Yellowtail Snapper
Yellowtail Snapper have an upper body that is mostly white-grey to slightly bluish in color, and is covered with yellow spots or markings, in the middle of the fish's body there is a nice yellow colored band or stripe that goes the length of the fish to it's tail, which is also this nice shade of yellow, hence the name Yellowtail Snapper. Below the yellow stripe the lower area of the fish is lighter colored white-grey or very light blue, and often cream-white to bone-white in color.
Yellowtail Snapper are a favorite fish to catch by many fishermen, and are usually considered the best tasting of the snapper species. When fishing for them, the first thing to remember is that they tend to stay together in schools, so once you locate one, there are bound to be more in the same general locale.
Another very important thing to note when fishing for them, is that they love hanging around debris and structure of any kind, such as: coral reefs, shipwrecks, bridge pilings and numerous other such structures, so position your boat over these areas.
When bait fishing for Yellowtail Snapper you must keep in mind that they have very keen eyesight, and they seem to be leary of exposed hook parts, so one of the top ways to fish for them is to chum the water first with a bait, which often makes them go nuts for the food, at this time, cast out your bait right into the chum, the Yellowtail Snapper will be so crazy trying to gobble up all the chum that they will eagerly bite your baited hook.
Two of the most popular baits for Yellowtail Snapper are; live shrimp, followed by small bait fish like minnows. You can also dead bait fish and squid or shrimp cut into pieces, while using the chum.
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