Mutton Snapper
Mutton Snapper (Lutjanus analis) is a saltwater species. The first thing to check: a sharply pointed anal fin, as on a red snapper rather than the rounded fin of most reef snappers. The look-alike to rule out is Lane Snapper: lane snapper have a rounded anal fin, yellow horizontal stripes, and a larger blotch that straddles the lateral line rather than sitting above it.
Last updated
| Scientific name | Lutjanus analis |
|---|---|
| Also called | mutton, muttonfish |
| Water | Saltwater |
| Group | Snapper |
| Temperature | Common between 70 and 84 °F. |
How to identify a Mutton Snapper
- A sharply pointed anal fin, as on a red snapper rather than the rounded fin of most reef snappers.
- A small black spot high on the flank below the rear of the dorsal, sitting above the lateral line.
- Bright blue lines running under and behind the eye, on an olive-to-rose body that flushes deep red when feeding.
If you would rather not work through a key on a wet deck, photograph the fish and let the app name it — you get the common and the scientific name back, and the record is filed before you release.
Fish it is mistaken for
| Species | How to tell them apart |
|---|---|
| Lane Snapper | Lane snapper have a rounded anal fin, yellow horizontal stripes, and a larger blotch that straddles the lateral line rather than sitting above it. |
| Red Snapper | Adult red snapper carry no flank spot and no blue eye lines, and have a red iris and a much deeper body. |
Read the full entry for Lane Snapper and Red Snapper.
Where it lives
South Florida, the Keys, the Gulf and the Caribbean. Works reef edges, channel mouths, sand patches and rubble, often out over open sand well away from the structure itself.
Temperature
Common between 70 and 84 °F.
The conditions that matter
Mutton snapper aggregate to spawn around the full moons of late spring and early summer, and those few days account for a large share of the big fish caught each year. Outside that, they feed on moving water on the edge between reef and sand. Moon phase and tide stage on every catch is the record that finds the aggregation again.
Global Fishing League records 18 weather and water readings against every catch automatically — tide stage, barometric pressure, water temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, chlorophyll, swell, current, moon phase and more, taken at your GPS position at the moment you log the fish. Over a season that turns a hunch about mutton snapper into a pattern you can read.
See every reading recorded with a catch, or the guides to what each reading means.
Size limits, bag limits and seasons
Size limits, bag limits, slot limits and seasons are set by your state wildlife agency — and for many offshore and migratory species by federal regulators — and on many waters they differ from the statewide rule. They also change between seasons. Check the current regulations for the exact water you are fishing before you keep a fish — we do not republish limits here, because a number that is a season out of date is worse than no number.
What the app does do is make your side of it accurate: every catch carries a length measured from the photograph, a GPS position and a timestamp, exportable if you ever need to show your work for a tournament or a record claim. It is also what a Global Fishing League entry is built from — a record that verifies itself, without publishing where you caught the fish.