I haven't posted in a while, I have been pretty busy; we finally got our pier (Gulf Shores, Alabama) built back and I am loving it! But I have a question: in the few years between piers, I got addicted to fishing for mangroves from the bridge and jetties so now that is what I am concentrating on. Here in AL they have to be 12 inches to keep, so it can be a challenge to catch a keeper. I sometimes do okay catching grovers at dawn and dusk (and shortly before and after), but I've read that snapper bite best at night. I tried at night a little but am not having much success. I was using live shrimp, which is typically the best bait of choice, but no takers. Do you have any tips specific to night fishing for grovers or do you use the same tactics as in daytime? Do they behave differently at night, like say move farther away from structure?

I find they are less spooky at night, and the bigger ones are usually more active. I prefer live pinfish when targetting the bigger ones, you won't have as many, but they will usually be quality fish (16" +).

honestly, i think mangrove snappers bite better in the mourning time versus in the evenings and nights for shore/land bound fishing. you see... every area has its different fisheries. in my area(central east), mangroves are infested all over certain piers and bridges. but truth is... not every bridge, pier or even inlet will hold as many snappers as other structures. plain and simple that's how it is. my county or other counties just have better snapper fishing than others either due to good structure where angler can access it, or the icw has the perfect breeding habitat. anyway. as for night fishing, i always did better offshore than inshore. don't really kno why, but offshore mangroves feed at night more for some reason. but than again, maybe my area doesn't have good inshore night fishing... or i don't go enough to find out. well... when i fish for MGS, i like to go to a certain pier about 8:00 in the mourning and fish it till 11am. within the 3hrs, i usually catch many snapper, some being keep able(10" over here) and the rest being small. i use light tackle with no weight while i pitch the bait(small threadfin's, or whitebait) under the pier until i get the bite. for some odd reason, i can't catch any fish if i see them. if their in the sun, and i spot them, no bite will occur. if my bait is under the pier far enough where it is shaded, the fish move in and bite. im guessing the lack of light hides the leader and hook but still have no idea if that theory is correct. so for me, mourning are better than evenings and i do better at 2 spots than all the rest. take this in consideration and try to catch them.

Live bait during the day time and sunrise and sunset and fresh cutbait at night has been a rule I have learned over the years. Live shrimp seem to always work though. Right before a slack tide and after it right as the current is moving slow esp high tide tend to be the best times for me. Move around on the pilings til you find the fish. Mangroves tend to be schooling fish and school in the same size over all i.e. catch one 8 incher expect more of that size. Move til you find the size fish you are looking for and remember that spot as it should always be good overall as the conditions have the fish there.

Thanks! those all sound like excellent strategies...I should've made it clear that I only fish from shore not from a boat; I will try these tips out!

cotton you are a lucky guy that bridge is great all kind of fish big ones you should learn how to fish other kinds to have plan B if A dont work