| Targeting snook for the dinner table is an exercise in frustration. Sure, they’re one of the tastiest fish that swims in Florida waters, with a firm white flesh that flakes beautifully. The problem is catching one that you can keep. The “slot size” for snook is 28 inches to 32 inches. That’s a pretty small target to hit and the chances of hitting it on any single expedition aimed only at snook are slim. Still, hope springs eternal and I periodically give it a go. To try to minimize the frustration factor, though, I make sure I don’t waste a lot of time or fuel chasing from one place to another.
My principal snook-hunting territory is the little marina that is part of our condo complex. There are numerous well-lighted docks and finger piers, the water is anywhere from two feet to 12 feet deep and there are ample baitfish swimming in and around the dock pilings to attract snook. And early spring (we don’t have “winter” in Florida) is a great time to target snook in the marina. The water is just warm enough that the snook are willing to chase down a bait, there are no bugs about and the sun sets early enough that I can finish dinner and then take a leisurely expedition around the docks when the dock lights give me the shadows that snook love to hide among.
What makes it all extra convenient is my custom-made “snookmobile.” I admit that “custom made” overstates the case. It’s just a sturdy lawn wagon to which I’ve attached a three-rod holder. I stick two or three hefty rods with big spinning reels in the holders (once you hook a big fish around the pilings, it’s mano-a-mano; either you get the fish out of the water within 10 or 15 seconds or you get cut off), load my bucket of live shrimp in the wagon with a bubbler to keep them lively, then set off down the docks. Having a couple of rods rigged and ready is an integral part of my convenience strategy. The pilings are sheathed in ultra-sharp oyster shells and barnacles so that the chances of getting cut off by a rampaging snook are high. If I lose one fish, I just store that rod and pick up the second one without wasting time re-rigging.
Now that snook are back in season, I decided to make a run last night. The technique is pretty straightforward: lower a live shrimp down about four or five feet, then walk slowly along the dock dragging the shrimp, hopefully putting in right in a fish’s face. Sure enough, it worked last night. Trouble is, the fish whose face the shrimp passed weren’t snook. I nailed two ladyfish and two big jack crevalles. They’re fun to catch, of course, but they don’t count toward a snook dinner. Still, I was only out for an hour and never more than a few hundred yards from home. I’m confident I’ll catch a keeper snook in the next few weeks if I just do one of my patrols a couple of times a week. After all, we all know that when it comes to fishing, persistence pays. |
