How to: SPEARFISHING MUTTON-characteristics, habitat, spawn, tips and tricks

2 Trophy mutton snapper

The mutton snapper is considered by many Spearos and Spearos as perhaps the most challenging of all the fish to get while spearfishing. I can't say how often clients booking a Florida spearfishing charter specifically request to shoot a trophy size mutton snapper.  If spearfishing  for a world record Mutton is part of what's on your “things to do list” for this year, then read on, because we're going to provide you with some great spear fishing tricks and tips to get you that trophy mutton snapper of a lifetime.

CHARACTERISTIC
The mutton snapper, Lutjanus analis, is of course a snapper species and native to the

Atlantic Ocean. It has an extensive range circulating from our coastal spear fishing waters-on both coasts of Florida all the way to Brazil and throughout the Caribbean and most of the Gulfs warm waters.  They have blue stripes on their head, have slightly olive tinted backs, with red sides and a black spot between the lateral line and the dorsal fins-on the upper part of the back ,but the monster mutton snappers (the real real big mutton snappers) this black spot tends to fade away till it becomes very close to invisible .

a "no spot" monster mut

One characteristic or trait that you will notice when Miami spearfishing for huge trophy mutton snappers is that they tend to be solitary- you will not find them swimming in groups rather you will find one large Florida Mutton doing his thing alone. But not always, in the Fall big mutton hang in pairs sometimes groups of 3-6, but usually the big Keys mutton will be in one or two’s.
Mutton snappers can grow big and it's one of the bigger of the snapper species.   Any mutton snapper over 24 inches can be considered

A CORONADO!!!

a spearfishing trophy; these type of mutton snapper we call "Coronado's" due to their large up-sloping head.... speaking of spearfishing world record mutton snappers the IUSA list the new mutton snapper world record as 27 pounds… And the IUSA world record on primitive (Pole Spear/Hawaiian Sling) is 11 pounds…and just waiting to be broken

HABITATS
One of the most often asked questions by clients booking a Miami Beach Spearfishing excursion is where can I find big mutton snapper.  Well, when spearfishing for a big trophy mutton snapper theirs certain specific habitats and locations that they will be often found in and around. In the beginning of most of our Spearfishing guided trips we like to start with the shallow areas initially. The first thing to look for is structure- all snappers like structure, and mutton snappers are no exception.  Structure will hold bait, any where you find structure and  bait you will find big trophy mutton to spear.  The funny thing is when

Mutton snapper love structure

spearing mutton snappers is that they will not be in or on the actual structure– actually the only time you will find a mutton snapper in structure or holed up is because he has been shot/injured or has just finished eating and is digesting his food- but rather located around the structure usually out on the sand.  So here are two mutton snapper spearfishing tips- 1) When spearfishing for mutton snapper don't look for them in holes, and spearfishing tip 2) look for muttons on the sand!!! Muttons also love that sandy/grassy  bottom,  if you find structure and there is sandy/grassy area close by you will find a nice solitary trophy mutton snapper foraging within the area.  There are plenty of shallow sandy grassy areas all along Julia Tuttle Causeway, also around Key Biscayne as well as Fowey and the area around Stillstville too, as well as , Miami Beach, Sands Cut, Elliot Key and lets not forget the Florida Keys (home to the world record h&l mutton) that fit this bill perfectly.  Mutton love a good current so often they will station themselves right at the mouth of a creek or tributary on a moving tide waiting for food coming out of the bay.  In fact these strong currents will shape areas just off the flats causing small finger channels with rolling hills of sand and grass.  I shot plenty of muts spearfishing these same areas on many Florida Keys type chartered spearfishing trips.  On one of our last spearfishing expedition, one of our clients laid right on the bottom of one of these channels and along came a 15#  mutton and laid right next to him-true story bro!.  In fact, guided kayak or SUP spearfishing trips off the Bear Cut  Bank

