Reef Fish

Many clients decide to target the various species of reef fish, which include snappers, grouper, and amberjack. These elusive fish are caught off of structures, such as oilrigs and wrecks. A surprising number of guests book trophy red snapper trips. But the challenge is that these huge snapper are typically found very, very deep, often within the confines of thick structure.

We use a method called deep dropping in depths of 400 feet or more, which is a lot of reeling so we give customers their choice of manual or electric reels. If you haven’t fought a fish from more than 400 feet below, you’ll probably want to take advantage of the electric reel.

The popularity of catching mangrove snapper has increased dramatically since the federal government imposed a two-fish limit (per angler, per day) on red snapper. This created a big problem for charter businesses that have exclusively relied on this one species. It’s not a problem, however, for the Mexican Gulf Fishing Company, because we offer a wide variety of species to choose from.

Mangrove snapper is considered an even greater challenge, and their fight is in a completely different class from the other kinds of snapper. They can be extremely finicky and are masters at getting back into the structure and breaking lines.

When you get one to strike, you have to turn it immediately. That’s the only way you’ll have a chance to get one in. Grouper are very similar. They’re hard to get off the bottom, but they’re one of the most delicious fish found in the Gulf Coast.