(Ft. Myers Beach to Charlotte Harbor) A lot of my clients have long awaited the opportunity to catch and harvest Snook since ‘opening day’ (September 1st). Although I would have preferred another year or so of closure, it does appear that the Snook population has rebounded since the freeze of several years ago based on sighting and my catch and release experiences of 2011-2013.
Notwithstanding that Snook are basically thought of as a nocturnal, opportunistic species laying in ambush for weak prey; they will also feed throughout the day on incoming and outgoing tides. They are very aggressive at times and have the reputation of being one of the most ferocious fighting fish to hook up. They are also considered one of the better tasting species for harvesting.
This time of year the Snook are still very active in the passes and are easy targets on the stronger parts of incoming or outgoing tides. Only lack of water clarity will prevent one from spotting these primitive looking fish laying in ambush, sunning themselves or swimming to reposition on bottom indentations, hard structure like rocks and stumps. Like the other backcountry species, they also hold up in the flats and will move in and out of the mangroves with water movement.
I prefer working the deeper cuts around mangroves in the backcountry in the early morning hours on incoming tides. The outgoing may work just as well, but I feel early morning hours are more essential than the direction of the tide flow.
On the ‘opening day’, my 1st Mate Vicki and I had the opportunity to take David and Lynne Mc Gowan from Jacksonville, Florida to experience catching Snook (Jacksonville weather is too cold to be a good Snook fishery). Lynne is pictured here with her 28” Snook caught early morning around the mouth of the Caloosahatchee River. We caught several Snook that morning as well as lost a couple of big ones. Congratulations Lynne!
Fishing for Snook should continue to be good throughout the month. A picture of a Snook recently taken out of a ‘pass’ on the incoming tide by Daniel Whiteley from Sheffield, England, was only one of several caught by him and his friend, Mr. Edward Pike of Cape Coral, Florida. Congratulations Daniel as that was a great job landing the Snook under the circumstances.
In closing, this is Captain Terry Fisher of Fish Face Charters. Feel free to call me at 239-357-6829 or email [email protected] for all of your fishing questions or charter needs in Lee County (Gulf Coast). Check out my website at www.fishfacecharters.com for more tips and articles.