MUTANT MUTTON SNAPPER

By Nick Honachefsky

TACTICS FOR HUGE MUTTON SNAPPER

Anyone who fishes the Florida Keys patch reefs invariably hook into a prized jewel – the mutton snapper, that are fantastic in the frying pan as well as hefty battlers that put up an arm wrenching fight. Generally speaking, muttons on the inshore 25 to 40 foot patch reefs are 1 to 3-pound class fish and are considered a decent size. Then you enter the nuclear realm of muttons. A bit further offshore in 80 to 100 feet of water inside the drop, mutant muttons reside along the patch reefs – fish pushing 12 to 15 pounds and greater.

This December, dropping down the patch reefs off of Big Pine Key, I set out with Captain Kevin Rowley of TightNUp charters to film an episode of Saltwater Underground targeting the monster mutant mutton snappers. Rowley is outfitted with 7-foot sturdy medium to heavy conventional Blackfin rods matched with Penn 40 Fathoms or you can substitute Daiwa Saltiga or Shimano 20 Torium class reels, spooled with 30-pound test monofilament line, an appropriate 4 to 8-ounce egg sinker, a 150-pound class barrel swivel, then a 30 foot length of 50-pound shock leader and a size 2/0 Mustad Octopus or Circle Hook. A large live pilchard is picked out of the livewell and hooked through the nostrils or through the lower and upper jaw.

Mutant Muttons abound in Big Pine Key

Captain Rowley finds his perfect patch and instead of anchoring, drifts over the reef, running three rods and keeping the baits behind the boat off the stern. When the engines are out of gear, toss the bait and leader by hand off the back off the stern away from the engines and drop the egg sinker in, monitoring a measured free spool until the bait hits bottom. As Captain Rowley states,” Baits should be glued to the bottom.” Drifts may be swift, so keep letting line out until you hit the bottom, then engage the reel on a low strike setting with the clicker on. The pilchard will swim freely with the current drift.

Once a mutton hits, the rod will go bananas. Allow the mutton to inhale the bait fully with a 3 to 5 second count, then begin reeling frantically to take the bow and slack out of the line. Once the weight of the fish is felt, a sharp hookset is warranted, then the fight is on.

Monster muttons are heavy work to reel in, with rod-pumping punches as it tries to get back down to the bottom to rub you off on the reef. Keep a tight ling and pump and reel technique to continually point the fish upward. About ¾ of the way through the fight, the mutton will begin to tire and you will see color, then an easy, steady reel is utilized to get the fish to the surface where most times, the air bladder will have inflated by then, floating the fish up. At this point, reel to the egg sinker at the tip, place the rod in the gunnel, then grab the leader and proceed to handline in the mutton snapper the rest of the way where you slide a hand under the gill plate to hoist it out of the water and onto deck.

When you find the right reef patch, 10 to 15 pound mutton snapper can be commonplace. If you choose to release the beasts, proper venting will insure they return quickly to the bottom. If you are keeping fish for the dinner table, a well iced cooler will keep the fillets strong and retain flavoring. Once you tangle with true red devils of the deep patch reefs, you’ll come home with bruised bellies and sore arms, but make no mistake, you will be eating well.

Watch the Mutant Muttons episode of Saltwater Underground with Nick Honachefsky, airing January on Discovery Channel Sundays at 6:30 AM and ESPN 2 and Waypoint TV Saturdays in February 6:30 AM.

Reach out to Captain Kevin Rowley at 305-393-2618. @tightnupcharters