How To Catch Mutton Snapper

Are you interested in fishing for mutton snapper? Do you want to learn how to catch mutton snapper? They are found from New England to South America. However, they are mostly concentrated in South Florida and parts of the Caribbean. Mutton snappers are very wary and can be challenging to fool with lures.

In this article, we share information on how to catch mutton snapper, the best tips and tricks to successfully catch them, as well as the tackle, bait, and lures to use.

How To Catch Mutton Snapper

1. Drift Fishing

Drift fishing can be used to catch mutton snapper. Look for structures on your fish finder or sonar device and fish close to those structures. Mutton snappers are often found around wrecks but like to cruise the perimeter around the rubble, sea fans, and grassy bottom types. You might find them a few hundred feet off a structure. Targeting these areas that are some distance from the wrecks can be very productive when fishing for mutton snapper.

2. Baitcasting

Mutton snapper can also be caught casting bait or lures in shallow water near rockpiles near the shore. Pinfish, squid, pilchards, threadfin herring, shrimp, ballyhoo, and mullet are some of the bait that can be used when learning how to catch mutton snapper.

3. Bottom Fishing

Bottom fishing is another fishing method that is used when fishing for mutton snapper. Jigs or bait are used when fishing deep in the water column for mutton snapper.

4. Chumming

Chumming is another fishing technique anglers use to bring mutton snapper from the bottom and closer to their boat. Chumming involves dropping pieces of bait into the water to attract mutton snapper and get them into a feeding frenzy.

5. Night Fishing

Mutton snapper can also be caught while fishing at night. Most fish are more active at night and will come out to feed. This presents a good opportunity to catch mutton snapper. You can use bait and lures to target them during the night.

Mutton Snapper Fishing Tackle

A medium-weight saltwater conventional rod with a 15-20 lb test line will work. If you are fishing fishing in nearshore estuaries then light tackle will work.

Best Bait For Mutton Snapper

1. Pinfish

Pinfish is also effective as live bait and often used when fishing for mutton snapper near the bottom.

2. Pilchards

Pilchards also work well as bait when fishing for mutton snapper.

3. Ballyhoo

Ballyhoo works well as dead bait when fishing for mutton snapper.

4. Mullet

Mullet is also a good bait that anglers use when fishing for mutton snapper.

5. Shrimp

Shrimp is a good bait when fishing for mutton snapper. It is often used as a dead bait. When learning how to catch mutton snapper, shrimp works well.

6. Goggle Eyes

Goggle eyes work well as live bait and anglers usually use them when fishing near the bottom.

Best Lures For Mutton Snapper

1. Jigs

Jigs work well when fishing for mutton snapper.

2. Swimbaits

Swimbaits also work well when fishing for mutton snapper.

3. Crankbaits

Crankbaits work well as lures when fishing for mutton snapper.

How To Catch Mutton Snapper In The Florida Keys

The Florida Keys is an angler’s dream destination for fishing. There are many different species of fish in the Florida Keys and mutton snapper is one of them. There are many fishing methods you can use when fishing in the Florida keys.

1. Baitcasting

Baitcasting is one of the popular and effective ways of catching mutton snapper in the Florida Keys. It is also a good fishing method to learn how to catch mutton snapper. Lures and bait are used when baitcasting for mutton snapper. Speedo, jigs, pinfish, squid, mullet, pilchards, and shrimp are some of the bait and lures you can use.

2. Drift Fishing

You can fish for mutton snapper by drift fishing. When drift fishing, you let your bait drift with the current and when you get a strike, set the hook and reel them in. Drift fishing is very effective and can be used to target mutton snapper at different areas in the ware column.

3. Night Fishing

Night fishing can be very productive as most fish feed at night. When fishing for mutton snapper at night, you can use lures or bait to target them.

4. Chumming

Chumming is a fishing technique that attracts fish and brings them closer to the boat. it is very effective and can get the fish into a feeding frenzy. Pieces of bait are dropped into the water to create a chum slick that leads back to the boat. As mutton snappers eat the chum, they are brought closer to the boat where you can drop your bait, hook them and get them into the boat.

Best Rig For Mutton Snapper

1. Deep Sliding Sinker Rig

The deep sliding sinker rig works well as a bottom rig when fishing for mutton snapper.

Make a Bimini Twist on the end of the main line.

Thread the double line through the open end of a 150-pound snap swivel.

Fasten the double line to one end of a barrel swivel.

Tie 25 to 30 feet of 30- to 40-pound fluorocarbon to the other end of the barrel swivel.

Attach a 5/0 to 7/0 inline circle hook with a loop knot.

Tie 2 feet of 15-pound mono to the snap and make a loop on the end to hitch an egg sinker.

2. Fish Finder Rig

The fish finder rig works well when fishing for mutton snapper. It is a bottom fishing rig that can be used for inshore and offshore fishing for mutton snapper and a variety of other species of fish.

Slide a 1/2- to 2-ounce egg sinker up the main line and secure a large barrel swivel to the terminal end. If heavier weights are needed to hold the bottom, use a fish-finder snap-swivel slide to attach a bank sinker.

Secure a 30-inch length of 20- to 40-pound-test monofilament leader to the barrel swivel and snell an appropriate-sized hook to the terminal end.

Mutton Snapper Fishing Tips

1. When you go mutton snapper fishing, go with a lot of live and dead bait.

2. Pinfish, Speedo, pilchards, ballyhoo, goggle eye, threadfin herring, mullet, and shrimp are some of the best bait for mutton snapper.

3. Mutton snapper has a habit of biting and dropping bait a few times before eating it or not eating it when they are not very aggressive.

4. If a mutton snapper tugs at a bait and detects an unnatural feel with resistance, it will become suspicious and leave the bait.

5. When hooked, mutton snapper will give you a hard fight for a good period of time. They will make strong runs toward rocks.

6. Mutton snapper bite well during the night, especially when there is a full moon.

7. Mutton snapper is a delicious fish with firm white meat.

The Bottom Line

Mutton snapper is a favorite of anglers as they are hard fighting, wary, and found in many areas and is a delicious fish. They can be found around structures where they wait to ambush baitfish. There are many fishing methods such as baitcasting, chumming, drift fishing, night fishing, and bottom fishing that can be used to catch mutton snapper.

In this article, we discussed how to catch mutton snapper, shared tips and tricks, as well as discussed the fishing methods often used by anglers when fishing for mutton snapper. You can also read how to catch lane snapper, how to catch mangrove snapper, how to catch yellowtail snapper, how to catch vermillion snapper, how to catch cubera snapper, and how to catch red snapper.