We let them go bc we were afraid they maybe red snapper. All fish were released of air and returned safely. It was our first time bottom fishing offshore. Thanks for any help. Silky snapper / yellow eye is my bet.
Whs
Good call on releasing them. SCDNR would have owned your boat if you were caught with a few of them. I don’t know about the other ones you caught, but that’s a red snapper, albeit the smallest one i’ve ever seen.
Hint: silks or “yellow eyes” as you call them. have yellow eyes. Those clearly appear to be red.
Red Snapper?Good call
In the sun it seems to have yellow eyes
Whs
And lighter skin color.Either way we release anything that is questionable
Whs
google pictures of silk snapper, I would post one for you, but I’m too lazy right now. Silks have eyes that are bright banana yellow. That red snapper does not have a yellow eye like silks have, it’s just wishful thinking yellow.
hope you saved the numbers for your spot though, might be worth trying during another snapper mini season.
Are silks caught often? I agree with everyone and Thanks for everyone’s help!
Whs
quote:
Originally posted by wstroudiiiAre silks caught often? I agree with everyone and Thanks for everyone’s help!
Whs
No, I don’t catch silks very often. I do catch vermillion snapper very often which are usually deeper but sometimes mixed in with the seabass. Vermillion are much easier to tell the difference vs red snapper because they look completely different from reds other than the color.
On a strange side note, you could definitely pass for my twin, hahaha. I just showed your second picture to my wife and she thought it was me for several seconds. There’s a real crappy picture of me on the “decent bottom bite” thread in the offshore reports section for comparison haha… I used to have longer hair.
That’s
my bro! My pic is on the 10lbs sheepshead thread. It was the same day. We plan on going sunday. If your out maybe we can radio up
Whs
Oh yeah, that was a monster sheepshead. Well, I guess I look like your brother then, haha.
I’ll be out sometime soon, not sure when though. I was looking at saturday (If I can get my stuff together in time) and monday mainly.
This would have been a new world record silk snapper but stupid me misidentified it that day
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PROUD YANKEE
Oyster Baron
NMFS = No More Fishing Season
him"
“Back home we got a taxidermy man. He gonna have a heart attack when he see what I brung him”
Sellsfish, that’s more awesome than my story, but I caught a bullhead catfish that was a pound and a half bigger than the state record, mine was over 8lbs. Currently it’s still about 6 1/2lbs, and I would have thrashed it lol. But we ate him instead…
I was just 11 or 12 when I caught him, and didn’t know one catfish from the other.
… The Cross of Christ is the anvil upon which the hammer of evil wore itself out.
Sellsfish. (**()! Must have been a great fight.
Whs
Fought just like a big red snapper
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PROUD YANKEE
Oyster Baron
NMFS = No More Fishing Season
“Back home we got a taxidermy man. He gonna have a heart attack when he see what I brung him”