Catching Mangrove Snapper in Galveston area

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lahai1dj
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Catching Mangrove Snapper in Galveston area

Post by lahai1dj »

I'm feeling like some sushi. Last summer I caught two Mangrove Snappers fishing the docks around Sportsman rd with live shrimp on a Carolina rig. This is the only time I fished here and only time I caught Mangrove Snapper (outside of Florida).

Do any of you catch these fish regularly? Where do you catch them and how?
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Re: Catching Mangrove Snapper in Galveston area

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Docks, pilings, rocks. If you like sushi/sashimi and want to use a available safe local inshore fish don't overlook Spanish mackerel. My neighbor makes it and it's really good.
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Re: Catching Mangrove Snapper in Galveston area

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karstopo wrote:Docks, pilings, rocks. If you like sushi/sashimi and want to use a available safe local inshore fish don't overlook Spanish mackerel. My neighbor makes it and it's really good.
I second this, especially as it's widely available this time of year (mostly in the surf). A Chinese friend who is a chef-level cook, makes sushi and sashimi from mackerel all the time. A Mirrodine (NOT Softdine!!) or heavy spoon cast out to the third sand bar will get you as many of these as you could want if the water is the least bit clear.

But another area I've caught more than a couple of Mangrove Snapper are the mouths of the canals that feed out into Cold Pass behind the county park on the Surfside side of SLP. It's been years, but we used to catch a dozen or more of them at a time. We probably did deplete the population back then, but I would bet they'd have made a comeback by now.
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Re: Catching Mangrove Snapper in Galveston area

Post by The Angler »

Well, pretty much all snapper are a reef fish, so think structure like mentioned above.
I like to target them at jetties tight to the rocks using free lined( sometimes using split shots)peeled shrimp on a small treble hook; just be sure and horse them in once you hook up because they'll swim back into the rocks and leave you snagged. If you find yourself snagged with a fish on, just go slack and hope he swims out, or you can horse them out. We do better in the spring and fall targeting these guys, but I've been hearing reports of some still being caught.
Fishing for mangroves is pretty easy and a lot like fishing for perch so it's a good way to get kids into fishing just be sure the rocks aren't slippery and there aren't any huge waves crashing over the rocks.
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Re: Catching Mangrove Snapper in Galveston area

Post by FwistedTucker »

One of my favorite to eat raw and you don't have to worry about a federal season...in my experience, I used to catch the bigger ones at the end of jetties when I lived in Corpus (I would fish both the Packery and Port Aransas rocks). However since living up here I don't get any over 12", which 4 hours south I would usually toss back. I think they migrate once warm enough and up here is a little too far north to find some nice 20". I'd recommend going south if you want to take the family or friends and this is your indeed targeted species. Fish near the end of the Port A south jetty with live shrimp. Freeline it with a #3 split shot weight about 12" up from a 3/0 circle hook. Chances are you will get some reds too in the same spot. Best time of year for them is Sep-Oct, and there's tarpon and plenty of other fun things to sight cast while you're out there.

That's my take, but I'd love to hear of someone crushing it for mangies in the Galveston Bay system.

FT
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Re: Catching Mangrove Snapper in Galveston area

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lahai1dj wrote:I'm feeling like some sushi. Last summer I caught two Mangrove Snappers fishing the docks around Sportsman rd with live shrimp on a Carolina rig. This is the only time I fished here and only time I caught Mangrove Snapper (outside of Florida).

Do any of you catch these fish regularly? Where do you catch them and how?
Just in case you're not kidding about eating it as sushi, know that if you are planning to eat a warm water bay fish caught during the summer, it's especially important that it be frozen at -4 degrees F for seven days before it is safe to eat. Your freezer is probably currently set at about 0 degrees, but most freezers can be set down to -10.
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lahai1dj
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Re: Catching Mangrove Snapper in Galveston area

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Reefmonkey wrote: Just in case you're not kidding about eating it as sushi, know that if you are planning to eat a warm water bay fish caught during the summer, it's especially important that it be frozen at -4 degrees F for seven days before it is safe to eat. Your freezer is probably currently set at about 0 degrees, but most freezers can be set down to -10.
I'm actually serious about the sushi. My understanding is that Mangrove Snappers are low risk WRT consuming parasites. Salmon and a few other popular sushi fish are high risk so it's advisable to freeze them. If you know otherwise I'm all ears!