cooler filling fast

usually produces some quality mutton snapper especially on the outgoing tide.  Just find that grassy sandy shoal with some good current and those little rolling hills and you will surely find a trophy mutton swimming around.  If we don't find muttons in the shallow the second phase of the Florida/Tavanier Key spearfishing charter would be to go little deeper.  So once a little deeper- first and foremost look for structure- plates like those found around Florida's Marathon Key, or the hump reefs, also plenty around Big Pine Key, or  reef balls like those in Miami’s Haulover or Golden Beach- all these will hold mutton ready to be speared!.  We have waypoints in Golden Beach in less than 20 feet of water that hold some big mutton snapper, but remember where you find them when spearfishing… not on the actual structure,  but rather on the sand or just on the edges of the reef.  Another place to look when spearfishing for Florida Keys mutton snapper is in a bit deeper water say within the 30 to 50 foot range, around the first reef, and this is where you will often find the majority of those 18 to 24 inch mutton with some real trophies 30 inches and bigger as well.  Here the spearfishing trick is to find the BIG structures like plates along Key Biscayne and reefs like those in Isla Morada, or even wrecks- there are plenty of wrecks that we take clients out on our spearfishing guided trips from the Port of Everglades to Haulover extending throughout Miami Beach and well into the Florida Keys- Tavenier Key Duck Key/ Long Key, and Marathon Key, Big Pine Key – that have wrecks with plenty of mutton snappers. One thing to keep in mind when locating mutton snappers on any spearfishing excursion/charter is that mutton snappers move around a lot- in fact Muts are oneof the species from the snapper family that  moves around the most.  You might find mutton one day on a wreck while you are spearfishing and the next day, go by the same wreck, and it won’t have any mutton at all.  Fortunately, the best Spearfishing Florida Keys charter captains will be up to date on the newest and the best mutton snapper spots-from Miami to Dania, to Naples and Tampa- which shouldn't be too hard since there are plenty of new Loren numbers and as

Big Loner mutton move around alot

well as latitude and longitude coordinates that continue to be added to the list of our public wrecks, especially good news is the Dade County artificial reef program is slowly switching to the more reliable GPS system and that’s the icing on the cake, when finding the best place to spearfish for mutton snapper in and throughout Florida and the Keys.  So when you are booking your charter Spearfishing for Key West trophy mutton snapper  knowing their habitat  makes them easier to locate.  Another great mutton spearfishing habitat, found throughout the Florida coasts as far as Sebastian and throughout the Palm beaches, Fort Lauderdale and Miami Beach- are what I call the mutton channels these you will usually find on the first reef extending down the Florida East coast (and even parts of the West coast) beach and all the way along the Florida coast these “mutton fingers” are basically low lying reefs with very lttle structure, but what they lack in budding structure, caves and holes, they make up with these shallow channels of sand cutting through the middle of it, creating both a  corridor and an ambush spot, here's where you will find many Keys mutton swimming through along those sandy channels or mutton fingers as we call them, and if you have the right spearfishing gear- a good underwater fishing light would be tops on my list as well as the best most efficient carbon fiber fins that are both quiet and effortless (less noise while dropping, equals less spook on trophy mutton snapper), don’t be surprised if under these ledges you see a nice black or cubera- one of the biggest cubera snapper shot in Miami during one of our best

Right divefins and right speargun=BIG MUTTON

spearfishing charter of all time was, in a spot just like this, off  Boca Chita we'll call “mut corridor”.  This is an insignificant reef that is full of mut fingers, and is bordered by grassy sand in about 70’ of water.  Some of these mutton fingers cut deep into the reef creating a shallow ledge.  As we were stalking (from the top) what looked like a high 20+ pound mutton,(we were actually looking for big alpha hogs around the sandy grassy area, when this huge mutton came along) coasting along one of these corridors it briefly stopped darted out of the corridor, atop the reef and POOF bolted!!!! Totally weird behavior, as they use these mutton fingers to move through and eat- I told my spearfishing client to go down and check out the ledge while I spotted him.  This guy btw had booked this Miami/Florida Keys  spearfishing charter a year in advance, He was from Brazil, a great diver and all around great guy.  Anyways he wanted a black (which we put him on the day prior 32# not too shabby) and today he had a bonus gag on ice, but what he really wanted was a big hogfish snapper, and a brute cubera snapper…tall list, and we were about to drop on one of the biggest Miami muttons I had ever seen (before it spooked); "one" other about that size we shot last year during a real special Miami style spearfishing charter around Fowey Rocks (whoever says Fowey is speared/fished out is crazy!).  Anyways my buddy dropped like a superstar diver, doing a classy duck dive on steroids, and was spot on as he glided towards his spearfishing destination…as he approached the ledge we saw some sand stir from under and I just barely saw the tip of a big ass tail, tuck away….and knew immediately what it was, and the fact that this fish barely fit under the ledge was even more exciting!!!!My spearfishing buddy boldly continued his descent, lined up his 2 band 105 cm carbon fiber

