# What is your favorite jigs for red snapper ?



## ksong

Red snapper is my favorite fish. I don't know it is because red snapper called DAI is very famous in Korea and Japan as game fish and table fish.
Whenever I fish Gulf of Mexico for bottom fishes, I always want to catch grouper and red snapper. 
The first red snapper fishing out of Texas was we charterd the Dolphin Dock boat out of Port Aransas,TX for three days overnight fishing about 20 years ago. 
It seemed jigs produced bigger snappers. My friend has a good success with 6 - 8 oz hammered diamong jigs sweatened with stip of squid when he fished on a party boat out of Orange Beach, Alabama last summer.


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## BretABaker

i got a couple monsters on 8oz hammered diamond jigs. i think they were your famous flat ones too . On one day, I got 2 snapper over 30" including one really fat 36+" sow, bait got 0 bites . they love jigs

ive had other jigs as well including OTI jigs, braid thumper jigs and shimano flatsides. normally i rig them with the standard 8/0 siwash on the bottom, but more recently i've switched to an assist hook to minimize snags when fishing in areas with structure. i havent noticed any difference in hookups.


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## ksong

Bret,
My friend outfished bait fishermen on the party boat with flat hammered diamond jigs out of Orange Beach, Al, but it does not mean the flat diamond jigs are better than other jigs. I am constantly in search of better jigs ?


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## BretABaker

there are always new jigs to be tried 

i've seen a few lately that look like they'd be very good for snapper - but since I moved back north I cant try them as much now until Panama next month.

I know some guys said they liked long jigs for grouper, so maybe snapper like them as well. I think bucktails would work very well for snapper. A teaser might work as well


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## slowrey

snapper were a nuisance yesterday.....caught them on diamond jigs...shimano flat side...eastern tackle jigs...oti jaeger and even caught fish on the cheap bass pro 3.5 oz jigs too...you couldnt get past the snapper everywhere we went yesterday.....fun to catch but pretty annoying when you have to vent and release .....


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## ksong

slowrey said:


> snapper were a nuisance yesterday.....caught them on diamond jigs...shimano flat side...eastern tackle jigs...oti jaeger and even caught fish on the cheap bass pro 3.5 oz jigs too...you couldnt get past the snapper everywhere we went yesterday.....fun to catch but pretty annoying when you have to vent and release .....


Years ago, I was about to charter Capt Leon Wilde of the Sunrise out of Destin, Fl for huge red snapper on an overnight trip, but it was not materialized. I don't mind flying down to Gulf of Mexico to jig 20 -30 lbs red snapper even if catching and releasing.


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## 007

Red and white Snapper Slapper with a double hooked cigar minnow.


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## ksong

007 said:


> Red and white Snapper Slapper with a double hooked cigar minnow.


I heard it works great for red snapper. I am going to try it for red snapper myself.


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## 007

ksong said:


> I heard it works great for red snapper. I am going to try it for red snapper myself.


Ling love them too!!


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## snapperlicious

*jig*

i will agree with the snapper slapper, but make your own snap on single or treble leader because they'll break off with the sow on. ive lost numerous big fish with that leader breaking off.


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## BretABaker

slowrey said:


> snapper were a nuisance yesterday.....caught them on diamond jigs...shimano flat side...eastern tackle jigs...oti jaeger and even caught fish on the cheap bass pro 3.5 oz jigs too...you couldnt get past the snapper everywhere we went yesterday.....fun to catch but pretty annoying when you have to vent and release .....


without trying to give potlickers a chance to do their thing - where did you go out of?


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## ML56

snapperlicious said:


> i will agree with the snapper slapper, but make your own snap on single or treble leader because they'll break off with the sow on. ive lost numerous big fish with that leader breaking off.


After having problems with tearing trailer hooks off on snapper slappers, I resorted to a trailing steel leader directly off the main jig hook. That ended the bigger fish breaking swivel or snap,and even the loop that trailer normally attaches to. If you don't change jigs when steel gets twisted pretty bad, they'll still break off.-Mike


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## Boboe

ksong said:


> Years ago, I was about to charter Capt Leon Wilde of the Sunrise out of Destin, Fl for huge red snapper on an overnight trip, but it was not materialized. I don't mind flying down to Gulf of Mexico to jig 20 -30 lbs red snapper even if catching and releasing.


Kelly Windes has owned and operated the Sunrise out of Destin, FL for many years. Kelly Windes has been in the business since the early 80's. Was there a different Sunrise before this?


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## slowrey

buddy keeps his boat at surfside marina ....we ran about 60 miles south to one of his grouper spots......


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## ksong

Boboe said:


> Kelly Windes has owned and operated the Sunrise out of Destin, FL for many years. Kelly Windes has been in the business since the early 80's. Was there a different Sunrise before this?


It is my mistake. Yes, he is Kelly Windes. I used to fish Destin, Panama City or Mexico City in Panhandle areas for grouper in late 80' and early 90' and Kelly Windes was one of my favorite Capts. He know where to catch biggest kind of AJ too.
I got my biggest 105 lbs AJ with him.


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## ksong

I checked Slapper Snapper. They definitely need stronger hooks for big red snapper.


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## BretABaker

slowrey said:


> buddy keeps his boat at surfside marina ....we ran about 60 miles south to one of his grouper spots......


oh nice. how was the grouper bite?


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## hog

Favorite? Well, the more different ones/types/styles/weights/colors I buy, the more difficult the choice I have to make to answer that question... 

Ive found that buying verticle jigs is addicting to me... Ive got more vertile jigs of all shapes/sizes/colors than "carters got pills" (thats an old school saying :rotfl But, its very true for me.. I have one he-ll of a time just figuring out what to put them in so I can find them to take them with me when I go fishing. I would guess, my shoulder bag with jigs weighs 50#.

