GET YOUR DOCK SNAPPER KNOCKED!

By

Jan S. Maizler

New refinements on fishing for Florida’s cautious critters



If you’re a marine angler, you’re familiar with those huge mangrove snapper that

swim enticingly under the docks of Florida, the Gulf, and the Caribbean. As your

pulse quickened, you tried to catch one, and that’s what you caught….one!


It doesn’t take long to learn that dock snapper have the caution that comes from

experience: they’ve seen it all. However, you can crack their code and increase

your catch rate if you follow some specific guidelines and techniques. This begins

with snapper rule #1: dock snapper avoid feeding when they feel something is

out of the ordinary. This would be true for baiting them or battling them.


The first part of your efforts will be spotting them. With the exception of fish that

feed under people-intensive charter boats and cleaning tables, dock snapper

generally shy away from overhead movement. So, put on your cap and polarized

glasses and take a sideways peek. They’ll be less nervous.


Once you’ve spotted them, it’s bait choice time. Keeping in mind the out-of-the-

ordinary caveat, feed them what they generally eat. Around the party boats,

borrow some fish scraps and bait up. In other places, try a live shrimp.


Use a bronze-colored 1/0 claw-style hook. If you are using a fish scrap, bury

the hook deep enough so that the only extension is the hook point. With a live

shrimp, hook it gently under the horn so that it can swim around freely.


Most importantly, when you present your bait, keep your rod parallel to the dock

and avoid waving it out over the fish. Even more than your overhead silhouette,

dock snapper often flee from the sight of a clearly defined rod. To them, it means

danger.


Take advantage of the latest developments in tackle technology and use only

fluorocarbon fishing line. I use eight pound Berkley Vanish and find it to be

practically invisible. I want those dock snapper comfortable and so will you.


Now that you’ve minimized the visibility of your hook and your fishing line, you’re

almost ready for the presentation. But before that, feed the fish with some hors d’

oeuvres to whet their appetite, so they’ll begin feeding with comfort and more

hunger. As they gulp a scrap or chase around a frantic shrimp, observe the

feeding lines on their heads: when these “eyebrows” get good and dark is the

time to begin your presentation.


Ease your bait into the water. If it’s a scrap bait, let it drop naturally. If you’re

using a live shrimp, let the bait “do its thing” and swim around. Even if your

shrimp repeatedly rushes to the surface, leave it alone…eventually it will

tire, and the predatory dock snapper will have their way with it. Altering the bait

movements on scrap or shrimp are out of the ordinary, and it will rapidly become

something to avoid. The only tackle capable of this versatility in the presentation

is spinning tackle, and the presentation is always made with bail left open.


Your ideal tackle choice for dock snapper should be include the following.

Choose one of the newest spinning reels that features the fastest retrieve ratios

possible, as well as having an “infinite anti-reverse” feature. There are some

excellent salt-water spinners on the market that do not have these features

that are very popular: fishing for dock snapper demands that you pass up those

models. Mount your reel on the longest graphite spinning rod that you can buy.

My favorite weapon is a nine and one-half foot long graphite steelhead rod.

The basis for these tackle choices will soon be clear.


You remember that your presentation is “ordinary”, natural, and fished on a free

spool…no hands on the line. Everything changes when the strike comes. Once

that happens, the rule of “strike ‘em and keep ‘em coming” begins and only ends

when your fish hits the deck.


You’ll be aiding in striking your fish by using “infinite anti-reverse” spinners,

because the reel handle won’t back up or create “gaps” in the handle and line

tension as you crank in line to create the most powerful strike. Since you have

chosen the fastest retrieve ratio possible, you’ll be aided by the increased line

pickup in both your striking the fish and reeling it in.


Once your dock snapper is solidly hooked, think only one thing: “keep ‘em

coming.” You’ll best accomplish this by using “fast-stroke” rod pumps to keep

your snapper’s head direction away from the haven of line-cutting pilings.

When you use this technique with an ultra-long spinning rod, you’ll soon

appreciate how quickly you’ll reach the optimal battle stance with your snapper,

which is the least amount of line possible between your rod tip and your fish.

Your long rod will also permit you to dig it deep into the water and pull the fish out

of the pilings.


Your battle plan of fast-stroking with minimal line out creates two advantages.

It gives you the greatest chance of maximum pressure, and it exposes the least

amount of line possible that is vulnerable to cutoffs. You’ll find that your optimal

choices in tackle and technique will significantly reduce the battle time. This

creates another bonus, because the shorter the battle, the less nervousness

created in the rest of the school below. Even then, after you deck your second

fish, walk away from the school for a while to give them a “rest”…remember,

dock snapper like the ordinary.


Using the latest innovations in tackle and technique on these cautious critters

will change you from a frustrated observer to a gratified participant.