The Picture is from 1986. A snook caught using this method, so old trick that still work.
Snook or Snoek which is the Dutch word for pike, from what I can find out. Who would have guessed there were that many of us Dutchmen here in South Florida to name a fish? Snook the trash fish, which during the depression were hooked by gaff and sold for Cat-food and not until some dumb Yankee filleted one, removing the skin before cooking, did anyone know they were good eating.
Snook are only found in the warm waters and while they may be found north of Tampa, it is rare and a cold front could easily wipe them out. A true game fish in Florida and if you are convicted of a Snook crime it is easier to get murder off your record than a Snook crime.
How would you catch one? First thing I would do is not think about the boat. Snook are shore huggers until they get to about 40 inches, then many will cruise out to the reefs, but for this we will think piers. Any pier that is in saltwater or brackish water. Snook are ambush feeder and like to lay around pilings waiting for food to come to them.
So rod and reel for this – I go heavy- 10 to 20 pound line class or better. Yet a 12 to 15 pound class rod, 4000 or larger reel. I would like 30 pound braid or at least 20 pound mono line and for leader 40 pound test fluorocarbon or more.
Rigging is simple – I tie 3 feet of leader to my line and tie the jig head to the leader, the jig head should be 3/8 once or heavier. I like pink or bright chartreuse colors. On the jig head I hook a shrimp place the jig head in from the bottom of the head out the top, so the hook is right above the horn on the shrimp’s head. The point of the hook pointing the same way as the horn on the shrimp’s head. Then I break off the horn from the shrimp’s head. I do that because I have had a snook on great fight, then all of a sudden the fish got off and when I looked at the bait, the front of the shrimp’s face was smashed and the horn was sticking out. I believe that the horn kept the point of the hook from going into the mouth of the snook. So I break off the horn just to be sure.
Now how to use this rig is easy. Take your bait bucket onto the pier, maybe 10 feet, set it down and put the shrimp on the jig head. Now you will want to start by going to the railing and place your rod just over the side, tipping in the direction you are going to walk. So out towards the end of the pier. Now let the jig head with the shrimp fall to the bottom by opening the bail. When the jig is on the bottom, close the bail and slowly tighten the line by reeling in the slack line. Now lift your rod tip 6 inches and start slowly walking forward. By slowly I mean if it is a wooden pier, step on each board. If you are on a concrete pier, I would take half steps. This is a quiet thing, walking a shrimp for snook, so soft-soled shoes are important, no flip flops either. If there are people on the pier walking it is not as important, as the fish are used to the noise already, but if there is no one on the pier, quiet is really, really important.
I start my walk when I get on the pier with 10 inches of water. If the pier is in deeper water, start right next to the pier by walking with half steps, and I bounce my rod tip every once in a while just to give it a little action and noise or ripple under water for attention. Now here is another important thing, I stop every 15 feet or so, and again open my bail to let the jig head with the shrimp hit the bottom, take up the slack in the line, and then once again l lift my rod tip 6 inches and start my walk again. This keeps the shrimp in the strike zone as the water gets deeper out the pier and when walking back to shore keeps your shrimp from dragging on the bottom.
The snook will by laying right next to a piling and when they strike your bait, will try to get right back to behind the piling, so the fight will take place in a five foot circle. That is why the heavy action Rod. You pull, the snook pulls, whoever pulls the hardest wins. This is not a play the snook situation, this is all about holding on and keeping the fish between the pilings.
Walk out on one side of the pier and back down on the other. If there is someone fishing, lift your bait, out go around them, give them ten to fifteen feet of courtesy room. Hey,
they have the right to fish unmolested same as you!
From Fishin Franks in North fort Myers in the Ingman Marine Boat dealership
Good luck,
Fishin Frank