The snook is a fish that has vexed me for quite some time. I have tried to catch them in the past in all ways possible. I've been with others when they caught them and I didn't come away with more than a sniff. It was a fish, I had heard, that feeds sporadically, is super picky, and that you're lucky to catch once you finally break the seal and hook one. They live in rough places: mangroves, docks, places with swift current and plenty of line cutting structure. Even their bodies destroy tackle. They have gill plates like razors, and even the little ones are strong enough to get back in the structure from which you pulled them. So, of course, when a buddy asked me to go on a snook trip I was game. And I was going to do it on fly.
I had scoured the internet for info, looked up fly patterns, and read as much as I could about catching them. I was convinced this was going to be it. And it was.
I travelled south from Jacksonville along Florida's east coast in December in the midst of an incoming cold front with my brand new 9 weight rig and a box full of tiny flies. We were going to fish the docklights, and I was assured of success. I didn't know what I was getting into, but I thought I was ready.
The first snook I caught was on a DOA shrimp, being that I wasn't completely ready to jump in completely with the fly rod, but once I got the monkey off my back with that first snook, I put the spinning rod away and kept the fly rod out for the rest of the trip.
Snook are nocturnal feeders; they love to congregate under bright docklights because of the proliferation of small baitfish they attract.
The first time you see fish busting in the shadows of a lighted dock, and the shrimp and small bait running for their lives, you know its a sight you won't soon forget. The key though, is to present your bait as naturally as possible. Baitfish do not have the strength to swim against the current that gamefish do, so consequently, the snook know they have an easy meal that the current brings to them. A fly, or any type of lure for that matter, that moves against the current will be ignored. You may get a follow, or even a short strike, but the fish know its odd. The best way to catch any fish in this situation is to fish your fly with the current, with as much of a drag free drift as possible, much like trout fishing in freshwater. Anyway, once I figured this out it was game on.
The trip went great, and we came away with more than enough snook, considering the quickly dropping water temps. We caught it right before the bottom dropped out. Reports after our trip stated the fish were lethargic, and uninterested in eating. I finally accomplished something that I had failed to do in the past. Snook on the fly...
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| Fat Snook |
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| Lookdown Jack (Fly Thief) |
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| Biggest fish of the trip - 26" |
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| Tarpon Snook |
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