[dropcap]W[/dropcap]e have endured the long hot summer and most of us are ready for SNOOK season and the annual mullet run. Put fresh line on your reels, buy some quality leader material, sharpen the hooks and lube the reels. Plenty of snook are being caught from the inlets all way up into the backwaters of the St. Lucie River. The bait schools are already thick in the Indian River and getting slammed by snook, tarpon, trout, jacks and more. This is the perfect time to use topwater at first light around the bait schools for aggressive strikes. A lure that has been overlooked for redfish is the gold spoon with rattles and I know that it has been working by some R and D. In the surf, cast your lures at 45 degree angles to the beach as the bait usually do not swim east to west but north to south and with all the bait running you want to stay in the zone for good looks and hook ups. Fishing the surf in September is a rewarding experience and the action is amazing. A lot of snook have already pushed back into the north and south forks of the St. Lucie River. When the mullet show up west of Ten Cent Bridge, the snook fishing is red hot. The bridges always have residential monster snook hanging out in the underwater ruble world. For good action, fish the bridges at night with First Light jigs and Bomber plugs by working the shadow lines. When the mullet come through the bridges you will see the tarpon and snook popping the bait out of the water. A shrimp on a jig head is always good bait for black drum and snapper around dock and bridges. Looks like it will be a good snook season so get your mojo on, and don’t forget to wear your sunscreen.