Fishing on Flagler: Mangrove Snapper

Native to the Atlantic, the mangrove snapper can be found in a wide variety of habitats, including the waters of the intracoastal waterway right off of Flagler.

A medium sized fish, usually weighing between 2-10 lbs, the mangrove snapper, or gray snapper, is usually a greyish red color, but can change color from coppery to bright red. When seen from above the water, it appears to have a dark stripe running through its eye.

A favorite of fishermen, this fish is famous for its light, flaky meat. It is typically caught using light tackle and live or frozen shrimp as bait. Other good choices are squid, minnows, sardines, or fiddler crabs.

The Mangrove Snapper is fairly abundant in the intracoastal and is fairly easy to catch, making it a good choice for fishing with the kids. A good tip to save you time when cleaning is to keep the fish in a cooler with ice and water slush. This will cause the fat to gel and make it easier to remove when you are cleaning it.