Arrival of hatch bait triggers mangrove snapper bite

If you’ve been out on the flats in the morning throwing a cast net to catch shiners, you’ve probably noticed an abundance of small shiners or, as we call them, “hatch bait.” 

Large schools of the small baits have infested the flats, requiring the use of a small mesh net to prevent gilling the baits and to prevent a lot of extra work cleaning the net once you have your bait for the day.

The small shiners — measuring about 2 inches in length work well for the inshore bite despite the small size. In fact, you may notice that many of the fish we target — snook, redfish, and trout — prefer them this time of year as that is what’s available for their daily diet. 

The significant result in the arrival of hatch bait is it typically is an indicator that the mangrove snapper bite throughout our inshore and nearshore waters should be turning on. 

And true to form, that’s exactly what’s happening. It’s that time again, to head out to your favorite inshore and nearshore reefs, wrecks and rock piles and start snapper fishing. 

It’s time to break out the light to medium-spinning gear, small hooks and light fluorocarbon leader material and get out there and get your limit of the popular inshore snappers. 

And don’t think you need to be in a boat to find these fish. Once they arrive, they tend to gather on just about any bit of structure they can find, including docks, piers, bridge pilings and jetties. In fact, sometimes you can even find them on the grass flats or in the roots of the mangroves. 

In any case, if you like mangrove snapper, this is your opportunity to do so with pretty good odds of getting your limit. 

Just remember, in state waters mangrove snapper must be a minimum of 10 inches in total length with a bag limit of five per person per day.

On my Just Reel charters, I’m finding good action on mangrove snapper while working during the slower stages of the tide.

Using small shiners or hatch bait is leading to limits of these tasty fish. 

Targeting spotted seatrout yields limits for my clients most days. Fishing over deep grass flats where clean water and good tidal flow exist is producing the best action. In fact, trout up to 25 inches are being caught with many measuring 15-20 inches — depending on location. 

Lastly, catch-and-release snook are rounding out the bite, with most fish measuring 20-30 inches.