When you start your day bottom fishing, you can never be for sure what may be waiting for your bait down below. It could be red snapper or it could be grouper or some other species. The one thing to do is drop baits and see what eats. The fish you reel up will tell you a lot about what\'s around. Snapper tend to hang with other snapper and grouper tend to hang with other grouper. Now, it is certainly possible to catch both on the same spot, but you have a good chance of catching multiples of a species once the bite starts. The tactics for bottom fishing red snapper closely parallel those for grouper. If you want to know more about setting up drifts and drift management, check out our Bottom Fishing Grouper video. We go into much greater detail in that fishing video. The processes are the same for both fish. Structure is the common denominator when bottom fishing for either red snapper or grouper. Once you find good hard bottom, rest assured that these two species will be close by. If you are using your bottom machine to mark hard bottom, don\'t worry if you find it and there are no fish marking. They are there. The best thing to do is drop baits and see if you get bitten. More than likely you will. This In The Spread Bottom Fishing for Red Snapper video gives you a quick run down of rigs, baits, fishing tactics, drag management and fish preservation.
Bottom Fishing for Red Snapper
(00:22:20)Bottom fishing for red snapper mirrors that of grouper. Both fish a extreme adherents to holding close to structure. You have to be on good hard bottom, ledges, rock piles and reef structure, if you hope to catch these fish. This red snapper fishing video is a snapshot of what goes into catching this species along Florida's Gulf Coast. If you want to explore the specifics of drifting, drift management, setting up on structure, anchoring on structure and generally how to bottom fish on hard structure, check out our [Bottom Fishing for Grouper](https://inthespread.com/bottom-fishing-grouper) video. What you learn in that video is directly applicable to red snapper fishing. Nothing is more important in bottom fishing for red snapper than being on good structure. Snapper will not venture too far from the protection provided by the reef or other hard bottom. You have to put your baits on the bottom. I mean very near, if not right on, the structure. Red snapper and snapper in general strongly desire the protection afforded by the reef. This makes the fishing both easy and hard, at the same time. You know where your baits need to go, but you don't want to get hung up. It is a game of feel. Feeling the bottom is critical. Feeling the bite is also just as critical. Because, once the snapper takes your presentation and feels the hook, they are headed for home and fast. It is your job to keep them from reaching the safety of the rocks. While this is a shorter video, with much of the tactical fishing information found in our bottom fishing grouper video, we do cover rigs and baits that produce. You will hear about different weight options. The regular knocker rig and the use of weights with swivels are covered. There is a time and place for both, based on your experience. Line, leader and hook sizes are discussed. Having the right size hooks can make a big difference when bottom fishing for different species. One size that works well for grouper may not work as well for red snapper. Having good bait and baiting options allows for options. The cut bait we start with does the job on some very nice red snapper, but having live bait can pay dividends. Many times you can get the bite going with cut bait and then move to larger live bait to target bigger fish. Having a clear understanding of how to properly prepare makes all the difference when heading well offshore. As a highly regulated species, red snapper season tends to be abbreviated, so you really need to make the most of your fishing time. One area of importance is knowing how to take care of fish out of season. Venting a fish needs to take place in an area on the fish where more harm than good is inflicted on fish, albeit usually in an unintentional manner. We will show you how to properly vent a fish, so that it will swim away and live a nice healthy life. If you are fishing during red snapper season, preserving the fish you do catch makes a lot of sense. Knowing how to chill the fish, as quickly as possible, in order to keep the meat in the really good condition is something every fishermen should know. Take the information in this red snapper fishing video expand your thinking about bottom fishing. There is always room for more knowledge. Watch other [Bottom Fishing Videos](https://inthespread.com/bottom-fishing-videos)
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