Reef, rock and wrecks

Yellowtail snapper

Ocyurus chrysurus

The Keys' reef classic: yellow stripe, chum slick, fast light-line fishing.

What they like

  • 8–30 musual depth (they tolerate 3–60 m)
  • 23–30 °Cwater temperature they feed in
  • clear waterwater clarity
  • drop-offs, rough bottom, deep waterbottom they hunt, in order
  • any tidetide
  • daylightlight

The reef edge and patch reefs in 8-30 m, where the water is clear and the current brings the chum line to them.

Season by region

Peak months, shaded. Outside them the species may still be around, just less reliably.

Florida and the Gulf
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Caribbean and Bahamas
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

Bait and technique

Methods: bait.

Bait and lures: Chum, small pieces of ballyhoo or shrimp drifted back in the slick, oats and sand balls.

Technique: Anchor up-current of the reef line, chum steadily, free-line small baits weightless down the slick.

Rules

Florida: Florida: 12 in minimum, 10 per day within the snapper aggregate. Verify with FWC.

Seasons, sizes and bag limits change every year and differ by zone. Check the current regulations before you keep anything.

Depth maps where yellowtail snapper live

Depth map preview of Bimini, Bahamas±0.67 m

Bahamas

Bimini, Bahamas

  • ±0.67 mtypical error
  • 1,990laser soundings checked
  • 74 km²of shallows

Updated 21 h ago

Preferences are expert estimates from the fisheries literature and angling practice, not measurements at your spot. The likelihoods on the maps are a planning aid, not a catch prediction.