Fishing Report for Week Ending 6/7/97
by Capt. Butch Rickey
It was another great week of snook fishing on the beaches and in the passes. The most notable trip would have to be with Steve Bronstein, the fly fisherman from Lutz, Florida, I had out on May 23rd. On that trip Steve caught all his snook on shiners, and never had the first hit on the fly. This trip would be different.
We stopped on the flat and castnettet 154 shiners for chum and spin fishing. We were on the beach by 7:30 AM, and we were the only boat there. I staked out a spot where we've been killing the snook, and Steve went to work with his flyrod. On this trip he was much more relaxed, and was casting much better. I had to make a few adjustments with the boat, but he was soon getting the fly into snook territory. He wasn't getting any hits! Every so often I'd flip a shiner out into the hole, and it would usually take only a few short seconds before the shiner was eaten. We knew they were there, big time!
Steve continued to change flies and stripping techniques without success. Finally, I suggested he tie on a silver spoonfly, thinking it would most closely resemble the millions of glass minnows that were spraying out of the water as the snook attacked. It worked, and on the first presentation, Steve had a snook on. But, before he could clear the flyline and get control of the fish, she already had him in the trees and cut him off. There went the only silver spoonfly he had, and I didn't have any either.
As on the first trip, Steve would put the flyrod down when his shoulder started hurting, and fish with shiners. Throughout the morning, Steve and I caught at least 60 snook, and Steve finally caught the third snook that struck on his flyrod using a shrimp pattern tied by my good friend Capt. Mark Bess. I'm sure glad he did.
If you want to experience some of the southwest Florida beach snook action there are a few things you should know. Of course, the best bait is shiners, if you can castnet them. But, artificials will work well, too. Once you've decided on your bait, stake yourself out a piece of shoreline along the beaches from Anna Maria to 10,000 Islands, or inside one of the many passes along the coast. Prime shoreline is any that has cover like fallen trees, groins, or rocks along the shore. Remember, the fish are right on the cover or in the trough right at the water's edge. The classic mistake I see even other guides make, is they sit too far off the beach and present the baits too far off the cover. Get the bait in tight. You'll find snook on the the open stretches of beach, too, especially near the passes. They might not be ganged up by the thousands like they are in some areas, but there are probably still plenty to catch.
If you're fishing live bait, keep your rigging simple. Use 6 to 10 pound test tackle with a very good drag system. I prefer Bass Pro Shops Excel 8 Pound line spooled up on my Shimano Stradic 2000FE's. Use a good line to leader knot with about 18 to 24 inches of 30 to 40 pound leader. I use 30 pound Ande line for leader, and tie it to the standing line using my trusty Tie-Fast tool. Terminate with a #1 or 1/0 Mustad live bait hook, or equivalent. Just don't get too big with the hook. Hook your shiner in the nostrel just under the bridge of his nose about dead middleways between his top lip and his eyeballs. If you hook him in the right place, he'll stay on for the hardest casts. After you've cast the bait to the beach, keep a close eye on your slack. Those shiners know it's not safe in there, and will often quickly swim out toward you. You won't know if you don't pay attention to your line.
Snook often tap the bait, or blow it up on top of the water before they actually eat it. DO NOT REACT to the initial tap or blowup. Wait on a tight line! You should really wait until the fish is bending the rod, then strike her. If you'll adhere to this simple rule, you'll convert most of your hits to hookups. Then once you're hooked up, don't give the fish any slack at all. Snook will make you eat it every time you do! Why? Because, usually snook are hooked in the thin, soft membrane that connects most of the bony structure of their mouths. As soon as the snook makes her first run, the pressure from the line tears a long hole in the membrane, usually a half inch or longer. Once the mouth is torn, it's very easy for the snook to shake the hook if even a little bit of slack line is given.
We'll cover some landing and boatside tips in next week's report. Until then, tight lines to all.
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