The FREAK speargun!

enclosed track Euro Stone Styx, while keeping it flush with his body took a shot,  His gun got yanked out of his hands and partially went under the ledge as he scurried on up.  He gave his ok thumb and we had a brief game plan on the holed up fish.  After a good breath up, he want down with my 2 band 105 Freak speargun, (from the top the stone styx still sat exactly where he left it) grabbed his gun, partially went under the ledge and pulled from within a 57# cubera snapper, my client looked like a super hero gilling this beast with a shaft in its head total badass!  Apparently he had shot it missing the perfect stone shot, but close enough the sheer mass of him driving deeper under the ledge actually ended up killing this beast of a cubera…this cubera had 2 big lobsters and like 3 small Spanish lobsters still in it…and it looked like that big mutton we where spearfish stalking was next, lol.  Anyways needless to say it was our clients personal best and the very best spearfishing charter he had ever had!  Btw we ended up with 2 trophy hogs too, all on one spearfishing expedition. So when stalking mutton fingers keep an eye on the shallow ledges and use the best spearfishing gear to get you there.

The type of spearfishing habitat where you find Miami mutton snapper will also vary on the time of year and whether they are spawning or not (more later on this).  In summer you'll find mutton snapper a little deeper, but don't forget to look in the shallow waters earlier in the morning when the waters a bit cooler.  During the winter months you'll find muttons shallower on coral patches like those bordering Tavernier Key or  like those east of

Blackpoint  and those grassy sand dunes similar to those around Sands cut, or right off Sebastian inlet.   Part three of finding Key largo mutton snappers habitat is to go a little deeper.  This is what we call in our Miami/Florida Keys spearfishing guided trips Phase 3, which basically involves going to the third reef line located between 60-120' feet of water.  Any good spearfishing structure with current might have some muttons lying around it.  If you go into an areas where the reef does not come up too far but has those mutton fingers, highly likely you will also find good trophy mutton for spearfishing. Then of course on the third baseline you find a lot more Florida wrecks. The best Spearfishing captains offering guided spearfishing trips guard their elite mutton snapper wrecks, like a mother’s firstborn, as these will produce spearfishing charter trophy Key West mutton snappers year after year. Check closely on your radar note where the Long Key mutton or  fish  are, and on what side of the wreck they are hanging out on- ideally you want to anchor up current of the wreck and put some chum in the water and slow drift over it while you're chunking pilchards.  Keep in mind don't anchor directly on the wreck anchor on the outskirts of the wreck, that’s a another muttonspearfishing tip!
WHEN MUTTONS SPAWN 
The mutton snapper spawn begins around the end of April, primetime May, and then slowly trickles off in June.  But depending on what area in the world you may have booked your spearfishing charter the spawn mutton season might vary- in the Florida Keys and Miami waters the spawn is in May to June, yet late summer June and August is when it starts off in Cuba and in neighboring Puerto Rico it starts a few months earlier around April and May. An ideal prime time to go spearfishing in the Bahamas for mutton snapper is during the April/May spawn where you often see the huge mutton fish in on the shallows.
So you see it varies from area to area. Most importantly when spearfishing for Tampa Bay mutton during the spawn you want to be very aware of the moon phase as this is the trigger for the mutton spawn everywhere- Mutton spawn season is ruled by the moon!!!.  Here on our local waters from Miami to the keys we are much attuned to the moon phase particularly in April/May and on into June as this is what helps us have such a successful spearfishing guided tour or as foreigners say spearfishing expedition. Sometimes the new moon of May appears very early, sometimes a little late, it’s not uncommon to have the moon phase land towards the end of April (like it did last year) and this is a time you want to be out on the water spear fishing Key Largo muttons – the peak is usually towards the end of that moon and moving on to the following week after that moon -because that is when the snapper are congregating in the masses and any great spearfishing Captain knows this!.  Another trophy mutton spearfishing tip-watch the moon!  After that there could be a secondary spawn during June's moon (also when mangrove snapper spawn) and sometimes it could go as far as February on quite a few spearfishing charters, during the February and March month I have shot some very big trophy mutton snappers full of roe in fact in Belize this spawn usually occurs in the fall
When Spearfishing during the mutton spawn Key West mutton snappers will follow certain routes heading out towards deeper water to spawn, that is they will move from shallow waters to through certain distinct routes" to deeper wrecks and areas to congregate and spawn this is where they will congregate, then after they finished their "business" they follow the same routes back into the shallow patches and reefs.  The best spearfishing Miami charter Captain knows these routes and puts his spearfishing buddies on the right points for an ambush.  Remember the other spearfishing tip for mutton snapper - muttons move around a lot- so if you have certain areas that they are normally accustomed to moving through plot them on your GPS and label those waypoints the “Midas Mutton Gold Route” we do!  By having these great mutton GPS numbers you have half the battle won! And your

