Incredible Underwater Mangrove Snapper Strikes – How They Really Feed
- By: Luke Simonds
- on
- Found In: Fishing Tips, Mangrove Snapper, Sheepshead, Weekly Newsletter: 5-24-20
Want to see how mangrove snapper actually feed on live shrimp?
Here’s a scenario…
You’re fishing a bridge using live shrimp in hopes of getting sheepshead or snapper for dinner, but you keep feeling little tap-taps and losing your shrimp.
Sound familiar?
What do you think is happening down there?
I always thought snapper or sheepshead were stealing my bait, but after watching this video, I now know exactly what’s going on.
In this video below, you’ll learn:
- How snapper feed vs. pinfish
- What to do after hooking a snapper to quickly catch more
- How sheepshead act underwater (very different than snapper)
- And much more
If you want to catch more mangrove snapper, then check this video out.
How Mangrove Snapper Actually Eat [VIDEO]
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Click here to see the underwater trout strikes
Alright, let’s break down how each of these species act underwater.
How Mangrove Snapper Act Underwater
As you can see in the first clip, mangrove snapper have a hard time denying what seems like a free meal.
Even though the snapper knew something wasn’t quite right, he still inhaled the shrimp.
And not only did he inhale it, but it took just 1/60 of a second for him to do it!
I could not believe how fast it was.
And here’s another interesting point: after I caught the first snapper, more snapper came over to see what was going on.
They saw him thrashing around and thought it was a feeding frenzy.
So if you catch one snapper, be sure to get another bait down as quickly as possible.
And finally, you’ll notice in the video that snapper bite in the middle or the head.
They’re not tail-biters, so if something is biting off your shrimp’s tail, it’s probably not a snapper.
If you’re feeling little taps, which could be pinfish or snapper bumping it with their nose, wait for the bigger thump to set the hook.
How Sheepshead Act Underwater
Where the snapper couldn’t resist the shrimp, even though it knew something was wrong, the sheepshead was very shy.
I had one come up to the shrimp, but as soon as he saw the camera he bolted.
And in another clip, where more snapper came around thinking there was a feeding frenzy, you can see the sheepshead in the background leaving when the action starts picking up.
So if you want to catch more sheepshead, be careful to be extra stealthy.
How Pinfish Act Underwater
Ah, the dreaded pinfish…
As you can see in the video, pinfish are tail-biters.
They grab onto the tail and shake the shrimp, trying to break it off (or at least a piece of it off) and eat it.
These are the bait-stealing culprits, and this is why you feel a lot of little taps when you put a shrimp down near structure.
Because they probably won’t be inhaling your bait, make sure to wait for a big thump from a snapper, sheepshead, or other species to set your hook.
If you set the hook too early, you’ll probably just rip the shrimp off the hook, or donate the tail to a hungry pinfish.
Conclusion
If you want to catch more snapper and sheepshead, and lose fewer shrimp, make sure to wait to set the hook until you feel a big thump.
If you feel little taps, it’s most likely pinfish biting your shrimp’s tail.
Also, if you catch a snapper, be sure to get another bait down there as soon as possible because there are likely more hungry snapper down there.
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STOP WASTING TIME ON THE WATER!
Do what the “SMART ANGLERS” are doing and join the Insider Club.
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- Weekly fishing reports and TRENDS revealing exactly where you should fish every trip
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Great footage. Thanks Luke!
cool video!!
Great footage! Thanks for the tips! I agree about the sheep head being shy. I have a clip I can share with sheepshead being shy, just let me know where to share it
Thx
Great stuff! I like dropping the camera in to see what’s down on the bottom….especially when there is a big bite and even more so when the bite turns off.
Great stuff! I like dropping the camera in to see what’s down on the bottom….especially when there is a big bite and even more so when the bite turns off.
Thanks for all the great fishing info. I have a problem though-when I try to scroll down to find the video to watch it, the site immediately zooms to the end of the email. Then, when I go back up to the first part of the email and start to go down to the video, sometimes it zooms back to the end and sometimes it lets me get to the video and watch it! Am I doing something wrong? Thanks again for the super videos. Red Dzielak-Roscoe, IL
This sounds like a zooming issue on your device. Assuming you’re on mobile, make sure to scroll using just 1 finger… if you accidentally use two, the phone may think that you’re trying to zoom in.
Great video of the snapper and pin fish! We seem to have more “Puffers” here on the Indian and Banana rivers. They seem to be the bait stealers here. You thing they behave like the pinfish?
Chuck
The puffers are pests too. They are particular bad on soft plastics because they can bite them into pieces so quickly. And they surely are tough on live shrimp too.
Thanks for the videos and commentary. I’ll probably save enough on scrimp and buying fish dinners to pay for my Insiders membership for another year.
Great Job.
Thanks for making time to leave the nice comment John!
I’m soooo tired of feeding pin fish! Lol
Haha! Me too.