By Capt. Mike Smith, Fish Your Ass Off Charters
The common snook, a.k.a. linesider, a.k.a. robalo, is one of the most sought after gamefish in Florida waters. Sportsmen and women from all over the world come to Florida to catch these hard fighting, jumping, head shaking, drag pulling fish.
Snook will definitely eat top water lures, jigs, jerkbaits, wake baits, suspending hard baits, spoons, and flies but they love artificial shrimp.
Artificial shrimp will catch snook all year long; day or night; salt or fresh water; in every ecosystem, anywhere that snook live.
One of the best ways to catch snook with artificial shrimp is skipping them under and around structures like mangrove branches, docks, sea walls, sand bars and oyster bars. Pitch the shrimp to the structure and let it sink. Then give it a twitch, twitch and let it sink again, then twitch, twitch and repeat the process until your arms get tired of reeling in linesiders.
Snook like a slower retrieve in the cooler months. Make sure to slow it down when the water temperatures approach the 70 degree level or less. A faster retrieve works better when water temperatures are between 75 and 85 degrees. Snook often stop biting when water temperatures get above 90 degrees.
Another great characteristic of the artificial shrimp is that it skips like a dream. The 3 inch shrimp is the go to artificial shrimp lure for most hardcore snook fishermen. However, there are days when the snook are more discerning and a 2.75 inch or a larger 4 inch shrimp is the better size and profile choice.
The best color choices for shrimp lures are transparent, natural colors with gold or silver glitter in them for sunny days and clear water scenarios. More opaque and darker colors work better in dirty water and on cloudy days.
Many fishermen struggle when fishing artificial lures into tight cover scenarios. Sometimes, it takes about 50 casts and the loss of a half dozen shrimp lures to perfect the technique. But it is definitely a skill that any serious snook fisherman needs to master.
Capt. Mike Smith, owner of Fish Your Ass Off Charters, is an inshore fishing guide who has been fishing the inshore waters, oyster bars and grass flats of Florida for more than 40 years. Reach him at (561) 339-2317, email: contact@fishyourassoff.com or visit fishyourassoff.com.