Just know when I answer this, that i consider Kil, Bret, Jim and George as the professors of Jigg'n, Im just a measly green horn in comparison to their abilities and knowledge of vertical jiggin. So when I say something goofy as comparison to what they say, just take it with a grain of salt and dont throw to big a rock at me when I do  Ive always felt like when a person gets to the point they quit learning or better yet, they quit WANTING TO LEARN how to do something better, thats when its your time to be called away... So, Im always in the "I WANNA LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS" mode hopefully..

With that said, here goes my response to your question---

I will say this. Ive only been "really into" verticle jigging for about 4-5 yrs. But I've jigged with old school chrome treble hook diamond jigs maybe 30+ yrs back and I'm over 50 now

And ya know what? I guess my favorite, until I buy that magic one someday, *IS STILL* boring looking ole diamond jigs..

Now, with that said, after reading post made by Bret and Kil on other message boards and PM'n them and emailin them, the TYPE and WAY I diamond jig fish has changed tho...

Ive seen many many times on folks asking kil and bret about their favorite reef fish jig, and correct me if Im wrong fellas, the answer usually comes back to simply saying "a hammered diamond jig" .

I mentioned I have all these jigs, but the only one I presently need to rebuy and have to rebuy on a regular basis is hammered diamonds 6-8-10oz, and I dont really like the ones with the big treble hook, I like the J hook best Like this one








and a nice little grouper liked it too








and am beginning to use the assist hook tied to the head ring.

This last year, I had one of the sponsors that 2cool now has 
(_I gave him 2cools web address an suggested he try advertising here, and now he is__ by the way. his names George, hes a good fella_) 
make me some special hammered diamonds that would slide up and down my floro leader with some clackers on the bottom to make noise. I truly love this jig.








I only have one left and hopefully I can get him to make me some more. The one pictured above, I had put s wire thru to avoid cutoffs. This particular one is now rusting away in the jaw of some whopper grouper at Campechee I couldnt get up before he broke my line with two of us trying to lift him up. (Impatience was my down fall that day, I still have the spot number tho ..hahaha) If I had any brains of marketing, I would design and sell my own. This is one jig I TRULY HAVE CONFIDENCE IN. Ive caught a whole mess/variety of fish with it. I was gonna picture several types I caught in one single day, but, it takes up to much space to post, but heres one








I got the idea off of a TV show with that Dalberg fella when he took a chrome shiney diamond and simply bent over the round rings on the bottom so it could slide up and down.... This is a picture of how he had it and this was my first home made slider









As far as store boughts, Hotrod got me hooked on these yella glow williamsons. If I had a suggestion, it would be to NOT put a hook on the bottom of this one along with the assist at the top. Ive never caught a fish on this jig on the bottom hook and it hangs up sometimes while slow bouncing on the bottom










I like a whole mess of verticle jigs and brands. Ive even made several ones in my shop out of stainless of various lenghts, thickness's, weights, styles and Im still buying and will continue to buy different types, colors, brands styles etc so I can have a new favorite. Remember, I told you I was addicted to buying the dang things


But, with that said, its gonna have to be a mighty good one to knock the king, (hammered diamond for reef fish) off its throne in my book. 
 

But, Im still look'n for that majic one, two or ten others that are just as good if not better in the future. Be sure and tell Santa what you like, they make great stocking stuffers

Hog


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## hog

hog said:


> I truly love this jig.


I call it *"The Hawg Dawg" * 

PS: when I said "s wire" I ment to say A wire... sorry


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## Never easy

snapperlicious said:


> i will agree with the snapper slapper, but make your own snap on single or treble leader because they'll break off with the sow on. ive lost numerous big fish with that leader breaking off.


X2


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## ksong

Hog
I always say diamong jigs and bucktail are the best lures ever invented.
They always work whereever you go and what species you target.
I don't go fishing trip without them. 
You do lots of study of rigging, Hog. That is fun part too. 

Here are pictures of fishes caught with 8 oz hammered diamond jigs.


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## ksong




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## snapperlicious

*diamond*

Dang... nice fish! i see that one of those is tipped with squid. do you always do that? ive always just used the jig alone, but never caught fish like that.


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## mjz

The Lucanus jigs by Shimano work extremely well so far. I've been using them for a few months with great results. The hooks look "dinky", but they work. They're pretty expensive though. Braid makes a jig that looks very similar (and about half the price), but I've not yet tried it...hoping to get a few of them soon.

Snapper Slappers are also excellent; I rig them with a whole Menhaden instead of the cigar minnow. Definitely re-rig the stinger! I've broken off plenty of fish on the pre-rigged stinger.


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## ksong

snapperlicious said:


> Dang... nice fish! i see that one of those is tipped with squid. do you always do that? ive always just used the jig alone, but never caught fish like that.


For certain, it makes huge difference to add squid strip or artificial scented strip. 
I believe seabass is one of them and I believe red snapper also like it too.
However, you don't have to add anything for tuna or grouper.


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## Unbound

hog said:


> As far as store boughts, Hotrod got me hooked on these yella glow williamsons. If I had a suggestion, it would be to NOT put a hook on the bottom of this one along with the assist at the top. Ive never caught a fish on this jig on the bottom hook and it hangs up sometimes while slow bouncing on the bottom
> 
> 
> View attachment 250824
> 
> 
> Hog


I agree with you on the yellow glow Williamson, but my experience with the assist hook on the bottom is opposite of yours. That's where I've hooked most of my snapper. (I've probably been using it wrong :wink Also, I usually use it for suspended snapper so I haven't had problems with it hanging up.


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