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Red Snapper
Species Information
| Scientific Name: | Lutjanus campechanus |
| Common Names: | huachinango, pargo, vermelho, red snapper |
| Environment: | Nearshore, Offshore |
| Ideal Temp: | 60-70°F (15-21°C) |
About Red Snapper
The red snapper is a fish found in the Gulf of Mexico and the southeastern Atlantic coast of the United States and, much less commonly, northward as far as Massachusetts.
The red snapper commonly inhabits waters 30 to 200 feet deep, but some are reported to be caught at 300 feet deep. All feature a sloped profile, medium-to-large scales, a spiny dorsal fin and a laterally compressed body. The maximum published age of a caught red snapper was reported to be 57 years. Coloration of the red snapper is light red, with more intense pigment on the back. A red snapper attains sexual maturity at two to five years old. An adult snapper can live for more than 50 years and weigh 50 pounds. Red snapper are a prized food fish, caught commercially, as well as recreationally. Red snapper is the most commonly caught snapper in the continental USA (almost 50% of the total catch), with similar species being more common elsewhere.
The red snapper's body is very similar in shape to other snappers, such as the mangrove snapper, mutton snapper, lane snapper, and dog snapper. All feature a sloped profile, medium-to-large scales, a spiny dorsal fin and a laterally compressed body. Red snappers have short, sharp, needle-like teeth, but they lack the prominent upper canine teeth found on the mutton, dog, and mangrove snappers.
The red snapper reaches maturity at a length of about 39 cm. The common adult length is 60 cm, but may reach 100 cm. The maximum published weight is 22.8 kg, and the oldest reported age is 57 years.[1] Coloration of the red snapper is light red, with more intense pigment on the back. It has 10 dorsal spines, 14 soft dorsal rays, three anal spines and eight to 9 anal soft rays. Juvenile fish (shorter than 30–35 cm) can also have a dark spot on their sides, below the anterior soft dorsal rays, which fades with age.
This species feeds primarily on fish, crustaceans, worms and cephalopods. They tend to be nibblers and pickers and soft touch is needed when angling. Red snanpper seem to prefer a still or slowly moving bait. Squid, whole fish and cut bait can be used to entice red snapper to bite. By chummming them up to the surface, flies can also be used.
Red Snapper Fishing
| World Record: | 22.79 kg (50 lb 4 oz) Gulf of Mexico, Louisiana, USA |
| # Fish Caught: | 676716 documented in database. |
| Earliest Record: | 1/1/1830 12:00:00 AM and located at 28.02201, -97.05485. |
| Latest Record: | 3/23/2025 2:24:23 PM and located at 29.31827, -94.77432. |
| Common Techniques: | Bottom Fishing, Chunking, Jigging |
| Popular Lure Types: | Bottom Rig, Jigs |
| Fishing Spots: | 1779 Red Snapper fishing spots. |
Latest Red Snapper Fishing Reports and Spots
We enjoyed a great afternoon of fishing on good grade yellowfin tuna and yellowtail in beautiful weather. We got to our destination around 12:30 (
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GREAT START - 9/2/2024 11:53:52 PM
We got off to a great start and enjoyed an awesome day of fishing on quality yellowfin tuna and yellowtail. We also caught a few pargo and a nic (
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We enjoyed another epic day of fishing. The tuna started biting at daylight and then the yellows and pargo got in the mix around 8:30. By 14:00 (
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Opportunity - 9/3/2024 12:51:38 PM
We had a few last minute cancellations on a couple of 10 days in October and November. The fishing down south has been epic. Good grade yellowfi (
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We enjoyed a great day of yellowtail fishing in beautiful weather. The fish weighed 14-30 pounds with a few larger. We also caught a few pargo a (
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With our wells full of quality yellowfin tuna yellowtail and a few exotics like grouper and pargo we are currently working up to get in position (
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We returned this morning from another awesome 8-day trip. We successfully landed limits of yellowfin tuna and yellowtail. We also managed to ree (
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We enjoyed another great day of fishing. Our group tagged what they wanted on beautiful grade yellowtail. We also caught some grouper and a par (
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Today we embarked on a four-day fishing adventure from Marina Pez Vela in Quepos Costa Rica targeting the abundant marine life in the waters of (
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What an amazing day we had today on the Big Eye 2! Today’s fishing charter with a lovely family from Miami was nothing short of spectacular. We (
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