Snapper Patterns

With the ideal water temperature, bait fish presence, structure and current sorted out it time to look at the last few pieces of the puzzle. 

The color and clarity of the water is one of the most important factors to consider in any form of fishing but especially with sight hunters like mangrove snapper. Too murky and the bites will come almost exclusively on cut bait. This is fine but be prepared to use up a lot if bait in a hurry. There is a huge variety of smaller bait stealers that share the same habitat as the snapper and they're more likely to get to your bait first.
If the water is tap water clean and clear, you may find that it's difficult to get any bites at all outside of the low light periods of dusk and dawn. In extremely clear water, chumming with fresh pieces of locally caught bait fish such as pilchards, sardines or herring, can help get these more cautious fish to bite.
Green water with between 2 and 4 feet of visibility will often have the fish feeding on and off throughout the day or night. Under these conditions, the mangrove's are more likely to be actively hunting on the outskirts of the structure rather than tucked up inside of it.

Here you have the final few pieces of the snapper puzzle. Water color/clarity, light levels and the fish's behavior or reactions to specific conditions.

To conclude, regardless of the species your after you need to recognize and adapt to:

1 water temperature
2 forage
3 structure
4 current
5 color and clarity of the water
6 light levels

There are of course other factors at play when patterning fish, but I wouldn't be a very good teacher if I didn't let you find out what they are on you're own ;)

courtesy of "Big Dave's land based lessons. How to get tight!".