When you hear of June in South Florida, you may think of scorching, sunny days and sun burns. When I hear June, I think of the best month for snook fishing with a red hot bite day and night. It’s my favorite month to target snook in the bay and local inlets. The bigger breeding fish start stacking up in every inlet and bridge inside the bay and prepare for their annual spawn. On clear sunny days you can just look down in the water and see dozens, if not hundreds of snook ranging from the smaller males to the big females over 20 pounds, stacked on top of each other. Since outside daytime temperatures are pushing the 100 degree mark, it’s best to target them during an incoming tide. The incoming tide brings cooler and cleaner water into the inlets and bays. They seem to feed much better and eat anything that crosses by their face. If it’s a daytime outgoing tide, the water temps in the bay are bath water warm and the bite shuts down bigtime. If you’re planning a night fishing trip you don’t have to worry too much as they will feed on both tides. You just have to find where they are staged up.
Let’s talk tackle. When targeting snook on my trips, I prefer using 6000 size spinning reels spooled with 40 to 50 pound braid, matched with a 7’6” 12 to 25 pound rod. You can go smaller or bigger, but that size seems to be the most manageable and has no problem stopping a big 25 pound momma snook if she decides to try to get into the jetty, bridge pilings or structure. From the rod my go to rig is a freelined live mullet or big threadfin herring on a 5/0 to 6/0 Owner J hook tied to 4 feet of 50 pound fluorocarbon leader. When the current is mid tide and at its strongest flow, I will use a ⅜ to 1 ounce hookup jig head or a 1 to 2 ounce egg sinker to help get the bait down near the bottom where they are staged up and ready to eat. Nothing is more exciting then working a big school of fish when clients call every bite and have multiple fish on for the duration of the trip.
Good luck everyone! Be safe and enjoy your time on the water. One last thing remember is to handle these fish with the utmost care. These snook are all in the spawning mode and if we don’t do our due diligence and take care of the big breeding snook, it will ruin the fishery in the future.
Tight Lines!
CAPT. RYAN RASBERRY
Tell N’ Tails Charters
(954) 257-9978
Tellntailscharters@aol.com
www.tellntailscharters.com