# Black Snapper are thick in the bays 5/27



## DukeDevil91 (Oct 18, 2007)

Went out late at night in search of trout at the dock lights with only limited luck. I've been slaying them in the afternoons on the flats though.

Switched tactics and were putting both live and dead shrimp on #2 circle hooks with light leader and small split shots near bridge pilings in Fort Walton Beach.

Ended up with a bunch of snapper and a few keepers (biggest one was about 15"). Not the trout bite I was looking for, but still fun and good eating!

Also caught an 11 inch pinfish that my buddy kept to take home and eat. Will report back on that one.. :thumbup:


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## HammerHead1631 (Oct 12, 2015)

Man those things are good eating. I used to get into them around the 3 mile every now and then.


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## boomyak (Mar 21, 2014)

Definitely stronger than trout and (in my mind) more pissed off and fun to fight on rod and reel. 

I gotta ask, do you fry them whole and chew the crunchy tail? I've cooked the filets of these a few times and they're great. I saw a video on YouTube of some guy who scales, guts, cuts off the head and fries the rest and his favorite part is the the crunchy fried tail. I just can't bring myself to try it. It's a trap for googans, I know it.


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## watergator (Apr 5, 2016)

boomyak said:


> Definitely stronger than trout and (in my mind) more pissed off and fun to fight on rod and reel.
> 
> I gotta ask, do you fry them whole and chew the crunchy tail? I've cooked the filets of these a few times and they're great. I saw a video on YouTube of some guy who scales, guts, cuts off the head and fries the rest and his favorite part is the the crunchy fried tail. I just can't bring myself to try it. It's a trap for googans, I know it.




Never done it with snapper but I'll concur with that guy from my experience with rainbow trout and bluegill cooked that way


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## cody&ryand (Oct 3, 2007)

boomyak said:


> Definitely stronger than trout and (in my mind) more pissed off and fun to fight on rod and reel.
> 
> I gotta ask, do you fry them whole and chew the crunchy tail? I've cooked the filets of these a few times and they're great. I saw a video on YouTube of some guy who scales, guts, cuts off the head and fries the rest and his favorite part is the the crunchy fried tail. I just can't bring myself to try it. It's a trap for googans, I know it.


That's the only way to eat a bream


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## Jason (Oct 2, 2007)

That's a good looking stringer!!!


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## NoMoSurf (Oct 2, 2007)

cody&ryand said:


> That's the only way to eat a bream


I'll second that! :thumbup:

Damn, Now I've gotta go bream fishing tomorrow...


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## GROUPERKING (Sep 28, 2011)

Those make the best fish sandwiches in the world !


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## keperry1182 (Oct 6, 2010)

Most fish taste better cooked whole. Fillets are fine for convenience but you lose the flavor when you take the bones out. Crispy fried fish tails are pretty damn awesome too. Living in Japan really introduced me to a whole different approach to cooking an eating fish...Asian cultures in general just don't do the fillet thing, it's a waste of meat.


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## GROUPERKING (Sep 28, 2011)

I fillet them ,for sandwich sake, but I also fry the back bones up to eat as well. Nothing wasted.


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## HammerHead1631 (Oct 12, 2015)

I have just filleted them and stuck them on the grill scales down. Eat the meat right off the skin. Damn I miss Florida and salt water.


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## MeltonW (Jul 1, 2015)

That is a fine stinger of Black Snapper. Correct me if I am wrong, but Black Snapper is another name for Grey Snapper - AKA Mangrove Snapper? I catch one of those every now and then, but never a mess like that. 



> I gotta ask, do you fry them whole and chew the crunchy tail?


That crunchy fried tail is a special treat on a small fish like bream or White Trout!


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## kanaka (Oct 3, 2007)

Nice mess. There's a few docks we catch legal sized ones at and when one gets a hit, the only way to get them out from the pilings is to set the hook while running to the stern of the boat. It's a 18' boat......:yes: Limber rods don't boat them.


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## gmoney (Oct 3, 2007)

You are correct, what we call Black Snapper are Grey Snapper-also called mangrove snapper. Great eating fish and there are some rock piles a few miles off the beach in Destin that hold a decent number of 5-8lbers with a few larger.


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