Snook Season Is Approaching.
In a week snook season will open for the Gulf and it could not come soon enough. Earlier today my neighbor reported 3 nice size snook cruising past his dock. Almost every trip I took out to the Hernando Beach channel I ran across several snook, some over slot size. Over the past summer we encountered a great snook feeding frenzy. Based on the reports this should be a pretty good fall for snook.
Bait:
- Live bait: White bait, pin fish, sand perch, ballyhoo and shrimp work well
- Lures: Long A boomer, Yo-Zuri Crystal Minnow, D.O.A. and MirrOlure.
Live bait of course is the best bet for snook fishing. Lures work well but are a lot of work.
Finding snook:
The easiest place to find snook would be the Hernando Beach channel. Day time fishing is best early or late in the day. You really can not fish on weekends, due to boat traffic, unless you fish at night. Night fishing is not for everyone and if you are not an avid boater and have good night vision, then you really should not attempt night fishing. At night the Hernando Beach channel becomes a very different place and at times pretty spooky. The best nights to fish is Sunday and Monday since many of the shrimpers take those day off. When I fish at night, I start out near market 3 then work my way back in. This way I have the back drop of the Hernando Beach lights to provide me with shadows of the cuts and islands help guide me. I also have every cut marked on my GPS and night vision goggles help out too. The snook tend to hang around the north side of the channel near the cuts and on the backside of the cuts at marker 23 out to marker 3.
Other good place for day time snook fishing is Centipede bay, its more of a challenge to find them, since there is a lot of area to cover. The snook tend to stay in deep in the creeks or in where the water runs fast and they are very spooky. Most of the time they start to move out before you can even get close. The way I solved this problem, is when ever I see a snook, I make a mental note of the location and tide phase. When I go back out to fish for snook, I first look at the area and see if there is anyway to keep the grass or a small island between me and the area I want to fish. This way I can see the fish from the casting platform, but the fish can not see the boat. One important note, if you move around they will see you standing, so when you make a cast make sure it is with as little movement as possible. Most of the time a simple pitch works. When sight fishing for snook live bait is a must. With the amount of effort it takes to sneak up on snook you don't want to risk your one shot with a lure that may spook the snook as soon as the lure hits the water.
Going south around dinner point is also a good place to look for snook. The water is very shallow, so don't venture there on a falling tide. Unless you packed a tent. The snook tend to hang just inside the many creeks in the area. White bait works great in this area, anchor up near the mouth of the creek a chum with live white bait. If the fish are there you will know it with in a few minutes. Typically if I fish that area, I also plan on fishing Aripeka. From Aripeka south you can find plenty of snook, trout and redfish.
Tackle:
You will want to use a 7 ft med action rod and matching reel. A good drag system is a must. I use a Shimano Stradic 2500 spooled up with moss green 15# power pro. I use about 3 feet of 30# fluorocarbon tied to the power pro with a uni to uni knot. Depending on the bait size will determine the what size live bait hook I use. I tend to use the smallest hook I can. If you plan on bait and wait fishing, you should use a circle hook. Only use live bait hook when you know you will be able to set the hook when the fish hits. This will reduce the number of gut hooked fish.
Even through I use 15# power pro, I typically only use 2 or 3 lbs of drag. Snook have a soft mouth (not as soft as trout) and many anglers lose fish due to the hook pulling. Take your time, wear out the fish and enjoy the challenge. Just make sure you properly handle and revive the snook before you release them. Take a look at the Floida Sea Grant web site on proper fish handling
Good Luck
Zippyjr.