With spring just around the corner, it won’t be long before there will be snook in the surf along Florida’s West Coast from Anna Maria Island to Marco Island.
This game is totally sight-fishing. It’s a great fly-rod fishery. Some years, of course, are better than others. Last year wasn’t very good, so here’s hoping.
I get to the beach about 7:30 a.m. and fish until about noon or 1 p.m. The high the sun is in the sky, the larger your window of sight.
In the afternoon, the sea breeze will kick up, making it tough to see. Plus, the sun is now in your eyes.
For this fishing, I use 6-weight fly rod, sinktip line, 8-pound leader and 20-pound fluoro shock.
You just HAD to post that picture didn’t you? I’ll be down there at the end of the month for the fish-in, and as if my mouth wasn’t watering enough just thinking about a few days of chasing some of those babies in the shallows…I’ll be getting no sleep for three weeks now for sure…so please post some more if you’ve got 'em.
Since we’re daydreaming here…
This is not my photo, but it is my favorite way to fish.
This is a picture of Alan Caolo sight fishing for stripers in the surf
It doesn’t always look as good as this, but when it does…it’s a glorious day.
We had a great year last year in the Dunedin, FL area. With the warm winter, I am looking for them to get out a little early this year, so I plan on hiting the beach early. From first light until about 11:00 am, the sea breeze is offshore, knocking the waves down, and the sun is at your back. Ahh Heaven!
Dunedin?? I used to fish the area around the Anclote River power plant when my folks had a house in New Port Richey…never knew about the snook run. Still caught a mess of fish by that river.
The beaches along St Pete and Clearwater have lots of snook cruising them in the summer you just kinda loose that in the wild feel when you hook one and people on the balcony of the hotels start cheering you on but you do feel like a super star. When the clock rolls around 9:30 ish we normally pack it in because the beach combers and sunbathers start to get in the way and I 'm not hooking any skimpy bathing suits again.
That reminds me of my favorite fishing. High sun and stripers in the surf. Each wave is a magnifying glass to what lurks beneath what is hidden by the sun’s glare.
So…how do you tie your “eye-candy” fly, because I’m not opposed to the idea of hooking a skimpy bathing suit every now and then…I bet it’s a heck on a fight on an 8wt…lol.
beach snook on the FL east coast is the reason I started fly fishing! We don’t have as many sight-fishing opportunities; you have to learn the times and the places to blind cast (I call it likely casting)…
I was wondering about the DT Special that Steve mentioned. Any favorite colors? White flies seem to do pretty well for me…
or should the picture be enough to tell what’s going on? seems like some saddle hackle and crystal flash tied on the bend…with some hackle wrapped up on the shank…
what’s the significance of tying the fly so far back on the hook? is it a strategy to increase hook-ups??
Hook: 34007 Mustad
Thread: White flat-waxed monochord
Tail: Four white neck hackles (facing; not splayed)
Flash: 2-3 strands Krystal Flash
Collar: Palmer one white neck hackle
Eyes: 3D stick-on eyes
Head: Cover in Devcon 2-ton Epoxy
I was wondering why the fly was tied at the rear of the hook also.
Around here we do that for bluefish flies… because of those teeth…
But I understood that with snook, the gill covers were there reason shock tippets were needed
Your correct you will land more snook if you use a shock tipet for snook. The gill plate is rather sharp, but over the years I found out that I hook up more snook without the bite guard and I don’t loose to many but I have to admit the bigger the snook gets the greater the chance of loosing him without it.
