2 Hook vs 1 Hook 3-Way Swivel Lead 1 oz. of lead per 10 More with larger lines & stronger currents 5/23/2012 32
Weights & Planers Egg leads work great for single hook rigs. They are able to slide to reduce when a fish strikes. Use torpedo or bank leads below the hooks when fishing with multiple hooks to keep hooks separate and untangled. 5/23/2012 33
Catching Bait with Sabiki s Generally will bite bare hooks on the fall Most people p don t use heavy enough weight Great bait catching places Tide lines for bait schools watch depth recorder Buoys, C Buoy 5/23/2012 34
Dead & Cut Baits Squid Bonita Belley Northern Mackerel Best to hook larger bait in the nose so they descend like a torpedo & not spin, twisting around your line Cutting off the baits tail will also help prevent spinning 5/23/2012 35
Live Baits Thread Herring Cigar Minnow Shrimp Blue Runner Squirrel Fish White Snapper (Pink Pogie) Pinfish (Choffer) 5/23/2012 36
Traditional Jigging Traditional Jigging with lead heads & hook on the bottom are fished by jerking the jig up and letting it fall, most strikes occur on the fall 5/23/2012 37
Vertical Jigging Different from pass jgg jigging g in that you keep the jigging moving all the way up the water column Hooks are at the top, not the bottom and are hanging free To be effective must use Super Braid with long mono leader High speed narrow reel prevents crowning 5/23/2012 38
Anchor vs. Drift vs Motor Fish Drifting will tend to scatter the fish unless fishing a very broad area Motor fishing is best done with a buoy &/or chart plotter Motor fishing is quick but requires constant monitoring, especially with any current or seas Anchor is best way to fish but more work and not able to move should someone approaches Radar can pin point your location up to 3 miles away 5/23/2012 39
Anchoring Popular in muddy bottoms Most popular in sandy bottoms Shallow water only 5/23/2012 40
Anchor Attachment The above allows you to pull anchor out backward when it is hung up 5/23/2012 41
Proper Anchoring Minimum 5:1 in rougher seas more scope Always use chain min 6 or ½ ft per 10 depth Don t anchor by the stern 5/23/2012 42
Circling anchor causes ball to sink due to water drag till it reaches the anchor then line of less resistance & flotation bring it to the surface Anchor Retrieval 5/23/2012 43
Chumming Frozen fine ground chum works best Add menhaden oil Dry most tend to float & larger pieces Menhaden oil floats great for surface feeder Menhaden milk oil adapted to mix with water great for all water levels 5/23/2012 44
Bottom Chumming Get the chum to the bottom to start feeding faster 5/23/2012 45
Lures High Speed trolling between spots produce Wahoo, Dolphin, King Mackerel, Tuna & many others 5/23/2012 46
Depth Recorders & Fishfinders Need for DGPS & Color Bottom Machine Color bottom help to identify harder bottom & fish size Thru Hull vs. Transom Mount Transducer Thru Hull will give much better picture pctue Transom mount has most turbulence 5/23/2012 47
Buoy Buoy gives a point of reference i.e. stump to know your location and to notice your movement. Easy way to know current speed and direction. Drift direction is effected by wind, waves and current, know the net effect of all 3 will save time and catch you more fish American Bandit Suremarker 5/23/2012 48
Best Places www.myfwc.com/conservation/conserv_progs_h abitat_saltwater_reef_locator.asp Artificial Reefs rubble, boats, bridges Natural Bottom coral reefs, lime stone bottom Grouper prefer hidding places, ledges, holes Snapper prefer structure up in water column Bigger Snapper generally caught 40-60 ft. off the bottom. 5/23/2012 49
FUTURE CLASSES June 9 th Offshore Trolling for Wahoo, Dolphin & Tuna July 14 th Kayak Fishing, Scalloping & Water Activities August 11 th Surf Fishing September 8 th King Mackerel October 13 th Flounder & Fall Bay Fishing November 10 th Hands on Rigging 50
MEETINGS Gulf Of Mexico Fishery Management Council Meeting Schedule 2203 N Lois Avenue, Suite 1100 Tampa, Florida 33607 USA Toll Free: 888-833-1844 Email: info@gulfcouncil.org gulfcouncil.org g Next Meeting Schedule June 18-22, 2012 Hilton 2225 N. Lois Ave. Tampa, FL 33607 51
MEETINGS Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Farris Bryant Building 620 S. Meridian St. Tallahassee, FL 32399-1600 (850) 488-4676 Next Meeting: June 27-28, 2012 West Palm Saltwater Regulations myfwc.com/fishing/saltwater/ 52
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How To Measure Must pinch tail to get total length 5/23/2012 55