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.

Leave It at Home

Whether or not you believe in superstitions, there is one thing that will guarantee landing only lady fish, jacks, and mangrove snappers: a camera.


Fact: When you bring a camera, you don't catch anything worthy of taking a picture.

Bring This

Everyone has their list of trip necessities. Here are mine:

1.) Multiple rods
Lines break or get tangled, and you don't always have time to fix it.
2.) Loaded tackle box
Simple: you need options so you don't get skunked.
3.) Hat and sunscreen
The sun can be a scorcher for six straight hours.
4.) Polarized sunglasses
You can see everything through polarized lenses, trust me.
5.) Sandwiches
Variety is good. I'd try a fluffer nutter or a turkey, cheese, and mustard.
6.) Beer
See previous post.

Don't Forget the Forty

Every good fishing venture begins and ends with a frosty brew. While we all have our favorite beers, there's a time and place for a twist off or a can pop. I recommend packing the boat cooler with Coors Lights, and having the refrigerator stocked with Coronas or Red Stripes. Let's break this down...when all else fails on the water, you can always tap the Rockies. First of all, you need something a little watery that will last you all day in the sun. You could probably choose any light beer, but drinking Coors Light all day is to me is like skiing naked and blind-folded down a double black diamond: it's rough at times, but something you could do all day once you get started. Having a Corona or Red Stripe once you return home is like gaining circulation back sitting around the fire, but that's if you were really out skiing naked. I vote for never leaving the sun.

Manly Cat Fishing

err, redneck cat fishing, whichever you prefer. I like redneck, myself. For the record, people actually do this. It's called noodling.

Noodling (Ashley Stites interior monologue dictionary): crazy ass rednecks swimming in a river and shoving their arms down a 40+ lb catfish's mouth

Imagine noodling a snook. I think it would be as easy as selling contacts to Stevie Wonder (no offense to Stevie). Either that, or doing the Soulja Boy on water.

Snook Kisses

Pucker up. Maybe you can grab one of those baitfish in there, too.

After wrestling your line and jumping out of the water, snook sometimes still have more fight in them when they get to the boat or dock. The smaller ones are usually a little more rambunctious, flicking their bodies around, but don't be intimidated by their fast flipping action. Instead, grab the fish by its mouth with one hand and loosen the hook with the other. Without doubt, this will leave a skin abrasion, or a KISS as I like to call it. Snook don't have teeth, but their mouths are rough like sandpaper and will rub a little skin off when you grab them. If you're looking to draw blood, be an idiot and grab their gill plates and you have a guaranteed snook scar. Their gill plates are really sharp, and I used to like grabbing onto them as they shook. But that was when I was a masochist. No, not really, I never recommend doing this. Stick to the mouth, and you'll start to like these kisses.

Try the Red Ones

Mangrove (as defined by Merriam Webster online dictionary: any of a genus (Rhizophora, especially R. mangle of the family Rhizophoraceae) of tropical maritime trees or shrubs that send out many prop roots and form dense masses important in coastal land building and as foundations of unique ecosystems.
Here's a good look at exposed red mangrove roots. During high tide, these roots are covered with water, and snook swim throughout them.

Three types of mangroves exist in coastal Florida waters: red, black, and white. The ones we encounter as anglers are most frequently red mangroves, as they are the variety that prop roots along the shoreline.
If you're looking for a bite, steer your boat toward the mangroves and toss a baitfish lure near the roots. Snook love to munch on the inside root systems of mangroves, but a community of bite-size snook snacks also congregate around these roots. You can find a variety of baitfish and juvenile game fish, as well as shrimp and crabs - all things that snook like on their plate. Because of these tasty treats, many snook spend a large portion of their young lives in and around red mangroves. Beyond the food, the mangroves also provide cover on which juvenile snook depend upon for survival.
Other than providing calories and cover, mangroves play a vital role in the quality of estuarine and offshore waters.

Trip Savers

Whether you fish sunrise (top, in Goodland) or sunset (bottom, in Everglades City), you want to avoid breaking down in the middle of the Everglades. Not that I have experience with this sort of thing, but when your boat starts chugging in the middle of a bay with stagnant water, you need to get outta there before the skeeters start biting harder than the catfish.

