Snapper Season Opening Sunday

[bullets13]

Sunday is the opener for a very short red snapper season

The good news is the recreational red snapper season opens Sunday. The bad news is that it closes August Aug. 5, with a two fish per person limit, and a 16-inch minimum, in Federal waters out past 9 nautical miles.

That leaves us with a 66 day season in federal waters.

State waters remain open for year round fishing. That's good news. But the bad news for anglers on the upper Texas coast is that it's nearly impossible to catch snapper in state waters, where the daily limit is four, with a 15-inch minimum.

Believe it or not the National Marine Fisheries Service has determined that about a third of the recreational harvest is caught within state waters. In fact, the NMFS says that substantial quantities of red snapper are harvested by the recreational fishery from state waters. They report that landings from Texas state waters make up about 30 percent of the state's total recreational haul. How that was proven is anybodies guess. I've done quite a bit of snapper fishing on the lower Texas coast, mostly out of Port Mansfield, where you can catch snapper one to two miles off the beach. And I've never been checked. Better than that I never even see the feds check any boat for snapper anywhere on the entire Gulf coast in over 40 years of fishing.

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission agreed Jan. 23 to remove from consideration proposals to match proposed federal regulations on red snapper in the state's territorial sea.

The current rules for red snapper in state waters - a four-fish daily bag limit and 365-day season - remain in effect.

The NMFS estimates there is a 75-percnet probability the 2.45 million pound recreational quota will not be exceeded during the 2008 fishing year if federal waters are closed on Aug. 5. The service believes the timing of the closure is necessary to, "adequately account for the anticipated but unquantifiable shifts in effort into state waters once the federal fishery closes."

One thing to keep in mind is that you can keep up to 20 vermillion and lane snapper. The minimum size limit on vermillion snapper is 10 inches. For lane it's 8 inches.

One very important rule when fishing in federal waters is that all anglers are required to use circle hooks. Plus venting tools to take the air out of a snapper's bladder.

As of this year circle hooks are required when using dead or live natural baits for reef fish such as red snapper, vermillion, lane and grouper in both federal and state waters.

If you have never fished with circle hooks you're in for a learning experience. What you don't want to do is set the hook. That goes against everything we have ever learned about fishing - as in cross their eyes on the hook set. Do that with a circle hook and it'll slide right out of the mouth of just about any fish.

I've used circle hooks quite a bit. They are very effective once you learn how to use them. Commercial fishermen have used them for years. That should give you an idea of how well they hook fish.

The proper procedure is to simply tighten up on the line. Just start reeling when you feel a tug on the end of the line, and nine times out of 10 the hook will lodge in the corner of the fishes mouth.

Patrick Lemire, a veteran snapper fishermen, recommends using 8/0, 9/0 or 10/0 circle hooks. His favorite is a Mustad 39960-D. That's an inline circle hook. It's also non-stainless. That's another new regulation from the feds. The non-stainless hooks will, supposedly, rust away when broken off in a fish.

Lemire says that using the venting tools is easy.

"You want to insert it about two inches behind the pectoral fin of a snapper that's got a inflated swim bladder," says Lemire. "Push it in until you hear the air coming out. It's fairly simple. The dangerous thing is walking around a boat with the venting tool that's a sharp as a hypodermic needle."

For a complete list of NMFS reef fishing regs go to www.gulfcouncil.org/Beta/GMFMCWeb/downloads/recbrochure2008web.pdf.

If you're looking to head out on a party boat you might want to call William's Party Boats in Galveston. I've fished with them a few times. They run a pretty sharp and reliable operation. The number there is (409) 762-8808.

Dorothy McCullin, the office manager for William's, says they're business is way off.

"We've got a lot of fishermen this weekend but after that our bookings are way off," says McCullin. "I think it's because of gas."

The one good thing about fishing on a party boat is that you can keep two red snapper, plus up to 20 vermillion and lane snapper. The captains of head boats are pretty good about finding vermillion and lane snapper. Also, you will have the opportunity to catch other species of fish like king mackerel, ling, triggers and sharks, etc.

The cost for a day of fishing on a William's party boat is $70 on week days, and $80 on weekends and holidays.

Make sure you know the rules before you go. Cost for any rules violations in federal waters varies, according to Kim Amendola, with the NMFS. She says the new regs will be enforced under the Joint Enforcement Agreement that they have with each state wildlife agency. For example, any Texas game warden or NOAA law enforcement special agent can enforce the new rules in federal waters.

As for fines, they are case specific and enforced under the Magnuson-Stevens Act.

Capt. Rod Ousley, with the Beaumont District of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department of Law Enforcement says state game wardens will be patrolling state waters out to 9 nautical miles. That's partly because of the shrimp season closure and the recreational red snapper opener.

By the way, just because you might be fishing out past 9 nautical miles doesn't mean you can thumb your nose at Texas or Louisiana game wardens. They have all been commissioned by the NMFS to enforce both state and federal laws.

Here's another suggestion. If you're thinking about catching a state limit of four red snapper in federal waters - don't. It's not worth the fine. Plus, don't think you can outsmart a warden sitting at the dock. You might be surprised at how slick they are at getting the truth out of outlaw anglers. And they're pretty darned good at finding hidden fish, too.

[643]

Good read, truely sad to say the least. This could also be the last yr to fish the Flower Gardens among other areas in the Gulf, due to the CCA aligning with the enviro wackos and now our Pres is on board with them to make MPAs in the Gulf. The CCA also took a stance to shorten our (Recs)season and give 365 days to the Comms in the EEZ with a IFQ (volentary quotas) which they never seem to get. Here is a site that stays on top of issues facing Texas sportsman. 

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is a good site and Tx based with 30,000 members.

[PNG Proud]

WOOOOOHOOOOOO  2 FISH AND $4 PER GALLON!   WHAT A COMBINATION!

Man, I'm glad I sold my big boat  :-\

[tvc184]

WOOOOOHOOOOOO   2 FISH AND $4 PER GALLON!    WHAT A COMBINATION!

Man, I'm glad I sold my big boat   :-\

WHAT? You don't want snapper that costs you about $45 a pound?

[YankeeDawg]

WOOOOOHOOOOOO   2 FISH AND $4 PER GALLON!    WHAT A COMBINATION!

Man, I'm glad I sold my big boat   :-\

WHAT? You don't want snapper that costs you about $45 a pound?

For $45, I want it cleaned, cooked and served to me on a nice beach resort by my own private Hooters lady who will feed it to me  ;D

[bullets13]

i caught a 13 pounder and a 6 pounder the other day, and five of us split gas, so i got a pretty good price per pound.  it is insane, though.

[tvc184]

i caught a 13 pounder and a 6 pounder the other day, and five of us split gas, so i got a pretty good price per pound.  it is insane, though.

A pretty good price that is insane?

[bullets13]

i caught a 13 pounder and a 6 pounder the other day, and five of us split gas, so i got a pretty good price per pound.  it is insane, though.

A pretty good price that is insane?

well, i figure these days, with what it costs to get out there, a little over 5 bucks a pound is better than what the guys i went with paid with their 6 or 7 pounds of fish apiece.