# Red Snapper in Pensacola Bay tomorrow



## FishStalker

Please help out with any info that could help me locate some snapper tomorrow in Pensacola Bay. I will be on the water all day just want it to be a successful trip. Have a 20ft bay boat so should be able to get anywhere.


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## Flounderpounder

LOL! I wish I had a dollar for everytime I've seen a thread like this. A common resonse has been something like "you'd be more likely to get permission to sleep w/someone's wife than get his bay number's". The conventional advice is to "earn" your spots by finding them yourself. Troll around (you could pick up some nice fish too!) while keeping an eye on your FF for structure. Mark it, drop down a bait, and hold on!


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## FishStalker

Flounderpounder said:


> LOL! I wish I had a dollar for everytime I've seen a thread like this. A common resonse has been something like "you'd be more likely to get permission to sleep w/someone's wife than get his bay number's". The conventional advice is to "earn" your spots by finding them yourself. Troll around (you could pick up some nice fish too!) while keeping an eye on your FF for structure. Mark it, drop down a bait, and hold on!


Wasn't looking for numbers bro just a point in the right direction man like what bridge or area to look around. It's all good though I understand big time that people like to keep it hush hush so I will hopefully be the squirrel that finds a nut tomorrow


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## dailysaw

It has taken me years to find snapper in the bay. If you find them you will also find the grouper. The key is structure. Trolling and watching the machine is how it's done. Put in the time and you won't want to give out your "areas " either. Happy hunting


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## dailysaw

I'll give you a freebe 3 mile holds some huge very smart red snapper. Normally you won't catch them because most people don't target them they are a bi catch or a holy shit look what I caught. Use large white trout or croaker. They are extremely smart and saying that if you hook one it will be a stud. Best of luck let us know oh it goes


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## FishStalker

dailysaw said:


> It has taken me years to find snapper in the bay. If you find them you will also find the grouper. The key is structure. Trolling and watching the machine is how it's done. Put in the time and you won't want to give out your "areas " either. Happy hunting


I am going on a buddy's boat once I have my own trust me I know how the dance works and I will be putting in the hour for sure. Just new to the area and didn't know if there was a really exposed spot like a bridge or something that everyone fished and knew about. 

Tight lines fellas


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## TailRazor

Also a good way is to run up a ways and drift back down, found a bunch of my numbers that way.


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## Flounderpounder

dailysaw said:


> I'll give you a freebe 3 mile holds some huge very smart red snapper. Normally you won't catch them because most people don't target them they are a bi catch or a holy shit look what I caught. Use large white trout or croaker. They are extremely smart and saying that if you hook one it will be a stud. Best of luck let us know oh it goes


Good advice. 1st bay snap I ever caught was on Bruce's boat at 3MB (or did he catch it...don't remember). Some more advice: use STOUT gear when fishing bay structure, and get 'em off the bottom pronto. They love to shoot into the structure if they can. That usually ends in a broken line, and no fish in the cooler (personal experience...:whistling.

P.S. For trolling, a Stretch 25 seems to work pretty well, while you are looking for spots. Bull reds, maybe a king, I even got a gag on one once.


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## dailysaw

That snapper was all you Tom. After that experience taught me they were around. Just have to work hard to catch them.


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## kelly1

Wife & I use to catch them about a mile west of 3m bridge. Barely legal. There was always a lot of spade fish circling the structure..... One thing to look for.


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## FishEyeMaps

I have some side-scan images of structure on both sides of 3 Mile Bridge that can be loaded into Google Earth for viewing, if you want them. You can hover over the images to get the GPS locations.


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## karma

Just some advice to find some great spots.. Private message me and I may elaborate to some for ya..

I have dialed in on red snapper and grouper in our bay systems.. I have spots near 3 mile.. by joe patties.. all over the middle of the bay between deer point and the turning basin.. all around the east and west depths off of ft pickens.. in the middle of the pass etc..

The best way to locate these places is to do exactly this..

Go purchase or locate an image online of our bay system.. My old maps will show you all the dumping grounds.. Their are a lot of areas in our bay that fall under this category.. Those areas are littered with crap from shrimp nets, etc.. Their is all sorts of stuff down in those areas that old LOTS of fish.. Some spots are hit harder then others.. then some are clearly overlooked.. 

Some of my most productive spots show very little structure or relief.. It does not take much of a reading on the bottom machine to actually locate solid red snappers or groupers..

However, the average fisherman just now educating themselves on targeting these species in the bay are often using poor rod choices and terminal tackle choices..

Majority of the time our bay system has a pretty significant current, wind, etc.. 

So depending on the current conditions.. Ya gotta outfit your rods to reassure success..

I have been known to drop in some of spots for grouper or big red snapper using a good bottom rod outfitted with power pro.. 

These bigger fish fight hard in bay and stay real close to structure.. So in my opinion braided line with make you so much more successful.. 

