>> PAGE 3

Flats

    If catching snook around mangrove-lined islands appeals to you, then Pine Island Sound is one of the best places to visit. Because of the tannic-colored water, the locals swear by black-and-gold MirrOlures or chrome-colored Reflecto spoons, but shrimp or baitfish also get the attention of snook on the prowl.
On the always snooky Indian River, Herman's Bay near the St. Lucie Nuclear Power Plant between Jensen Beach and Fort Pierce consists of a series of flats that straddle a cove on one side and the 33-foot deep Big Mud Creek on the other. Topwater plugs, shrimp, mullet or jigs all work well.

    What Florida Bay lacks in huge snook, it makes up for in quantity. There's a long list of creeks and rivers with healthy snook populations, but it's hard to beat the fishing in the potholes out in front of Flamingo for shallow-water sport. Spring is tops and summer is good for anglers casting skimmer jigs, spoons, topwater plugs and flies in the sandy potholes and depressions in the grass. Island moats also hold their share of snook in good current.

    If you're looking to catch numbers, it's hard to beat the live chumming with whitebait in the large sandy areas and depressions in the flats of Charlotte Harbor. Spring through fall, the fish pile up in these depressions where they'll also eat sinking plugs, jigs and topwater plugs at first light. The flats of Old Tampa Bay also rank among the best.

It's hard to beat the winter snook fishery along the Tamiami Trail.

Bridges

    More snook over 40 pounds have come off the Flagler Bridge in West Palm Beach during the spring mullet run than any other South Florida structure. This bridge consistently holds some of the largest fish in the state for anglers fishing live mullet, sand perch or jigs after dark.

    The two Matlacha Pass bridges on Hwy. 78 connecting mainland Cape Coralto to Little Pine Island provide excellent fishing year-round. Things really heat up during the transitional seasons of fall and spring. Shrimp, mullet and pinfish are good baits; lipped plugs and jigs are among the most effective lures. Fly fishing can also be good around the bridge fenders after dark.

    Biscayne Bay bridges hold their fair share of snook for anglers using Troll Rites and live shrimp or freelined shrimp at night during the winter and spring shrimp runs. A live pinfish freelined into the current over sandy bottom is an old-time favorite.

    Among the best in the state for big fish is the Sunshine Skyway Bridge (I-275) near the mouth of Tampa Bay. Livebait fishing, mostly after dark, takes heavyweight linesiders from May through October. Shorebound anglers can fish piers on the north and south sides of the bridge.
Beaches

    All the beaches along South Hutchinson Island and Hobe Sound Beach and Blowing Rocks on Jupiter Island are known for their summer snook populations. Walk the beach just before dawn and fish until about 8 a.m., casting plugs and flies around the beachfront rockpiles.

    If you're into wading along the shore and casting out to the fish, Southwest Florida's Sanibel and Captiva Islands are a best bet for snook on the hunt along the beach at first light. The fish are most numerous from late spring through early fall.

    From the East Cape to northwest Cape Sable in Florida Bay, the beaches hold snook, especially where baitfish such as finger mullet and glass minnows abound. Anglers either walk the sand, casting parallel to the beach into the trough with a variety of jigs and swimming plugs, or anchor just off the beach and still-fish with live pinfish or mullet. Spring through fall is best, and the Cape points can be especially good.

    Snook may be in better supply than elbow room at the north end of Honeymoon Island State Recreation Area in Pinellas County. Off a little in recent years, this famed stretch of beach nonetheless continues to be popular among the summertime dawn-patrol set.
Rivers

    The Earman River in Palm Beach is home to lunker snook, but the catches don't come easy. There are several well-known docks that harbor snook as well as a spillway where mullet like to congregate. Jigs and live bait work best, and don't overlook the allure of a live sand perch freelined near the dock pilings.

    Starting in April, a portion of the snook population in Everglades National Park can be found close to the mouth of Lostmans River. The fish hold tight to the mangroves, but feed out in the open during the outgoing tide. Everything from live bait to jigs and plugs will fool these fish, with the action peaking in May and June, and consistent well into September.

    During the winter months, snook gather to feed in the deep holes along the bends and oxbows in the Cotee River. Jigs or shrimp-and-jig combinations are hard to beat, with the key being to work the baits slowly just above the bottom. Starting in October, snook migrate up the nearby Anclote River where they winter in the deeper holes and channels between Tarpon Springs and Salt Lake. A live shrimp on a jig bounced over the bottom is tops. When spring and summer arrive, the fish can be caught on topwater plugs and whitebaits around the islands near the mouth of the river. All five rivers that feed Tampa Bay can be cold-season hotspots; try plugcasting docks and shorelines on the Little Manatee from November through Janaury.

    There are several good bridges for snook fishing on the Peace River, but the best action can be found by working a topwater plug at first light along the shorelines or any point that has a sandbar. Snook station along these bars in the spring, and blast the lures as they come by. Slow-trolling with lipped plugs is also good. In the same neighborhood is the Caloosahatchee River. The largest snook congregate around the power plant in the winter months. Focus on the larger fish around the bridges and school fish along the shorelines with rattling plugs, jigs, live mullet or sand perch. Also check out the Seaboard Coastline trestle, and don't overlook the Cape Coral Bridge or the flats at the mouth of the river during the spring and fall. Downstream, big snook lurk around the docks in front of the Sanibel Harbor Resort and the bridge at Punta Rassa. Try live whitebait, pinfish or mullet drifted close to the pilings. Jigs work best at night, and live shrimp can be a killer in the late winter and early spring.

Other

    For sheer numbers of small to medium snook, it's hard to beat the winter months along the Tamiami Trail. The 30-mile stretch of Hwy. 41 near Marco Island is revered light tackle and flycasting territory. Small topwater or lipped balsa minnow plugs, and small minnow fly patterns top the list.

    When the spring rains arrive, the water flowing over the Lake Worth Spillway is laden with shad and bream, with snook of all sizes feeding in the flow. A live representative of the natural forage works best; a shad-bodied jig or swimming plug is the next best alternative.

    In the warm waters of the St. Lucie Power Plant Outflow, huge schools of snook spend the year feasting on baitfish and shrimp drawn to the currents. Live threadfins, croakers or pinfish dropped to the bottom over the outflow pipe will produce best.

    Last but not least, we'd be remiss not to mention the dock and bridge lights along the Intracoastal Waterway, where insomniac snookers enjoy nighttime action just about anywhere in the southern half of the state.

FS