Photo courtesy of Haulinbassguide.com
Photo Caption: Capt. Mike Arnoldy caught this massive 35-pound Indian River snook in Brevard County in June.
Now Is Time For Huge Summer Snook
You might not be allowed to keep snook through the summer months, but that doesn’t mean you can’t catch them. And right now is a good time to target large snook. In fact, this catch-and-release period may be one of the best times for serious anglers to land a fish worthy of a photo to hang on the wall.
In summer, snook are in the spawning mood. They can be caught in the surf, often very close to the shore, and also around inlets and ports leading to the open ocean. They’ll move in and out with the moon phases through about September, but they don’t generally move too far. If you’ve got a good area for snook during the fall mullet run, chances are the snook will be nearby during the summer months. For the same reason, the best surf locations will be near a pass.
Typically a 15-pound snook is enough to make most anglers very happy. But this is the time of year is when 20- to 25-pounders are caught, and a 40-pounder is not out of the question. The Florida state record snook was caught out of Fort Myers in 1984 and weighed 44-pounds, 3-ounces. But with no way to certify a weight during the summer because fish must be released, there’s no telling how many have topped that mark in the more than three decades since it was caught.
Many anglers chase snook with artificials, as they are a fish that will readily jump on jerkbaits, spoons, soft plastics, topwater plugs or flies while they are not spawning. However, bait can be and fisherman’s best friend when targeting truly big fish. Snook will eat any small fish as well as live shrimp and crabs. Pilchards and other schooling baitfish make for good chum and bait.
But if you’re specifically after the fish of a lifetime, sink a big hung of cut bait to the bottom. Large mullet heads and ladyfish heads are known for producing trophy-size snook. Morning, evening and night will be the best times to fish, as snook are notoriously nocturnal.
Sure, 20-inch snook caught in the backcountry on flies or soft-plastic shrimp are a ton of fun, and you can do that through the fall and winter. But summertime is your best opportunity to land a snook that’ll make your jaw drop and your reel scream. So get your hands stinky with some real bait and catch the fish of a lifetime.