spearfishing charter success can increase 100%!!!

SPEARFISHING MUTTON SNAPPER TIPS & TRICKSSo now that you know the best places to find mutton snappers, you know a little Bahamian mutton snapper behavior and now you also know when is the best time for spearfishing mutton snapper from the Bahamas to Miami and into the Florida Keys- which can be usually during their spawning season but not always. All that is left now is to learn some spearfishing tricks and tips to land trophy Marathon Key mutton snappers during your spearfishing guided adventure.  Here's one trick that we often used during our Miami spearfishing expeditions it's real simple- we use chum.  When buying chum you want to get the best quality chum available we like using chum that has Manhattan oil in it and prefer the rough ground chum to the fine ground chum.  Get the freshest chum you can it makes a big difference! If the chum is a light pink or red as opposed to a gray to greenish olive drab go with the redder one.  The redder the better when it comes to chum, also either get some fresh sardines or catch some they also make good chunk or burly- when we are on a  Florida Keys Spearfishing charter. Here are the spearfishing steps to successful mutton spearfishing- we find a good patch reef, we throw over the chum and let it sink till its about 10’ off the bottom, next we proceed to burly up with some fresh sardines- either cut them up with a knife (we have a handy stainless Japanese Kleaver) or cut them

Sardines=Mutton Candy

with heavy marine shears and throw them around the reef.  This does two things it catches the attention of a leery Miami mutton roaming the sand to come in closer to the reef and investigate or it drifts towards the bottom were smaller fish will start nibbling at it causing a ruckus which will often arouse a big Islamorada Key mutton's curiosity.  Here is a great spearfishing trick we often pass along to all our clients booking spearfishing charters from Haulover Cut to Miami Beach and Key Biscayne, Mathesson Hammock, Elliot Keys, as well as those in and around Ocean reef and the rest of the Florida keys - when you want to spearfish big mutton snapper stir up some sand when you're on the bottom- any world record trophy snapper within viewing distance of a “sandstorm” will come in to investigate.  Muttons find a sandstorm just too tempting to not come in and take a closer look- the trick at this moment is to sit perfectly still, within the sandstorm, and wait for the shot.  And here's another great trick we often recommend to our spearfishing friends booking any Miami spearfishing trip when stalking the mutton put your hand over your mask to slightly cover your eyes- muttons have a way of knowing when you're looking at them, and they don't like to be looked at.  Another mutton spearfishing tip or trick is to wait for mutton to give you his side. They will often swim ahead of you lazily moving their tail back-and-forth we call this the "mutton tail dance" sooner than later in or around at this point (when he starts his dance), they turn broadside to feel you with his lateral line (which informs him of your predator mode) before they take off- that's the shot to wait for not a second sooner or a second later. Muttons can be stalked, but you have to have some good lungs- drop down on the bottom close to the reef, but on the edge of the sand and stir it up and sit still, when a curious mutton comes in look up over your sandstorm,  hands covering

