Red Snapper
Red Snapper (Lutjanus campechanus) is a saltwater species. The first thing to check: a red iris — the eye itself is red, which separates it from most look-alikes at a glance. The look-alike to rule out is Vermilion Snapper: vermilion have a rounded anal fin, yellow-gold streaks on the lower flank and a much smaller mouth.
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| Scientific name | Lutjanus campechanus |
|---|---|
| Also called | American red snapper, sow snapper |
| Water | Saltwater |
| Group | Snapper |
| Temperature | Holds in water from about 60 to 78 °F at depth, moving deeper as inshore water cools. |
How to identify a Red Snapper
- A red iris — the eye itself is red, which separates it from most look-alikes at a glance.
- Uniform brick to rose red over the whole body, with the anal fin sharply pointed rather than rounded.
- Juveniles carry a dark spot on the upper flank that fades with age.
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 |
|---|---|
| Vermilion Snapper | Vermilion have a rounded anal fin, yellow-gold streaks on the lower flank and a much smaller mouth. |
| Lane Snapper | Lane snapper carry yellow horizontal stripes and a distinct dark blotch below the soft dorsal. |
Side-by-side comparisons
Read the full entry for Vermilion Snapper and Lane Snapper.
Where it lives
Gulf of Mexico and the south Atlantic coast. Lives over hard bottom, reef ledges, wrecks and artificial reefs, generally in 60 to 300 feet.
Temperature
Holds in water from about 60 to 78 °F at depth, moving deeper as inshore water cools.
The conditions that matter
Red snapper are tied to hard structure at depth, so the variables are which piece and what the current is doing over it. Because the season is tightly regulated and short, an accurate timestamped, GPS-stamped record of what came off which spot is unusually valuable from one narrow season to the next.
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 red 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.