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Mangrove Snapper Bite Picks Up

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: August 5, 2008

GO FISHING is a daily look at the area fishing scene through the eyes of local charter boat captains and fishing guides. Today: Randy Rochelle.

Hope you all got your fill of red snapper fishing in, because the season is now closed for the rest of the year. However, the mangrove snapper bite will be cranking up.

Look for the mangrove snapper to come to a peak around the August full moon. They will be chewing as they prepare to spawn over the next couple of full moons. The hottest areas will be rock piles and ledges from 60 feet on out. Best times to target them will be two to three days before the full moon and a couple of days after. Head out a couple of hours before sunset, locate the fish and anchor. While you will catch a few before the sun drops below the horizon, the hottest bite will come after the sun goes down.

The amberjack bite is still very strong. In the absence of blue runners we have started using jigs more often. On a recent trip, Matt McDuffie proved just how effective jigs can be. McDuffie was able to catch three jacks to one on jigs vs. live bait.

The offshore bite was slow this past weekend but should pick up through the week. For those running deep the current has been strong but will slack off over the next few days, which will make getting baits to the bottom a bit easier.
Captain Randy Rochelle

runs the "Gotta Go" out of

St. Petersburg and can be reached at (727) 365-3218 or

www.islandercharters.net.

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