A fly caster has an advantage in that multiple presentations can be made to a fish in short order.
When I fly fish, I choose Dahlberg Divers and Koneheads, and oftentimes cast them with a clear fly line to decrease the likelihood of spooking a snook that I cast over while blind fishing. Gold Wobblers or spoon flies can match the appeal of a gold spoon, and I turn to Bendbacks equipped with rattles in combinations of chartreuse-and-white and pink-and-white. Sea-Ducers in yellow grizzly and red-and-white are proven favorites as well, particularly where the water is especially skinny.
Snooky Signs
Other signals to watch for that should almost go without saying are significant busts, showering bait and of course the unmistakable popping sound that snook make when they bust a baitfish or shrimp at the surface. Wading birds are a fishy sign, too. An open flat, bight or shoreline with a number of birds at the end of a falling tide can be a snook haven. Even if you fail to find fish, return to give it a second look during the incoming tide.
Stealth or Bust
I can’t emphasize enough the importance of being quiet when stalking shallow snook. I definitely spook more snook than I cast to. That’s par for the course. Once you spot a snook you have, in most cases, very little time to present your lure before the fish sees you. Unlike bonefish or reds that are tailing and grubbing, snook are ambushers that often have their “eyes up.”
A stationary snook that is facing you is the most difficult to fool. Your best shot in this case will be to place your lure or fly between two and three feet in front of a stationary fish. You can also cast beyond a fish and try to sneak the lure into its window without bringing it toward its face aggressively, which will almost always put the fish off. If the fish is swimming toward you, try placing the lure six to 10 feet in front of the fish, then twitch it just as the fish comes upon it.
If you cast across the back of a snook, the game’s over in most cases. And if you line a snook with a fly line, same deal. A snook that is facing away from you is a real challenge, if not impossible for a fly fisher. That’s when a spin or plug outfit gives you a better chance.
Fair Game on Both Coasts
Permit and bonefish may get the headlines, but snook are sometimes as challenging, and certainly have a greater distribution on Florida’s flats. Experienced flats fishers often say that big trout are much tougher to catch by sight. Let’s say that snook fall somewhere between reds and trout on the difficulty scale and leave it at that. Like reds and trout, snook take a wide variety of artificial lures and flies, so you can experiment, and often change the outcome of a snook trip by simply swapping lures. While Florida’s southwest Everglades coast is remote and holds lots of fish, good snook sight fisheries exist or are being developed within sight of coastal cities.
You stand a good chance of taking coastal flats snook (and let’s include snook in the clear surf) from Tampa Bay to Cape Florida, and on the Atlantic side, in the Indian River from Hobe Sound to as far north as roughly Cape Canaveral. And Atlantic beaches, particularly near inlets and over rocky outcroppings, offer great sight casting. Bottom line is, you won’t see snook unless you take the time to look for them, “bonefish style.”
