Butler adds another tournament win to his collection
Famed offshore angler Tommy Butler has spent a lifetime chasing bottom species in the Gulf of Mexico. He’s won countless tournaments and added another to his mantel last weekend at the Tampa Offshore Fishing Spring Mangrove Tournament.
With a small entry fee, Butler put together a five-fish stringer of mangrove snapper weighing 30 pounds, 8 ounces. The biggest fish was 6 pounds, 13 ounces.
“This one was more for fun and bragging rights, not for the money,” Butler said. “I went out with my neighbor to a wreck about 35 miles and commenced to killing them.”
Leaving in the afternoon, Butler stopped multiple times to try and catch bait. His first attempt in 22 feet was successful in catching bait, but it soon died in the livewell. Another stop in 35 feet resulted in the same result, bait being caught but soon dying in the well. He decided to push further offshore without livebait, hoping to get past any red tide water, something he says doesn’t affect mangrove snapper.
“I’ve never seen a mangrove snapper die to red tide,” Butler recalled. “They move. I’ve seen giant red tides like one in the late 90’s where we saw hundreds of dead grouper and hogfish but never one snapper. They’ll be a fish that ends up taking over. They’re tough to catch for most and a bait stealer.”
As night time set in, the smaller mangrove bite began on dead bait. Butler noticed live squid and flying fish swimming around the boat, so he grabbed a long dip net and put a few in the live well. When they went out on hooks, that was the key to getting the bigger fish.
“Every big fish came on a live bait. We took turns running around the boat when we’d see something live to net it,” Butler said.
He sent bait out on either a 1-ounce knocker rig or freelined behind the boat on 40-pound leader, able to get bigger snapper up in the water column.
For Butler, the mangrove snapper fishing has been good while gag grouper fishing has required deep runs. That’s a trend he expects to continue.
“Snapper fishing seems to get better and better every year,” Butler said. “The gags seemed to do a deepwater migration this year. Looking back through my records, every nine years they head out really deep and I was catching them in 525 feet this year.”
Mangrove snapper are also a great target inshore with the extension of the snook and redfish closure further north until at least May of next year. Those fishing for food will want to look elsewhere for meat.
The edges of the shipping channel, inshore reefs and many docks and structures have had great snapper fishing. Small whitebait or shrimp has caught many limits for those targeting them.