Its not uncommon for me to literally have drag almost on lock down.. Some of the groupers and red snappers I have caught from 26" to 33" would have probably got the best of me if i was not outfitted with power pro and a flouroleader all the way up 80lb.. I have had incidences where I would patiently wait for my rod to slam and throw the boat in gear real quick to get the fish off the reef.. 

When looking for new spots or trying to locate fish.. I usually start with the go to carolina rig.. depending on current you will need to use atleast a 4oz weght.. i have been known to use up a pound of lead to always have my bait in strike zone.. the best baits hands down for good solid fish is hand sized baits.. croakers, pinfish, pigfish, and white trout.. You will be surprised on how big of baits you can use to generate solid fish.. They are pretty aggressive and its not uncommon to have an 8" bait fish get worked!!

The biggest thing is slowing your drift down and using enough led to keep your bait real close to the bottom or basically almost bouncing the heavy led just along the bottom.. using the right line choice and leader will all be variable and will take a learning curve.. 

Also.. when using a beefed up outfit to catch stud fish you will be better off buying some good hooks! I have straighten out hooks alot on BIG fish.. So dont hesitate to use extra strong hooks when fishing for the big boys..

Hope this helps.. I could get more detailed.. but I think this will be a good start for ya.. PM and I could elaborate some more if need be..


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## FishStalker

Man you guys are awesome thanks for all the advice and info. We ended up just fishing the very northern arms of black water bay. He didn't feel comfortable taking his boat to 3 mile bridge. He is getting a different boat this weekend so maybe after the trade up he might consider it. We did pretty good catching 6 Reds (2 in the slot) a couple of trout that meet the grill as well and about 50 needle fish!!:/. I really dislike needle fish now. There were tons of big reds and trout everywhere but we could not get to them once we would locate them since his trolling motor broke right away. Fished from 0500-1930 and worked hard for every bite we got. If you have any interest in the where abouts we fished go a head and PM me and I can fill you in. We should have easily caught 100 fish that day but you will need a trolling motor to move around as they do to stay on them!!!!!

I really want you guys to understand how much this meant. I have only been stationed at Eglin for a couple weeks and have meet so many nice people in the area. When I get my boat in the spring time (hopefully) I will be doing a lot of work on the weekends finding my own spots. I am really upset that this thread seemed to most as someone asking for a handout and apologize for that. If any of you ever need some help cleaning your boat after a long day fishing I will be glad to dirty it with you any time. 


Mike


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## Redtracker

karma said:


> Just some advice to find some great spots.. Private message me and I may elaborate to some for ya..
> 
> I have dialed in on red snapper and grouper in our bay systems.. I have spots near 3 mile.. by joe patties.. all over the middle of the bay between deer point and the turning basin.. all around the east and west depths off of ft pickens.. in the middle of the pass etc..
> 
> The best way to locate these places is to do exactly this..
> 
> Go purchase or locate an image online of our bay system.. My old maps will show you all the dumping grounds.. Their are a lot of areas in our bay that fall under this category.. Those areas are littered with crap from shrimp nets, etc.. Their is all sorts of stuff down in those areas that old LOTS of fish.. Some spots are hit harder then others.. then some are clearly overlooked..
> 
> Some of my most productive spots show very little structure or relief.. It does not take much of a reading on the bottom machine to actually locate solid red snappers or groupers..
> 
> However, the average fisherman just now educating themselves on targeting these species in the bay are often using poor rod choices and terminal tackle choices..
> 
> Majority of the time our bay system has a pretty significant current, wind, etc..
> 
> So depending on the current conditions.. Ya gotta outfit your rods to reassure success..
> 
> I have been known to drop in some of spots for grouper or big red snapper using a good bottom rod outfitted with power pro..
> 
> These bigger fish fight hard in bay and stay real close to structure.. So in my opinion braided line with make you so much more successful..
> 
> Its not uncommon for me to literally have drag almost on lock down.. Some of the groupers and red snappers I have caught from 26" to 33" would have probably got the best of me if i was not outfitted with power pro and a flouroleader all the way up 80lb.. I have had incidences where I would patiently wait for my rod to slam and throw the boat in gear real quick to get the fish off the reef..
> 
> When looking for new spots or trying to locate fish.. I usually start with the go to carolina rig.. depending on current you will need to use atleast a 4oz weght.. i have been known to use up a pound of lead to always have my bait in strike zone.. the best baits hands down for good solid fish is hand sized baits.. croakers, pinfish, pigfish, and white trout.. You will be surprised on how big of baits you can use to generate solid fish.. They are pretty aggressive and its not uncommon to have an 8" bait fish get worked!!
> 
> The biggest thing is slowing your drift down and using enough led to keep your bait real close to the bottom or basically almost bouncing the heavy led just along the bottom.. using the right line choice and leader will all be variable and will take a learning curve..
> 
> Also.. when using a beefed up outfit to catch stud fish you will be better off buying some good hooks! I have straighten out hooks alot on BIG fish.. So dont hesitate to use extra strong hooks when fishing for the big boys..
> 
> Hope this helps.. I could get more detailed.. but I think this will be a good start for ya.. PM and I could elaborate some more if need be..[/QUOTE
> 
> He is spot on......I fish the same way......