For starters, fill your tank and oil your engine before pulling away from the boat ramp or dock. A map and nautical chart should not be underestimated, either. I also recommend some technology: a hand-held or built-in GPS, and a sea-to-shore VHF radio to call for help if you can put your pride down and admit you're screwed. Finally, become a member of SeaTow, or a like-minded water rescue company. One trip more than pays for a year-long membership. You can pay $200 a year or $200 an hour.

The Name's Snook...

but you can call me what you want:
robalo
sergeant fish
soap fish
linesider
saltwater pike

I prefer queen of the backcountry, but snook is all right early Monday mornings when I know you're sitting at a desk instead of on a boat.


All of these names refer to the common snook, but there are 12 species of the genus Centropomus that live in the Northern hemisphere. Four of these twelve live in Florida, and the common snook is the one most commonly encountered. The fat snook, tarpon snook, and sword-spined snook also cruise Florida and Texas waters, but rarely grow large enough for fishermen to catch. You may have had enough, but if you're thirsty for more snook nicknames or characteristics, check out this piece from Florida Sportsman magazine.

Sexy Snook

They say (and I admit that I still don't know who "they" are) that dolphins are the only mammals other than humans that have sex for fun. While snook don't fall into the kingdom mammalia, they still get down in their own ways. Here's how:
Snook must move from fresh to saltwater to spawn. In the professional field, we call that catadroumous, but I can assure you that I never cruised the waters looking for the cata-whata-species. Instead, I fish the mangroves, hoping for an inexperienced man to bite. I say man because well, I like men, but also because the young'ins are always male. Male snook reverse sex and become females as they age age, making them protandric hermaphrodites (as we professionals say, of course). Hermaphrodites, heterosexuals, homosexuals, we all have our favorite times. For snook, that means summer, as they primarily spawn in the summer months, and spawning balls can be observed in fast flowing passes at this time.

You Tell Me

People always search for the big hog, especially when they have bait on the line. Size matters, especially in the world of snook.

One sunny afternoon in December (that's not a typo, it's sunny in Florida in December, and warm, no lies), my boyfriend and I decided we'd throw a few casts. I tossed a DOA lure under my neighbor's dock for about a half hour. There's a hole underneath it that usually produces a jack crevalle at the least. Nothing. Keith tied on a DOA lure as well, and came up empty after half an hour. Although he and I don't usually use spoons, he tied on a gold spoon, and on his first cast: whack. His line took off hard. He let it run, hoping she'd let up soon, but the line kept humming, right around a piling and under our neighbor's dock. Before Keith said anything, our friend Kurt threw a kayak into the water, and the fight was officially on. The snook fought Keith for about 20 minutes, until she tired out and he could finally reel it in. Attached to the of his line was Keith's all-time record, and a record for my backyard as well: a 38 inch monster.
Ashley 1, Keith 1

Nice Linesider

I might watch out for bull sharks chunking my calves, but this captures the ultimate Everglades snook experience: nothing around but the people on your boat, the snook made a couple nice runs (we could hear the line spooling), and a "woohoo, nice snook." It only needed some illegal mullet poachers creeping along in the distance, and maybe a couple drug traffickers on their way home to supplement their PVC pipe gardens.

Beach It

This is a picture of Lowdermilk Park, a popular sunbathing and sandcastle-making hot spot for tourists and locals, just down the street from my house. Even though people love sunsets, sunrise intrigues a good Florida cracker.
A morning at the surf's edge rewards anyone willing to try their hand fishing land-locked. Just as the sun begins to rise, a dark figure rests two feet from the shoreline, waiting to pounce. If you throw your line a few feet in front of the snook's nose and bounce it beside his face as you reel, snook will attack your offer. Don't get too close - be a little unsuspecting like just another piece of bait floating along - but get close enough so you can hook into it. I'd start with a foot, foot and a half, of space, but try different distances as you walk along the shoreline to see what works best for you. It can really depend on the fish and the day, so play around with the distance and your retrieval.
For more instruction and inspiration, check out this article from the June 2007 issue of Florida Sportsman magazine.

