May have to add a dedicated heavier combo to the arsenal, but classic bucktail jigs tipped with a small piece of squid, chunk of ballyhoo or even FishBites or a generous squirt of Pro-Cure bait gel will get down deeper into the strike zone and entice the snappers and groupers.

Here's an example.

Tight Line Tackle 1OZ Upperman Jigs

Tight Line Tackle 1OZ Upperman Jigs Prop 65 Warning CA Tight Line Tackle'S 1OZ Upperman Jig features a Bean style head that is designed - Capt. Harry's Fishing Supply

www.captharry.com

You might also try metal butterfly jigs, but they are designed for vertical jigging so they will likely hang up more in the patch reefs.

 

When fishing over patch reefs/inshore for bigger snappers, I’ve had a lot luck with Rapala Xraps and Yozuri Crystal Minnows. Just make sure to pick a size that has the proper dive rate so you don’t get hung up on the bottom when retrieving it. Lots of options out there, but the Xrap is probably my favorite for that kind of stuff. Mutton Snappers of all sizes love them.

 

Thanks for the suggestions! I've found that the Yozuri's and Rapala's really attract the barracudas (i.e. not ideal). I don't want to fish wire....and I also don't want to lose a bunch of lures to them! I've been rigging jigs with 2'-3' of 25 # fluoro, but I've found it to be just as successful tying straight to the 20# braid.

 

Yeah, unfortunately the cudas are also fans of flashy, diving plugs. No way around it sometimes. Also, I would suggest gulps on jig heads. Plenty of fun sized groupers caught bouncing the bottom around coral heads with them. And Zika’s suggestions are also top notch. 1/2-1oz bucktail jigs with ballyhoo, shrimp etc. will definitely produce good catches.

 

Williamson makes a flutter jig killer action but it has trebel hooks might not be the best with kids.

 

Last time I was over a patch I was catching a ton of smallish snaps and yellowtail’s on swimming plugs maybe 3-4” I think was a yozuri

 

I do that exact type of fishing a lot. Hard to beat a bucktail or soft plastic fluke or paddle tail on a jig head. Cheap and effective and less cudas than throwing hard plugs.

 

I fish shallow water rocks in the gulf, not Bahamas, and find “mini” vertical jigs pretty fun and effective for almost everything down there. I think the jigpara micros are neat but hard to say they outfish just a kastmaster. I like 3/8 oz but that would vary with depth.

 

I would try the storm swim shad paddle tails as well. You can get them all the way up to 6” long and the bigger ones have more weight in them to keep them closer to the bottom during your retrieve.

 

My skiff lives on a remote Bahamas out island. On recent trips, my kid and I have had a blast setting up drifts to throw jigs at shallow (5' - 20') coral heads and small patch reefs. This has been a great way to keep my kid's rod bent and take a few fish home. We're mostly catching a grab bag of jacks and snappers. If anyone has experience with this type of fishing I would love lure / jig suggestions!

We've been throwing skimmer jigs (weedless / bonefish type), since these are always rigged on our light bonefish setups, but I'm guessing there's better lures or jigs to throw. The skimmer jigs allow us cover water quickly, and control the retrieve depth to keep from getting snagged on the reef. I'm thinking we would start picking up more snappers and grouper if we went a little deeper, or maybe tipped our jigs with a small piece of bait, etc?

I have spent 1000s of hours doing just this in SOFL. I have switched to bass-style jigs for fishing around heavy cover and rocks. They have a sturdy guard that keeps you from getting hung up all the time. Bump up to 3/8 or 1/2 oz on the deeper rocks. Have the kids target the sandy edges of the rocks...that's where the muttons are anyway! Tipped jigs always catch more. Try some of the Fish Bites artificial strips. You can cut a small piece with scissors and put it on the jig. Easier than cut bait.

Amazon.com

Amazon.com : FishBites Fish'n Strips - Shrimp (Electric Chicken) : Sports & Outdoors

Amazon.com : FishBites Fish'n Strips - Shrimp (Electric Chicken) : Sports & Outdoors

www.amazon.com

 

Are you keeping the skirt on the bass jigs when you use them? Have you had any rust issues?

 

The Strike King Jig idea for saltwater fishing waters here in SFL sounds interesting.

Yellow was the color Jigs we threw around coral heads out-island. Tip your jigs with raw conch strips.
We would keep our raw lobster heads for chum.

In the evenings, wire raw chicken to a stick and stick them where the waves wash on the beach for calico crabs.
Live crabs last days in a 5 gallon bucket when feed.

The time spent doing this with Dad is priceless.

 

We throw jigs a ton here in Texas and love them. They can constantly put fish in the boat when we throw them. We will throw them on grass flats with sand pockets and over oyster reefs in the bay for trout and redfish.

I use down south lures (Burner shad 3.5 or super model 5 pending bait in the area) then rig it on a 1/16 oz jig to a 3/8 oz jig (my go to is 1/16 for 1-3', 1/8 for 2-4', 1/4 for 4-10', 3/8 for 8'+)

The other jig I use when Im sight fishing is the Buggs fishing lures. These are a lot lighter and have more "flair" with different hairs, swim tails, etc. They are also relatively short. These are like if a fly and a jig head had a baby. These and the down souths are the only jigs I will ever throw.

SUPER MODEL 5" | Down South Lures

www.downsouthlures.com

Products Archive - Buggs Fishing Lures

 

I spent years of my youth doing this in Bermuda. Jigs always worked the best and cheaper than a lure if you got rocked. My father and I got tired of losing our squid strips all the time to smaller fish so we used a trailer hook on the jig, which allowed the little ones to peck at it and not rip off the squid. A strip of grunt would stay on better. There were no tackle shops around so we would mail order jigs and Mr twister twister tails in bulk. Good times.

 

I've seen lots of YouTube videos of people catching reef fish from boats, kayaks, and piers on small vertical jigs. Small being in the 20-40 gram range (roughly 3/4 to 1 1/2 oz.). I've been window shopping Daiwa Zakana and Clarkspoon Pogie jigs. Food for thought.