by Capt. James Marko
Snook season is finally here and let me tell you it’s my favorite time of the year. The population took quite a hit back in 2005, with a serious winter that left our snook population near extinction in our waters. Over the past couple years, I’ve noticed our population getting stronger and stronger and last season we caught more 27 ½ inch fish than I ever have in my life. With that being said I think this season is going to be one of our best over the past decade, but that doesn’t leave room for people to overfish the snook.
Generally, this time of the year you can find snook piled up underneath docs, long mangrove lines or even along the beach with massive spawning groups. If you’re lucky enough to find one of these groups, be prepared to catch 40+ snook in a single fishing trip. It seems like this time of the year the snook will hit about anything if you get it right in their face. I’ve also noticed this time of the year, the bigger snook will be in schools together of about a dozen or less. So, if you see a big snook there’s a good chance that there’s another big snook with it. I’m a big fan of live bait, but if you can’t get your hands on some pinfish, try a swim bait or a live target. Savage gear has some amazing soft baits coming out that I think are going to be the trick for snook in our area, but they won’t be released ‘till next year.
Now to the hard part-actually catching a slot. You’ll notice it’s difficult to get a fish between 28 and 32 inches, but once you do, it’s glory! I’m always a huge fan of catch and release, but if you decide to keep one you need to have the necessary paperwork to harvest a slot snook. Once you’ve got your slot and you’ve called your buddies to brag about your catch, now it’s time to fillet that bad boy. You’ll notice it’s a soapy fish, so I like to dab it with the newspaper to get a better grip on it. There’s no Chick-fil-A trick, it’s just like any normal fish- make your cut behind the side fin, then run your blade out the dorsal fin, and then gradually work the fillet out. I’m no chef so I prefer my fish grilled with a little bit of lemon and butter. You can find a bunch of snook recipes online. If Bubba Gump shrimp was still around, they’d tell you all of the snook cooking secrets, but until then just use the internet. ‘Till next month tight lines!