Parting Shot

Obsession (again, from my friend and yours, Merriam-Webster): a persistent disturbing preoccupation with an often unreasonable idea or feeling; broadly : compelling motivation

I think I might have one.
I just wouldn't call it disturbing or unreasonable.





Photo credit: Mark Sussino, snook art print

Ocean to Plate

With Turkey Day '07 fast approaching and gluttonous food consumption looming, I'm going to admit that I like to eat good food. I like to release the snook I catch, but when taken out of the water and filleted, snook give white, flaky meat. Snook doesn't come breaded out of the ocean, so here is a recipe I recommend for eating snook. It has been adapted from a recipe from Emerial Legasse. I recommend adding another side dish as well, such as rice, potatoes, or a vegetable.


Poached Snook with Mango Salsa

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Season each fillet on both sides with salt and white pepper.

Bring vegetable stock to a simmer in a large saucepan or deep skillet large enough to hold 2 fillets flat. Add 2 fillets and poach on medium heat until cooked through, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and place in a baking dish with 2 tablespoons of the poaching liquid, and cover with foil to keep warm. Cook the remaining fillets.


Smash avocado in a small bowl with a fork. Add lime juice and season with salt.

To serve, place a grouper fillet on top. Decoratively arrange mango salsa and smashed avocado around fish, and place several tortilla chips in each. Serve immediately.

Mango Salsa:
1 ripe mango, peeled, seeded, and diced
1/4 cup finely chopped poblano
1/4 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
1/4 cup finely chopped red onions
11/2 teaspoons minced garlic
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
1/8 teaspoon salt

Combine the mango, poblano, red bell pepper, onions, and garlic, in a bowl and stir to combine. Add the vinegar, cilantro, and salt, and stir well. Adjust seasoning, to taste, and serve. The salsa can be made up to 4 hours in advance, and refrigerated, tightly covered.

Topsy Turvy

This is serious. Serious stuff. For serious fishermen.
This is how to entice a top water strike:

-Head out in the early morning, and try to catch a high-outgoing or a low-incoming tide. The water movement is the most important component for catching snook, and water moves the fastest at these tides.

-Locate bait clusters by looking for sardine flashes or diving pelicans, as this indicates where the bait is and thus where the snook can be hooked.

-Use stick baits like a Zara Spook or a Top Dog, which are lures with erratic surface movement. You want chaotic movement because it caused commotion and imitates fish feeding on baitfish.

-Once you make your cast, walk-the-dog or make popping twitches as a retrieval - anything that makes a loud popping sound. The snook gulp when they come to the surface as though they’re inhaling the bait rather than just biting it.

This is your best chance of getting a snook airborne as you reel it to the boat. The sound and the jumping right make this one of the most exciting ways to catch snook.



These photos show what other encounters anglers have while snook fishing in Florida, and especially the Everglades. From top to bottom is a bull shark, a blue egret, and a roseate spoonbill.

Try This on For Size

Anglers frequently catch 20 to 30 lb. snook, but the biggest one in Florida history packs quite a few more pounds.

The record for the biggest common snook caught in Florida weighed in at 44 lbs. 3 oz., and got hooked in Ft. Myers in the '80s.

I admit I have a foggy memory from ages zero to five (I was born in 1985), but I'm pretty sure I would have remembered pulling in this hog. I guess my secret is out, so I'll share a couple of personal records and firsts for me as an angler. The top picture is of a rare species called a lookdown. I pulled it off my dock one night when targeting snook, and I actually had to consult my Florida Gulf coast fish identification book. As for the bottom photo, the species deserves no bragging rights, but I caught two jack at the same time. Again, I was targeting snook, but you can't always get what you want.

Conservative Catches

How to safely catch and release a snook:


Pinch or file down the barb on your hook, and keep pressure on the line as you reel.

When using live bait, use circle hooks because J hooks tend to get gut hooked.

Use heavier line, 15 or 20 lb test, to get the snook to the boat fast.

When photographing your luck, have one hand in its mouth and the other along the bottom of its body to support its major organs.

Keep the fish in the water.

If you do take it out of the water, revive it by pulling the fish forward through the water to get a natural flow of water going along its gills.


As for the photo...nothing related to snook really, just something related to the Everglades. This is a group of white pelicans, which is normally a rare sighting, but you'd never guess that with the party going on on this small island.

Welcome to the 'Yak Life

Sometimes you want to escape the roar of the engine and power yourself through the water. For the anglers that enjoy the serenity of being alone on the water, fishing from a 'yak gives that experience. Many kayak companies design specific fishing editions, like Wilderness Systems that made the Tarpon 140 pictured above, but choosing which one is right for you requires you to take some test drives. Although I don't recommend buying a fishing kayak unless you can try it on the water first, a good place to start narrowing down your options may be in customer reviews. Here's one from a Web site dedicated to kayak service from someone who purchased the Tarpon 140.

reviewer: Owen from North Georgia
I recently purchased a T140 that I've used in the surf, calmer bay water and in-land rivers. The T140 handles big surf (4-6ft) very well...just playing around in the breakers was a blast! Thigh straps are a must!! For ocean fishing purposes it's a 5/5 IMO... outstanding stability and excellent storage! The storage capacity is fine and well placed, the hatch covers can be a pain to get back on though, but they don’t leak. It handled the moderate to small chop and the large wakes from container ships in Charleston, SC harbor, with no problem. The T140 cuts through the water quickly with minimal hull slap. I've also used the T140 in a few North GA rivers with solid results. The boat handled class II rapids with no problem (again, buy thigh straps). Maneuverability is marginal with tight turns on the smaller rivers; I think this is to be expected with a boat of its size though (14ft)... It's a heavy boat and feels more than the advertised 65lbs...can be a bugger to get on/off car by self! It’s easy to get in/out of from land and also if your already in the water.
I feel no remorse spending the $'s for this fine yak, I strongly recommend the T140! Review summary below:

Speed: 4/5
Stability: 5/5
Storage capacity/placemnt/convenience: 4/5
(minus 1 for hatch covers)
Seat comfort: 5/5
Big water performance (ocean/lake): 5/5
Maneuverability (w/o rudder): 3/5
Weight: 2.5/5
Leg room (I'm 6'7"): 5/5
Cockpit layout: 5/5
Durability: to new to rate

Overall 4/5

Match the Hatch

With so many lures and live bait from which to choose, I suggest keeping your eye and attention on a few. As a general rule, try to identify what kind of bait the snook are chomping or whatever bait is already in the area, and try to match your bait to those conditions. Also, use darker lures in dark water and lighter lures in light water. Check out the following:

Shrimp imitations like DOA shrimp and stink baits are almost flawless, which makes them a necessity in every tackle box.

Sardines/Pilchards work well if you want to use live bait, but you have to catch them yourself.

Stick baits are top water lures that you can skip back and forth across the water, which work well when the snook are active.

Soft plastic jerk baits (pictured above) like Culprits and Riptides that can be bought in large quantities in various colors.


If you're interested in some online shopping or perusing, check out Cabela's or Bass Pro Shops.