Page 8 - july2019

FISHING
SUMMER SNOOK
by Captain John Rivers
As the water temperatures rise on the flats, many people think that it is tougher to catch big snook, but
a lot of people forget that these are tropical fish and they thrive
in warm water. Even when the water temperature reaches 90 degrees, they still eat on the flats, but they can be a little finicky. I'll give you a few hints to help you catch more fish and bigger fish during the summer months when it's very hot and all you want to do is get in the shade.
For successful summer snook fishing, first you will need water movement and for that, I like fish- ing the outgoing tide. Snook are ambush feeders and they stage up in potholes near mangroves
or just off ledges and channels and wait to ambush prey. If the water is stagnant, it's very diffi- cult to get snook to eat, but if you have moving water, your odds of hooking into more snook greatly increase. The time of day and water temperature can also be two important factors to focus on. Since snook are tropical fish, they can handle the warmer water in the upper 80's to 93 degrees, but when it gets over 94 degrees, they search out water that is a little cooler. When looking for
big snook, look for shady spots, like under mangroves or docks, or deep water like ledges and around docks with boats where they've blown out holes with their motors. Snook don't like sitting out in the open flats in the heat
of the day, unless they have to because of the tide. Keep in mind that even if they prefer the luke- warm waters of the early spring, they still have to eat in the sum- mer, so you just have to seek out spots that may give them relief from the higher temps.
In July, snook are staged up in passes and along the beaches for spawning. Many anglers fish the passes at night with jigs, plugs, and big live baits to catch that trophy snook between 36 and 42 inches. When you're fishing off the beaches in the daytime hours, two great live baits to try are pig- fish and grunts. If you are tossing artificials, I recommend a small 1/4oz white bucktail jig or a soft plastic 5" jerkshad rigged with a