Mutton Snapper

[Smcdermott]

I am headed to Sandy Point in May and I understand there is a possibly of having some shots at Mutton Snapper on the flats. I hear that these fish can be Permit tough in that enviornment. Does anyone have any experience with flies presentation etc...?

TIA,

Sean

[BobG]

Having never caught a permit, I can't comment upon the comparison.
But, I did take two large mutton snapper several years ago, just around the corner from Sandy point, in Cherokee Sound.
I took both muttons blind casting a clouser at the edge of a channel.
These fish are incredible fighters! Both make phenominal runs, often taking me well over 100 yards into my backing.
If you're fortunate enough to take one of these babies, uner no circumstances let it go. They are perhaps the closest thing to red snapper that swims! In a word, Delicious![I]

[Smcdermott]

Thanks Bob. I am one of the few fisherman who doesn't eat fish but I am sure the guide will speak up if we do get one.

Sean

[Pherman]

I had a few opps to sight cast to muttons and only batting about .500. While the N=2, the fish I did catch took a hand tied fly that consists of a yarn crab like body the size of a dime and a craft fur tail in a matching color that I band like Borski with an art marker. Can give you more specifics if interested. Main thing I noticed is the caught fish hit the fly on the fall or when it settled on the bottom, and not with an agressive retrieve. Good luck. pherman

[uncle4]

The fish fight well and cook better.

I've had good luck with sinking flies (clousers) tossed to channels that
run close to banks/mangroves. The snappers are deeper water fish
than bonefish, cudas or jacks.

Look for deeper water, near or next to banks, esp. banks lined
with mangroves. Dredge those canals with chartreuse&white clousers,
and I like lots of gold mylar/flash in 'em. Shock tippet is useful not
so much because of the snapper's teeth (small and relatively sharp,
but not likely to cut you off) but tangling with mangroves and bottom
structure where they like to live.

Near shore fish get to 3-4# often. Offshore fish (reef fish) will get as big
as 14-18#.

If you can't send filets back, post pictures!

Uncle4

[Henry]

I got this small Mutton Snapper on a #4 Chart/White Clauser while fishing an Atlantic-side beach on Eleuthera Bahama's. It was my first ever of this species. The tales of their table quality are true. This fish did indeed taste great!

['poonman]

Altho' I don't think they hold a candle (fight-wise) to the usual flats fish, particularly permit, any saltwater fish is worth the effort. The best is, these guys taste GREAT.
I've caught them on rock piles and coral heads off the edges of tarpon flats in the Marquesas, and on a permit flat in the Yucatan at the deep hole back of a huge stump that had blown up on the beach in a storm.
Yes, chartreuse and white Clousers work, but so do grey Clousers, tan Clousers, cream Clousers, black Clousers, bunny leaches, and maybe anything else you throw at them.
Please post some photos, and if you can be talked into eating an occasional fish, give them a try.
Garry

[bonesnbass]

Sean, sounds like your more looking to catch them in the skinny water, where their really a different fish than on coral heads. I've been to Sandy Pt. a couple of times and also stayed on More's Island and if your fishing out of Sandy Pt. make it a point that you'd like to fish More's if the weather good. Biggest Bones you'll find in the Bahamas and also legitimate shots at Muttons on the flats and some big ones. We had lots of success throwing Merkins at them, tougher than bones but easier than Permit. By the way there are some big permit over there too, saw them but didn't catch them there, big as garbage can lids. Good fishing

[Smcdermott]

Bones,

That is exactly what I was asking and exactly where I have been told I might find them. No one whas able to tell me what flies they hit though so I appreciate the heads up. Did you stay at a lodge in Sandy Point? I will be at Rickmon a relatively new lodge that the outfitter recommended but I have not been able to find anyone else who has been.

Thanks again,
Sean

[Pucho]

Hi, i have land some(mostly small) on shallow water and near mangroves, on clousers, olive over chartruse, black over olive and all white, also on the october/december 1998 saltwater fly fishing is a pattern for mutton in the florida keys, is a sea urchin pattern, very easy to tie, if interested in the pattern let me know and i will post the recipe.
Pucho

[AlderBrookFarm]

One of the segments of Spanish Fly was done at Rickmon. Of course that could mean that they needed publicity so they asked Jose to do a show there or he had heard it was good there and wanted to take the show there.

[bonesnbass]

Sean, I stayed at Oieshas, if its still there, been staying on More's more recently no long boat ride . Gorda Cay, which Disney bought also has Muttons. For the bigger bones I did well with a tan yarn crab size(2) (body about the size of a dime) with orange sili-legs, for the muttons a little larger crab, nickle sized (1), tan light brown yarn mixed with tan sili-legs, also have some borski- sliders (size 1,2).

[Dpollipo]

I landed one trolling at Acklins Island. The fish took a six inch blue, green and white EP fibre fly that I had rigged on a tandem hook set up as a barracuda fly. The guide was surprised that the snapper took that fly; he said that a blue and white popper (foam body about 2" with 2" white saddle tail) that I had been casting was a more likely snapper fly.

A picture is attached. The fish weighed 8 pounds. The crimson eye isn't normal and I think that it resulted from the awful way the guide landed that fish - grabbing it by the eye sockets. He wanted to make sure that it ended up on the table - they are great table fare.

[Nassau Frank]

Most folks around here fish for Mutton Snapper on the full moon in the spring. You'll do better then. It's mostly yank & crank for food, not sport for flys.

[canuck439]

I got back from bonefishing in Cuba last month. While there I seen a strange fish tailing in the flat I was fishing with a bit of a red tinge on its tail. I gave it a couple of poor casts and it went on its way. About 5 min. later I seen another one of these strange fish on the flat swimming directly toward me. This time I gave was able to get a good cast to it and it swallowed my crazy charlie. I was surprised when I landed a 12-15 lb mutton snapper. It didn't run as fast as a bonefish, but was much more powerful and stripped away about 150 yards of backing. I was also lucky enough to have a friend there to A. witness it and B. photograph me with this thing in calf deep water. I didnt know it was such a good tasting fish, boy were our Cuban guides upset when they heard I caught a snapper and didnt keep it. .