Snook season is quickly approaching
Come Sunday, snook season will once again open – that’s right, the first of March is coming and the game is back on for snook anglers. It seems every year the season is getting shorter and the slot-size is getting narrower, making it difficult to take a tasty line side home for dinner. And that’s just what the experts want, more fish left in the water to procreate and increase the future stocks.
That’s not all bad, as good as they are to eat they are much more valuable alive and swimming. The thrill of hunting, hooking and attempting to land a big snook then releasing her unharmed far outweighs a few pounds of fish filets in my opinion. Don’t get me wrong, I have no problem with keeping a legal snook during season, I just believe the regulations are there to protect the fish and for most, catching a legal size snook is a real chore.
However, if your mindset is not driven at hooking a snook for the table, then you can have an absolute blast catching them. It’s a good feeling to land a snook, big or small, then watch it swim away and go hunt for the next one. The best thing with this mindset is you can fish for them all year, there are closed seasons to keep them but you can safely catch and release them anytime. And about the time the season closes in May, the snook fishing can be red hot and getting better every week. That’s part of the reason why season is closed.
When the season does reopen on Sunday, the weather will play a factor on where and how to fish for them. Most anglers know by now that snook don’t tolerate cold weather very well. The warmer the days, the warmer the water resulting in better chances at catching snook. Not to say you won’t catch them when it’s cold, just that the odds are far more favorable when the water temperatures rise.
If it is cold, look for them hanging around in or near canals with deep water, along shorelines with deep water and in some of the deeper creeks and bays. Also don’t overlook bridges. In my younger years, I caught more snook than I can remember from the Matlacha draw bridge on nights it was so cold only a foolish kid would be on it fishing.
One of the most overlooked baits for snook fishing is cut bait. Generally we associate snook with exploding on a top water lure or chasing down a fleeing bait fish, but many oldtimers well tell you if you want to catch a big snook, you can’t beat cut bait fished on bottom. The two favorites are ladyfish and mullet, and the fresher the better. You can cut them into one-inch steaks, place a circle hook through the skin and throw them a country mile. For the really big snook, some believe the head of a ladyfish or mullet are the best baits there are.
When the water is cold, snook will not exert any extra energy to chase down bait, but might pick up a bait laying on bottom – not much energy needed and they need to eat. The bigger they grow, the lazier they seem to get and become more of an opportunistic feeder, making the fish heads good bait for targeting the big boys. Live handpicked shrimp free lined or fished slowly across bottom on troll-rite or jig heads and slow moving artificials will also fool some snook in the cooler water.
When the water begins to warm in March, the snook will move from the cold water spots and begin spreading out in holes along the flats, around oyster bars and islands, and some will begin migrating towards the beaches and passes. They may be found anywhere in between where there is some type of structure including docks, piers, bridges and mangrove shorelines.
They will begin eating oily baitfish in a big way once the water warms to the right temperature and the bait schools move inshore. This is the time when it’s hard to beat a live well full of frisky pilchards or herrings. Use a medium-light rod that you can cast well, spool it up with mono or braid, attach a couple feet of fluorocarbon leader to a circle hook, put on a lively pilchard and you have the perfect snook set up. If you do not want to go through the hassle of catching bait, there are many lures and fly patterns that are spittin’ images of the shiny baitfish that work pretty darn good.
If you are fishing from land, you have many good options as well. At night it’s hard to beat a handpicked live shrimp fished from the bridges in Matlacha and also the Sanibel Pier. During the day these locations are also good choices as well as the Bokeelia Pier and later in the month the beaches on Sanibel.
One neat thing about snook is no matter the size, they all fight with the heart of a giant. They all hit with the same intensity and fish of all sizes are often grouped together, at first bite you seldom know the size of the fish for the first few seconds. Snook fishing is one of the most addictive types of fishing I know of and it’s not because they are good eating, it’s because they are such a challenge to fish for and so much fun to fight when hooked. They have my respect.
If you have a fishing story or photo that you would like to share or for charter information, contact us at (239)283-7960 or www.fishpineisland.com. Have a safe week and good fishin’.