I like to catch the snappers on an ultralite pole with 2# test line and troll a tiny kastmaster spoon... they do give a good fight!
we get them late August/early September on LI too...

and yes, they are good eating, they have not gotten "oily & fishy" yet...
good for breakfast... little tiny fillets... filleted right and you get no bones at all...
they also make a good fishcake or addition to fish chowder... but you need a lot of them...
we can easily catch 50 or so in an hour though... they are voracious eaters and run in huge schools...
just about every cast will get a fish when you hit a school...
we get them right in front of the house on LI... trolling about 20' off the shore in the deeper (4'-8') channels...

[color:"blue"]Life with my wife... It's not just a marriage, It's an Adventure![/color]
"Only Sailors Get Blown Offshore" <*}}}><{