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## Reelfun27

I am surprised at all the excellent info that developed out of this thread. As they say!! The only stupid question is the one you don't ask??? I went out last week red snapper fishing. We fished some bridge rubble or some type of structure and I was using a Penn GTI 320. I needed a bigger rig for sure, Half of the hook ups were lost due to all the structure. We caught AJ, Red Snapper, Lane, Mangrove Snapper and mingos. We were anchored off so we couldn't get away from structure. After reading this thread, I understand about have a strong rig with power pro or braided line. I had never caught red snapper in the bay until this year myself.


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## Hangover

dailysaw said:


> I'll give you a freebe 3 mile holds some huge very smart red snapper. Normally you won't catch them because most people don't target them they are a bi catch or a holy shit look what I caught. Use large white trout or croaker. They are extremely smart and saying that if you hook oone it will be a stud. Best of luck let us know oh it goes




I wonder if it is possible to spear fish any of this "structure" or even the bridge? There's probably a law about spearing near a pier but a bridge seems fair game.


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## dailysaw

I'm not sure I don't dive. I have watched guys shoot sheep head from one bridge over to the other. Using bow and arrow. Need to ask in the dive section.


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## CB541

I'm a newbie to the area also and that is some of the best advice I've read :thumbsup::thumbsup: Chris


karma said:


> Just some advice to find some great spots.. Private message me and I may elaborate to some for ya..
> 
> I have dialed in on red snapper and grouper in our bay systems.. I have spots near 3 mile.. by joe patties.. all over the middle of the bay between deer point and the turning basin.. all around the east and west depths off of ft pickens.. in the middle of the pass etc..
> 
> The best way to locate these places is to do exactly this..
> 
> Go purchase or locate an image online of our bay system.. My old maps will show you all the dumping grounds.. Their are a lot of areas in our bay that fall under this category.. Those areas are littered with crap from shrimp nets, etc.. Their is all sorts of stuff down in those areas that old LOTS of fish.. Some spots are hit harder then others.. then some are clearly overlooked..
> 
> Some of my most productive spots show very little structure or relief.. It does not take much of a reading on the bottom machine to actually locate solid red snappers or groupers..
> 
> However, the average fisherman just now educating themselves on targeting these species in the bay are often using poor rod choices and terminal tackle choices..
> 
> Majority of the time our bay system has a pretty significant current, wind, etc..
> 
> So depending on the current conditions.. Ya gotta outfit your rods to reassure success..
> 
> I have been known to drop in some of spots for grouper or big red snapper using a good bottom rod outfitted with power pro..
> 
> These bigger fish fight hard in bay and stay real close to structure.. So in my opinion braided line with make you so much more successful..
> 
> Its not uncommon for me to literally have drag almost on lock down.. Some of the groupers and red snappers I have caught from 26" to 33" would have probably got the best of me if i was not outfitted with power pro and a flouroleader all the way up 80lb.. I have had incidences where I would patiently wait for my rod to slam and throw the boat in gear real quick to get the fish off the reef..
> 
> When looking for new spots or trying to locate fish.. I usually start with the go to carolina rig.. depending on current you will need to use atleast a 4oz weght.. i have been known to use up a pound of lead to always have my bait in strike zone.. the best baits hands down for good solid fish is hand sized baits.. croakers, pinfish, pigfish, and white trout.. You will be surprised on how big of baits you can use to generate solid fish.. They are pretty aggressive and its not uncommon to have an 8" bait fish get worked!!
> 
> The biggest thing is slowing your drift down and using enough led to keep your bait real close to the bottom or basically almost bouncing the heavy led just along the bottom.. using the right line choice and leader will all be variable and will take a learning curve..
> 
> Also.. when using a beefed up outfit to catch stud fish you will be better off buying some good hooks! I have straighten out hooks alot on BIG fish.. So dont hesitate to use extra strong hooks when fishing for the big boys..
> 
> Hope this helps.. I could get more detailed.. but I think this will be a good start for ya.. PM and I could elaborate some more if need be..


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## Dieselboatj

I'll be down in two weeks. Look forward to trying some of these suggestions. Thanks!


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## Burnt Drag

Dieselboatj said:


> I'll be down in two weeks. Look forward to trying some of these suggestions. Thanks!


What are you going to do with them? The season doesnt open till June.:whistling:

BTW, welcome to the forum.


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## amarcafina

:whistling::whistling::whistling:


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## spinfactor

Thanks Karma


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## Chapman5011

FishStalker said:


> Wasn't looking for numbers bro just a point in the right direction man like what bridge or area to look around. It's all good though I understand big time that people like to keep it hush hush so I will hopefully be the squirrel that finds a nut tomorrow


Search the dive sites for pensacola bay inshore dive spots. Most of those sites will tell you the depth also. 
You would be better off searching for the big bull reds that should be all over the place. You can't keep the snapper anyways.


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