your masked face and wait for you shot.  Another great spearfishing trick for Florida’s Miami mutton snapper is to follow them on the top but follow them very quietly keeping your spearfishing divefins always in the water when you're kicking, and like I already said quality spearfishing gear goes a long way in helping you nail a trophy fish.. More often than not if you're quiet and you keep the sun from casting a shadow on the mutton snapper below you stand a good chance to drop on them (and I don't mean drop on them with finesse) I mean dive-bomb them. Take a quick duck dive using your free dive spearfishing fins and quietly divebomb straight down on them kicking as little as possible and having you speargun tucked in- more often than not this mutton spearfishing method works great especially on those huge world record looking big snappers– the dive bomb technique for spearfishing Florida Keys mutton snapper– works like a charm  Finally anyone that’s shot enough mutton snappers knows those 20-30” are notorious for their helicopter spin, tearing their flesh to the point they tear loose.  The best tip to remedy these fish is to pull them off the reef and grab them by the collar or grab one end of your shaft with one hand and the other end on the other side of the fish with the other hand.  Of the two I prefer the throat/gill death grip, and if he’s green I’ll tear off a few gills and let go, go up for air, then down for a few more gills…at this point if he tears off he won’t go to far, that’s another tip when spearfishing those big Coronados...rip them gills for da'kills!!!!

RULES & REGULATION…and my 2 cents

 Mutton snapper must be at least 16 inches long to legally keep. That’s from tip to tip.   They are included in the snapper aggregate bag limit, which allows anglers to keep a total of 10 snapper. Those 10 can be all muttons, but if you keep say 1 yellowtail, three mangroves, and 1cubera -you can keep only five muttons.  10 snappers is a lot of meat and if they are all muts that’s a heck of a lot of meat!
Theirs been a lot of talk about some type of regulation on mutton snappers and although a few years ago I was all about a 10 mutton limit these days I feel we should have a limit of 5 muts within the total aggregate of 10 and during the spawn months of May and June muttons total limit should be reduced to 3 muttons…sure I know that hundreds of millions of eggs hatch and within 24 hours and of those hundreds of thousands move on to adulthood but 5 big mutton fillets at say 10#’s a fish is about 30#’s more than enough prime fish meat for at least a couple  of weeks or more.  Multiply that by two spearo’s booking a spearfishing charter for two days and you can bag a potential 120#’s of meat, more than what a cooler can hold  and more than what anyone can reasonably consume while still in a “fresh fish” state.
 Everyone knows,  if they have been involved in legal spearfishingregulations long enough, when the feds takthe away, they seldom giveith back even after we have the species is overpopulating so ultimately self regulation would be the best conclusion and the one most ethical spearo's and speara's should exercise…ok enough preaching, bottom line is mutton

A mutton sunrise

snappers are so frickin smart that seldom will a spearfishing freediver limit out on ten huge egg bearing female, sure maybe 10 avearage muttons, but who cares that actually weeds out the less smart one…do any exist?  Mutton snapper for me are without a doubt one of the best eating snappers out there right at the top with yellowtail snapper., mahogany and its close cousin abit further up north in the Florida coast the red snapper.  Whenever I shoot a nice trophy mutton I gut it immediately and ice it- this is prime fish meat and caring for it starts the minute you shoot one!
   So their you have it hope the mutton snapper spearfishing tips and tricks will help you get that next trophy world record fish, and remember when booking your next Florida Keys and/or Miami spearfishing charter...these tips apply to all muttons of the world!

Till next spearfishing report, tight bands, straight shafts, and smooooooooth triggers!

 Tone

 http://www.settingsteelspeargear.com/