Most of us that fish around Flagler County know that the big freeze a couple of winters ago severely effected the snook population, not only here but across the entire state. Well I’m here to tell you that they are on the rebound.


Back in February I was catching small 6” to 8” snook on a fly, then they just seemed to disappear. Guess what, they’re back and they’re bigger. This class of fish is now in the 10” to 15” range and I’ve been steadily catching them. Why they have suddenly shown up again is a good question. I think a lot of it has to due with the run of shrimp that we’ve been experiencing in our waters lately. If there’s one thing I’ve learned over the years is that snook can’t pass up a live shrimp offering.

Although shrimp is, in my opinion, the best bait for snook they can also be caught by other means. I have also found that they love the color white or a combination of white and chartreuse. Last year I came up with a fly pattern that is all white except for a shrimp color nose and the snook just love it. I’ve caught numerous snook on it in the past 2 weeks. When I’m not fly fishing I’ll use a white 3” Yo-Zuri 3D crystal minnow. Another lure that I like is the 17MR MirrOlure in either white or chartreuse.

Whenever you are fishing for snook you should always tie on a piece of fluorocarbon leader to the end of your fishing line (30 to 40 lb test). It will keep you from losing tackle. Snook have very abrasive mouths that will rub through a standard fishing line in a heartbeat. If I’m attaching monofilament fishing line to fluorocarbon I’ll use a double surgeons knot to attach the 2 lines. If I’m using braided fishing line I’ll use a triple surgeons knot to attach the fluorocarbon leader. The surgeons knot is easy to tie and very strong. If you Google it you’ll find out how to tie it.

When I attach a fly or a lure to the end of my flourocarbon I like to use a loop knot. The loop knot allows the bait to work more freely and gives it a more natural appearance when being retrieved. If a lure has a split ring I’ll remove it to use the loop knot. Again Google it and you’ll find how to tie a loop knot. www.animatedknots .com is a real good sight to learn to tie knots.

Now that I’ve told you some of my secrets go out and try putting them to use.