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Florida's Hidden Gems: Spillway Fishing Is Fast-Food Service For Snook

Southeast spillways are prime fall feeding stations, and here the fish grow as big as they get!

Florida's Hidden Gems: Spillway Fishing Is Fast-Food Service For Snook
Massive snook landed by this spillway angler throwing a sunfish-pattern swimbait. (Photo by Adrian Gray)
  • Hidden Gems: Roads less traveled & waters less fished in Florida. Florida Sportsman magazine’s 'Hidden Gems’ project in the August-September 2024 issue featured 14 hotspots for Florida’s hunters and anglers, from the Keys to the Panhandle. This installment highlights spillway fishing for snook in the southeast region.

Find Food, Find Snook

Spillways have become some of the hottest spots for giant snook in southeast Florida.

More Hidden Gems
hiddengems2keys
Florida Sportsman's 'Hidden Gems.'

Precipitation from afternoon thunderstorms, tropical cyclones and everything in between leaves our region pretty saturated during the summer. There has to be somewhere for that water to go. The estuaries are the answer.

By definition, an estuary is an ecosystem where fresh and saltwater meet, that leads to the ocean. With our ever-growing population, man has found a way to divert this water into these estuaries, via dug canals, to avoid flood events. Spillways were built and managed to regulate the water being released into the river systems. This system has brought environmental consequences, for sure, but also an interesting fishery, with access from both shore and boat.

If you’re unfamiliar with spillways, these are man-made structures, like dams, that help retain water in canals such as Taylor Creek in Fort Pierce, and then release into the estuaries when necessary, typically in rainy season. These have become some of the hottest spots for giant snook in our region.

Why do snook congregate at spillways? Food is the answer. The seasonal influx of fresh water pushes a variety of baitfish over the “wall” and essentially into the mouths of these fish. Bluegills, various cichlid species, gobies, shad, if it lives in the fresh water, there’s a good chance it has made its way over.

Let’s not forget that snook are a euryhaline species, meaning they can live in both fresh and salt water. Freshwater runoff does not deter them a bit; in fact, it attracts them. At a Snook Symposium held by FWC, I was told that these fish actually smell this sweet-water influx and swim to the source. Biologists also theorize from past studies that the large, egg-filled females used this fresh water to saturate their eggs, causing them to swell, making them easier to drop at the time of spawn.

fishing gear
The basic gear needed.

At the spillways, snook stage into the current and wait for a meal. This current can get swift after a heavy rain, so heavy lures that can get down in the wash are best. That’s where these fish will be. If you look at a side profile of a snook, you’ll see the belly is flat, nose is pointed, and shoulders rounded, tapering down the back. Evolution has made snook very hydrodynamic and that flat belly allows them to lie on the bottom, out of the hardest flow. Being ambush feeders, these fish sit stationary and wait for a meal to swim by. That’s where lure selection comes into play.

Flair hawk jigs and large swimbaits “swept” across the bottom are fan favorites for trophy-sized snook in the wash. You’re going to hang some up on the bottom. My theory is, if you’re not hanging up on the bottom, you’re not fishing them right. It’s just the cost of doing business. The large profile helps these fish find these baits easier in the turbid water. They may not see it, but that lateral line is all they need to sense prey. Large-lipped crankbaits can work well, too. The goal is to get down deep, because that’s where you will find most fish. Throwing these heavy lures, sometimes up to 3 ounces, and fighting big fish require the right rod and reel. My go to setup is a 6500-sized Penn Spinfisher IV spooled with 50-pound braid and paired with an 8-foot, heavy action Fenwick World Class rod. This allows me to make long casts, practically across the spillway, but still offers enough backbone to pull these fish out of the heavy current. A large, hoop-style net is a good thing to have on hand. It can be difficult to land these fish from the rocky shorelines and there are often docks to fish from here. Landing with a hoop net is easier for you and less stress on the fish.

spillway
C-23, Palm City. Days like this are seldom productive. You want torrents pouring over.

Given the current, sometimes the fish will be right on the wall, sometimes 20 to 30 yards down current. Take note of where a fish is hooked, because that might be where they are staging that day. Want to know if your local spillway is flowing? Real time flow data can be found for all spillways at South Florida Water Management District website: www.sfwmd.gov.

When casting for snook, there’s a good chance you’ll see tarpon rolling a bit down current of the snook, where it slows some. These are always a fun bycatch. The same snook swimbaits work well for them. If you’re feeling like breaking out the cast net, a live mullet produces, also.

SPILLWAYS IN SE FLORIDA

Palm Beach County
  • S46 Canal Spillway, 6791 Island Way, Jupiter
  • Earman River Spillway, 9550 FL A1A Alt, West Palm Beach
  • Lake Worth Spillway, 398 Maryland Dr #300, Lake Worth Beach
  • Boynton Canal Spillway, N Road, Boynton Beach
  • Delray Beach Spillway, Bailey Street, Boca Raton
  • Hillsboro Canal Spillway, Military Trail, Between 18th Street and Hillboro Blvd.
Martin County
  • St. Lucie Locks, 2170 Canal St, Stuart
  • C-23 Canal Spillway, 3001 SW Murphy Road, Palm City
St. Lucie County
  • C-24 Canal Spillway, SW Scroll Street, Port Saint Lucie
  • Taylor Creek Spillway, Rosarita Avenue, Fort Pierce
  • Ten Mile Creek Spillway, 3401 Gordy Road, Fort Pierce




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