The Thrill and Upset of snook Fishing

written by………JamGeorge……GN

Snook fishing, one of the greatest adrenaline rushes of fishing. If you have never fished for snook before and happen to hook into one while fishing, then you have experienced the complete inadequecy of using the wrong tackle, at the right time, to hook the wrong fish. This fish can generate so much power in the first 30 seconds of being hooked that not knowing what it is you’ve caught and trying to stop it is almost futile.

To land one of these fish you should have good proper tackle. First you’ll need a good sturdy fishing pole, at least about a 20 – 30lb rod, spinner or conventional. Next depending on your experience level your line should be somewhere between 15 – 50lb test. I usually use 25 or 30lb test for the conventional and 15 – 20lb test for the spinner.

For hooks I use 4.0 to 7.0 depending on the brand for the conventional and 2.0 or 3.0 for the spinner rod. For baits I normally catch small pinfish at the site I’m fishing from, because that’s usually what the fish are feeding on. But you should also take some live bait with you. Large shrimps and Pilchards are always good, the pinfish I like to use are about 1/2lb or smaller. Placing the hook in your bait is important. For Pinfish, I put my hook underneath in the rear end. for Pilchards I hook them in the nose or just above the pectoral fins. For Mullets I place the hook under the chin in the fleshy area. For shrimp I hook them through the hornlike projection area in front.

Now take a minute to survey the area you are fishing to note where the snook are. Snook like to lurk in the shadows just out of the lights, and since I am usually fishing from a pier or a seawall you will see them coming into the light, cruising around and back out again. Snook will hit a bait anywhere in the water, but they like to do it better at about where the light turns to dark. Once you’ve chosen your spot to fish and the bait is in the water you let it swim freely with your spool open. However, be careful to control the bait with the line between your thumb and forefinger to limit how far and fast it can swim. If it goes beyond the range you are comfortable with or swims away for the Snook you are after, simply reel it in slowly and repeat the process of gently casting it towards the Snook. Please always remember to be ready for a strike, sometimes when you least expect it is when the Snook will hit. Fishing with a shrimp is a bit different since you will always want to be casting and retrieving with the current to mimic the way shrimp drift for real.

When you get a strike you’ll have to react very fast. First, quickly get in all the slack line you have out during your freelining unless you were using shrimp, and set the hook. Once the snook realizes that he is hook it’ll go bezerk. You must follow it and keep on top of it or you will loose it. Snook are a very smart fish and once they are hooked they will head for any obstruction in the water to escape. So you must always be one step ahead. Once you have beat it, it is easily reeled in. At this point you should take care not to damage the fish, because if it is out of season and/or not a keeper (26″ – 34″), you’ll have to release it and you want it to recover from it’s ordeal.
So there is my way of hooking up with a Snook, Hope it is helpful and happy Snooking.

written by Jamgeorge.