The Other Snapper in the Sound

Champion red snapper get huge in Mississippi waters, with some fish tipping the scales at over 30-pounds. The thing is, while big reds get all the attention, there is a whole ocean of smaller, no less savory, snapper in our coastal waters. These 'other' snappers such as Lane, Mangrove, Dog, Yellowtail, and Vermillion, are much smaller, generally in the 3-10 pound spectrum. Don't get me wrong though, a 3-pound Vermillion can taste just as good as a 23-pound red, there is just less to go around.

Lane Snapper

These tasty miniature snapper haunt the same ground their entire adult life. This will mainly be over coastal reefs and sandy inshore areas. They are pink-to red with green backs and yellow horizontal stripes and a smudgy spot on their top back quarter. During July and August, these guys will spawn offshore and are found in conjunction with shrimp areas, and if you have spent any time trawling for 'scrimp' you will have seen hundreds of these little snapper of all size pulled up as by-catch. With that being said, working alive or dead shrimp over any sandy bottom in the Mississippi Sound in summer with a medium sized hook could result in a lane snapper. The current state record on these is 8-pounds/3.2-ounces on conventional tackle, and just under 2-pounds for the fly record. To keep, DMR says they must be at least 8-inches overall and there is no bag limit. As with all snapper in this article, DMR requires the use of a dehooking tool, venting tool, and non-stainless steel circle hooks.

Mangrove Snapper

Also called mango, gray snapper, and black snapper, these streamlined fish are a favorite of pier anglers along the Gulf Coast. Like the lane snapper, they typically bee bop around closer inshore than most other reef snapper and rocky areas around jetties and harbors are a good bet for these. They often run in small mixed schools of other fish so don't be surprised if you catch a pigfish alternating with a Sheepshead between each mango. Squid, cut bait, and small crabs are all good choices for these fish.

Less frequently encountered, but often found the same way are schoolmaster, cubera, dog, and mahogany snapper. All of these varieties have to be no less than 12-inches, and you can have up to 10 (of all types combined) in possession with a standard Mississippi Saltwater Recreational License. These hardy coastal snapper can get respectable size, with the state record for mangos and dog snapper both over 13-pounds.

Vermillion Snapper

When offshore going after reds and AJs, you often encounter these torpedo shaped snapper. Bright red like their bigger relatives in the same area, they have an elongated body but without the mass seen in big red snapper. These are little guys, with the state record being just over 4-pounds, but anytime you are out over the deeper reefs and rigs and aren't having much luck, switch to smaller tackle with some cut bait and you will probably get a few of these. They are fun to catch, and delicious to boot. Keepers have to be 10-inches overall and like Lane snapper, have no limit. The funny thing about these little guys is that some dishonest commercial Red snapper fishermen try to pass these off at market due to their bright red color and very similar taste. 

Yellowtail

These guys don't actually look like snapper, but they are. Silverside with an extremely distinctive bright yellow mid-stripe that ends in a tail of the same color, many count these as the most wonderfully flavored of all the snapper in the Gulf. Unlike many other snapper, the yellowtail has a very small head and mouth, which means that if you are using a huge hooks, hang it up. They aren't super abundant in Mississippi waters, but they spawn in great numbers in the Florida Keys every summer and many ride the stream back through the Mississippi Sound on vacation to Mexico once the going gets hot. The largest yellowtail snapper on record in the state was caught in late June, for reference, and went just over 6-pounds.

Odds are, unless you just aren't trying, it's very hard not to catch at least some sort of snapper off the Mississippi Gulf Coast.