St. Pete Report By: Capt. Anthony Corcella

Summer is coming up fast. The water temps are pushing toward 82 degrees. That means one thing–snook fishing will be heating up, too.

The snook will be on the area flats and inshore reefs.

There are thousands of 24 to 26-inch male snook ready to take your bait. Mixed in will be jumbo mid to upper 30-inch females with some pushing 40 inches plus.

The best choices for bait include whitebait, live jumbo shrimp and cut baits like pinfish, lady fish, threadfin and mullet.

If you prefer lures, a Mission Fishing jighead paired with a quality soft plastic bait such as a MirrOminnow will do you, as well as, a MirrOdine hard bait–both by MirrOlures.

It’s important to use correct tackle and gear. We recommend a 3000 to 4000 size spinning reel, 15 to 20-pound braid on a 7-foot 6-inch 10 to 20-pound class rod.  20 to 30-pound fluorocarbon leader is standard for live bait, cut bait and lures. It all depends on where you’re fishing.

Quality redfish are always a welcome bonus while you are on one of our snook trips. Book a trip today to get in on the hot bite.