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Artifical Bait for Mangrove Snapper
Posted on 7/26/26 at 8:03 am
Posted on 7/26/26 at 8:03 am
I've been trying for about 3 years now to find the magical mythical artifical bait that will catch spooky grand isle oil rig mangroves. We've had very limited success with various things, always doing vastly better with live bait than anything else. Currently I'm trying different marker 54 rigs and havent had much chance to try it yet but the outlook is bleak so far. It seems like trying to emulate a live shrimp just doesnt work. Ive gone through my arsenal of typical inshore style stuff, and now looking to try vertical jigging them next, but I have no idea what to get.
So without spoiling any of your super secret trade secrets, give me some more ideas of what to try.
So without spoiling any of your super secret trade secrets, give me some more ideas of what to try.
Posted on 7/26/26 at 8:36 am to DownshiftAndFloorIt
Rapala mooch minnow on as small a jig head as will get down to the fish or drop shot rig with a heavier weight 18-24in below the bait.
Posted on 7/26/26 at 8:54 am to dalefla
Do you fish them in Florida? Ive only done it there once in the keys, and we caught the shite out of them on hardtails, with a big heavy lime green jig head.
That whole experience was weird. The water was so clear you could see the bottom, 80 feet deep. That rig would have never worked 15 miles out of grand isle (i dont think) but we slammed them there. Seemed to be a billion of them.
That whole experience was weird. The water was so clear you could see the bottom, 80 feet deep. That rig would have never worked 15 miles out of grand isle (i dont think) but we slammed them there. Seemed to be a billion of them.
Posted on 7/26/26 at 9:03 am to DownshiftAndFloorIt
Yes in FL around Tampa Bay. The water is not as clear as the keys, though.
ETA... Around bridge pilings and other structures.
ETA... Around bridge pilings and other structures.
This post was edited on 7/26/26 at 9:06 am
Posted on 7/26/26 at 10:11 am to DownshiftAndFloorIt
Best way to catch mangroves without live bait is a speargun. I wish you the best on your journey.
Posted on 7/26/26 at 7:31 pm to DownshiftAndFloorIt
Ive caught a few on the smallest slow pitch jigs you can find. Not very consistent but it's fun. Usually, can catch some other random fish like strawberries and creole fish with them too.
Posted on 7/26/26 at 8:01 pm to Pouldo26
We've caught some of them on just about everything, but never a box full on anything except live bait. I want to catch a 4 man limit on something artificial. Its my current mission
Posted on 7/26/26 at 8:55 pm to DownshiftAndFloorIt
Long white zoom trick worms…. Money
Posted on 7/26/26 at 9:25 pm to DownshiftAndFloorIt
NLBN = No Live Bait Needed
This has been my go-to bait this year: 3" Paddle Tail in Hell Yeah Butter.
I tie it directly to braid—no leader and no swivel.
When the water is clear, you're at a bit of a disadvantage fishing around the Mango's. A little water discoloration helps you stay more stealthy. Chumming can also make a difference. A lot of people use baked macaroni, and it works surprisingly well.
NLBN
This has been my go-to bait this year: 3" Paddle Tail in Hell Yeah Butter.
I tie it directly to braid—no leader and no swivel.
When the water is clear, you're at a bit of a disadvantage fishing around the Mango's. A little water discoloration helps you stay more stealthy. Chumming can also make a difference. A lot of people use baked macaroni, and it works surprisingly well.
NLBN
Posted on 7/26/26 at 9:26 pm to rsbd
quote:
zoom trick worms
How do you rig em? I tried something similar once but with a 3oz weight dropshot there was of course zero action
Posted on 7/26/26 at 9:33 pm to Novastar
quote:
tie it directly to braid—no leader and no swivel.
Usually a no-no with mangroves. Why no leader?
Posted on 7/26/26 at 10:46 pm to DownshiftAndFloorIt
Weighted swim bait hook
Posted on 7/27/26 at 9:10 am to DownshiftAndFloorIt
quote:
Why no leader?
No leader just for this lure. We use Momoi Fluorocarbon leader when fishing live/cut bait. snell the hook and inline swivel to braid - as stealth as possible.
In stained or lightly discolored water, mangroves are typically more concerned with the natural presentation than seeing the braid.
Posted on 7/27/26 at 10:42 am to Novastar
All my rods have a mono topshot on them, think that'll matter?
Posted on 7/27/26 at 11:10 am to DownshiftAndFloorIt
quote:
All my rods have a mono topshot on them, think that'll matter?
Flouro is nearly invisible underwater, it has excellent abrasion resistance, sinks faster and requires proper knots.
In dirty/stained water: A 3-6 ft mono topshot is fine
In clean water: flouro is recommended
you can always Double Uni to your mono.
Posted on 7/27/26 at 11:12 am to DownshiftAndFloorIt
I've caught mangroves on the small red rat-l-trap. Had them in a feeding frenzy really good and tossed this at them just to try, caught 2 then they caught on. Sneaky bastards.
Posted on 7/27/26 at 11:26 am to Novastar
Our SOP has been fluorocarbon leader no matter what when mangroving, but we never had anybody teach us much about it, its all been school of experience for us.
In fact ive been thinking about ripping all the mono top shots off and just using fluorocarbon topshots to save the rigging effort. It doesnt seem like mono has any advantage other than being cheap.
Ive tried rattle traps/top dogs/twitch baits etc with about the same luck as everything else, might catch one, much more likely to hook a Spaniard. Weve avoided chumming because of the sharks.
In fact ive been thinking about ripping all the mono top shots off and just using fluorocarbon topshots to save the rigging effort. It doesnt seem like mono has any advantage other than being cheap.
Ive tried rattle traps/top dogs/twitch baits etc with about the same luck as everything else, might catch one, much more likely to hook a Spaniard. Weve avoided chumming because of the sharks.
Posted on 7/27/26 at 1:03 pm to DownshiftAndFloorIt
I've been wanting to try something like a Matrix shad rigged up on a superlight jighead, or maybe even something like a wide gap offset worm hook with the hook buried, maybe even a weighted one to help it fall.
I never remember to pack any to try, and I bet a mangrove would tear a plastic up pretty good.
I never remember to pack any to try, and I bet a mangrove would tear a plastic up pretty good.
Posted on 7/27/26 at 2:16 pm to YOURADHERE
The plastics would probably be single use and at that point depending on what it is it might cost more than a live shrimp, which is why im primarily focusing on hard baits for now. We've also vertical jigged red snappers successfully before, which i know is nowhere near the same thing, but it gives me some hope.
Which is my sole motivation for working on this. I have to buy live bait because we are doing cannonball runs and have no time to catch bait, and its expensive and frustrating to pay top dollar for a few nice and a lot of tiny little shrimp.
Which is my sole motivation for working on this. I have to buy live bait because we are doing cannonball runs and have no time to catch bait, and its expensive and frustrating to pay top dollar for a few nice and a lot of tiny little shrimp.
Posted on 7/27/26 at 3:02 pm to DownshiftAndFloorIt
Maybe Nomad Swimtrex?
Zman Elaztec soft plastics can take some abuse but not sure how they hold up to teethy snappers
Zman Elaztec soft plastics can take some abuse but not sure how they hold up to teethy snappers
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