Snapper of all species will be on the fish- bucket list for the month of April, especially vermilion snapper. Vermilion or “Beeliners” (as they are affectionately nicknamed) will garner a top spot on this list, as large schools will move in on the natural and artificial structures, offshore of Martin County, to begin their annual spawning season (which runs through September). During this period of spawning behavior, Beeliners prefer depths of 70 to 180 ft. of water and tend to congregate on high profile reefs, that is, reefs that rise dramatically from the bottom towards the surface. Beeliners tend to position themselves at mid-depth levels directly over top of the reefs; they tend not to be as tight to the bottom structure as some of the other snapper species. With this in mind, anglers must present baits targeting Beeliners at various depths of suspension above the reef. Anglers can accomplish this by dropping their baits all the way to the bottom, and then instantly retrieve or wind up anywhere from 15- to 30 ” turns” (revolutions of the reel) off the bottom (the number of turns will vary depending on the depth and type of reel used). One can experiment by winding and counting the turns, until the angler experiences a bite and thus, dial in the best zone in the water column to snag these tasty members of the snapper family.
