Snook inhabit most of the Everglades backcountry labyrinth and are especially easy to spot over lighter-colored bars and mud flats.
I find that snook feed best when the moon is over or under the earth, so maybe there’s something to solunar tables after all? Why this is I can’t tell you but it has proven itself to me a number of times and if you quiz any old time snook fisherman he may tell you the same.
Shallow Water Ambush
It should almost go without saying that you can’t catch snook on the open flats if they are hunkered and hiding in shoreline mangrove roots. That’s why the lower stages of the incoming and outgoing tides are best. While low and falling water create an opportunity for us to sight-fish these wary gamesters it is also a great opportunity for snook to set up ambush stations to eat shrimp, crabs, mullet and other baitfish that are flushed out of cover. The same holds true when the tide begins to rise, though I feel a falling tide is more productive for sighting and catching snook.
I recall one classic ambush station I came upon during one of those glass calm summer days where nearly 20 snook were stacked up in the mouth of a wide and shallow sandy bottomed outflow of a large grassflat. The snook just inside the mouth of the outflow were loosely clumped together in singles, pairs and threes as they faced the falling water. They reminded me of film footage I have seen of salmon or trout holding in a shallow river. Of course, you can’t expect to see such gatherings every time out.
Other shallow-water ambush stations include any structure that is facing the full force of the tide. Oyster bars, rock points, sand points, logs, potholes and dropoffs are prime. Flats snook in ambush mode move little so it takes a pretty sharp eye to spot the fish, or part of a fish, such as the tail, or a shadow hovering just above bottom. While you may be fooled by dark spots or small logs on the bottom, I suggest you cast first and ask questions later.
Try to always cast your fly or lure on the side of any flats structure that is subject to the flow of the tide. For example, if you come across an oyster bar, cast on the side of the bar where the tide is pushing up against it, not behind it where the water is still. This should make sense since a snook in ambush is going to place itself where the tide will serve up its favorite baitfish and crustaceans.
When it comes time to choose an island shoreline flat to do your hunting, remember that in this region, most Gulfside islands have an eastern and western shoreline, and that it’s best to fish the western shoreline (facing the Gulf) on the incoming tide and the eastern shoreline (opposite the Gulf) on an outgoing tide. Bait is pushed against uptide shorelines for the most part.
Snook are super aerialists where the water is shallowest.
Any creek mouth, especially on the outgoing tide, is a prime spot for snook in ambush mode. At deeper creek mouths, you may not be able to see snook on the bottom unless the tide is particularly low. If they happen to be close to the surface for some reason, however, or if the submerged bank of the creek has a low sloping gradation, you may still get sight shots.
The best sight fishing normally occurs when a falling tide bottoms out sometime in mid to late morning. Then, the sun is high enough to see the fish, though an early morning outgoing low tide during windless conditions has divulged a snook finning near the surface for me. You’d be amazed at how the low light of a rising sun illuminates the yellow tinged fins of a snook. Unfortunately, finning snook aren’t as common as we would like.
Flats Tactics for Low Light
When fishing early or late in the day on the open flats of a shoreline bight at low tide, or at a rivermouth oyster bar, choose a topwater plug or fly that creates enough of a disturbance to attract snook that you can’t see in the low light. Walking plugs such as the Zara Spook or Skitter Walk are good mullet imitations and among proven takers. Soft-plastic jerkbaits can be worked at the surface or deeper, and are super for low-light “fan casting” when snook aren’t readily visible on the flats. Many anglers prefer them to hard plugs due to softer landings, and their single hook. For real long casts, it’s tough to beat a spoon. Gold, silver or black models appeal to snook.
