By: Capt. Dave Stephens
After coming off a very wet and colder winter than normal, we hope things this spring begin to shift into a normal pattern mode. March is the time of year when our water temperatures begin to steadily warm up kicking off a feeding frenzy for some of our local game fish. The fish that comes to most anglers minds this time of year is snook. During the winter months these fish lay dormant in deeper warm water. With spring coming and the water temps on the rise these guys will be beginning to feed to recover loss of fat and get ready for spawning. If your able to locate live bait such as pilchards and live herring, these will be the baits of choice. However other baits such as small mullet, pin fish and large shrimp will also work well. If you prefer throwing artificial lures, I suggest something that resembles the bait fish that is found in the waters your fishing. Such as a sardine or pin fish pattern on the flats. Tackle is anglers’ choice, however I wouldn’t recommend using less than 10# test line paired with a 30# shock leader. Snook have a very abrasive jaw and will chew through lighter leaders. Local creeks and deep-water tributaries are great places to locate early spring fish. Also, the local miles of residential canals will be holding good numbers of fish. Often times on cooler mornings if the water temps get to cool the bite might be a little slower. Snook are a tropical fish, so water temperatures above 70 degrees is normally the optimal temp, so you might have to slow down and fish a little slower. I often times will use a small split shot to slow my bait down, this also seems to help get the laying fish to bite. Springtime will bring some exciting fishing to Southwest Florida and as we progress further into spring things should only get better.
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