I suppose I could afford to lose a few pounds so extracting a tape worm might not be such a bad outcome :lol: Now, I'm kidding, about the tape worm (not about losing a few pounds).
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Re: Catching Mangrove Snapper in Galveston area

Post by lahai1dj »

Yaklash wrote: I second this, especially as it's widely available this time of year (mostly in the surf). A Chinese friend who is a chef-level cook, makes sushi and sashimi from mackerel all the time. A Mirrodine (NOT Softdine!!) or heavy spoon cast out to the third sand bar will get you as many of these as you could want if the water is the least bit clear.

But another area I've caught more than a couple of Mangrove Snapper are the mouths of the canals that feed out into Cold Pass behind the county park on the Surfside side of SLP. It's been years, but we used to catch a dozen or more of them at a time. We probably did deplete the population back then, but I would bet they'd have made a comeback by now.
Thanks for the tip! I've been wanting to check that area out for a while but I've been nervous about launching anywhere near San Luis Pass due to the current. When you launch from that county park is it a struggle to fight the outgoing current or are you far enough from the pass to be reasonable protected?
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lahai1dj
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Re: Catching Mangrove Snapper in Galveston area

Post by lahai1dj »

karstopo wrote:Docks, pilings, rocks. If you like sushi/sashimi and want to use a available safe local inshore fish don't overlook Spanish mackerel. My neighbor makes it and it's really good.
It is funny you brought up Spanish Mackerel because they was my "next in line" species.
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Re: Catching Mangrove Snapper in Galveston area

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lahai1dj wrote:
Yaklash wrote: I second this, especially as it's widely available this time of year (mostly in the surf). A Chinese friend who is a chef-level cook, makes sushi and sashimi from mackerel all the time. A Mirrodine (NOT Softdine!!) or heavy spoon cast out to the third sand bar will get you as many of these as you could want if the water is the least bit clear.

But another area I've caught more than a couple of Mangrove Snapper are the mouths of the canals that feed out into Cold Pass behind the county park on the Surfside side of SLP. It's been years, but we used to catch a dozen or more of them at a time. We probably did deplete the population back then, but I would bet they'd have made a comeback by now.

Thanks for the tip! I've been wanting to check that area out for a while but I've been nervous about launching anywhere near San Luis Pass due to the current. When you launch from that county park is it a struggle to fight the outgoing current or are you far enough from the pass to be reasonable protected?
Cold Pass can have noticeable current and in the middle where the deeper water is, it can be strong enough to make a paddle straight across become an angled paddle, but if you stay close to the edges, it is quite manageable. I have swam a john boat (with a motor that would not start) across Cold Pass and it only set me about 40 yards off by the time I got to the other side.
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Re: Catching Mangrove Snapper in Galveston area

Post by Reefmonkey »

lahai1dj wrote:
Reefmonkey wrote: Just in case you're not kidding about eating it as sushi, know that if you are planning to eat a warm water bay fish caught during the summer, it's especially important that it be frozen at -4 degrees F for seven days before it is safe to eat. Your freezer is probably currently set at about 0 degrees, but most freezers can be set down to -10.
I'm actually serious about the sushi. My understanding is that Mangrove Snappers are low risk WRT consuming parasites. Salmon and a few other popular sushi fish are high risk so it's advisable to freeze them. If you know otherwise I'm all ears!

I suppose I could afford to lose a few pounds so extracting a tape worm might not be such a bad outcome :lol: Now, I'm kidding, about the tape worm (not about losing a few pounds).
Well, I think anisakiasis might make a tapeworm look like a walk in the park. But parasites aren't the only concern, with temperatures being what they are, bacterial counts are going to be at their highest - the Vibrios, Salmonella, etc. And then there is all the rain we have been having, it's going to be sweeping stuff down the rivers from populated areas, where flooding conditions can often cause unintentional discharges from sewage treatment plants, plus there is runoff from other nonpoint sources. And all this rainwater reduces the salinity in the bay, which can allow pathogens that otherwise wouldn't do well in saltwater to propagate.

I've spent a lot of time in Japan and I love sushi as much as the next guy, but if you're eating sushi here in the states, you're eating fish that has been frozen per the temp and time I previously mentioned, the FDA requires it. Food for thought.
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