One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Baitfish

Getting a snook to bite frustrates even the most seasoned anglers. For those of you whose fishing expertise only extends to hooking a worm to catch sunfish with a two-foot Snoopy rod, hundreds of choices of lures can be daunting. Maybe you fish everyday, though, and you still come up empty hooked with each cast. The answer to success could be what you have tied onto the end of your line. I like to fish with live shrimp whenever possible, but if the local bait shop ran out of fresh bait, try my top five favorite lures:
1.) A quarter ounce jig head with a shrimp imitation
2.) Zara spook
3.) Bomber long A
4.) DOA terrorEyez
5.) Flashy, white baitfish imitations
Here's a look at a Bomber long A, DOA terrorEyez, and a Zara spook going clockwise from top left.

s.n.o.o.k.

Without further suspense, I decided to inform those curious minds with a few definitions of this much sought-after sportfish.

As Merriam-Webster online says:
Pronunciation: \ˈsnu̇k, ˈsnük\
1 : a large vigorous bony fish (Centropomus undecimalis of the family Centropomidae) of coastal and brackish waters that is an important food and sport fish
2 : any of various marine fishes of the same family as the snook

As a beginning snooker says:
Pronunciation: Bastard, Dammit, Shit, How the fuck do I get you
1. a large fish that you know is down there, and you can see down there, but won't bite anything
2. the most frustrating experience to have on the water

As an avid angler says:
Pronunciation: Woohoo, Nice catch, sweet shit
1. one of the best fights in the backcountry, rivaled by the tarpon of course

Dirty Little Secret

At the risk of revealing my inner nerd, I have a secret. Well, two secrets.
1. I still wear my retainers.
2. I have snook on my retainers.
As the daughter of a dentist, I take pride in smiling a straight, pearly grin. I haven't had the same pair since I was 16. My dad stepped on the first ones. (For the record, they were torquoise with silver glitter.) I actually had my retainers stolen out of my suitcase once flying between Syracuse and Florida. I'm not sure what sick TSA fuck brought those home as a Christmas present, but I prefer used gifts to be less, what should I say, disgusting.
That brings me to my current set of snook 'tainers. When I was choking on that goo they stick in your mouth to make impressions, the hygienist handed me a sheet to choose what color and picture I wanted. You wouldn't believe the choices; there was an entire three-ring binder filled with colors and pictures. I considered green with an alligator, but the green shades either spoke lime or army, not gator. I though about purple with a Teletubbie, but I couldn't find a Teletubbie in the book. Just when I had settled on plain royal blue, I turned to image page 17 and saw a snook. Ding, ding, ding, I'll take that one.
I'd post a picture, but that thing goes in my mouth every night, and even though I brush my teeth every night and wash the retainer every morning, that's just, what should I say, disgusting.

A Lil' Some'in Some'in

The scientific name for snook is Centropomus Undecimalis. Now, I like science, I even find it intriguing late Friday nights once happy hour has kicked in. I can add, subtract, multiply, divide, and slam dunk a basketball on a five-foot kiddie hoop. I make killer oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, and I'm pretty sure there's chemistry involved in that process. Now take me to that Kingdom-Phylum-Class-Order-Family-Genus-Species place, and that's the best thing next to an airboat ride in the Florida Everglades. Tell me a ride on a speed boat gets you wetter in the pants, and I'll know the most adventurous you've ever been is eating pop rocks and drinking Coke at the same time (Yes, that warning scared me when I was seven-years-old too).

So Skiddish

When you paddle too close to snook, they dart away. When you step onto a dock under which they're hiding, gone again. If they hear or sense a boat's motor, all your casts reel in empty.
Snook seem to know your 10/4 good buddy, all the time. The black line going down the middle of the snook's body gives it more than a sleek look to make impressive pictures. They have a genetic code for sensing humans, and it's called the lateral line. It is a bundle of sensory and supporting cells called neuromasts covered in gelatinous caps that detect changes in water pressure. They can feel slight changes in water pressure as vibrations in their bodies, thus making them skiddish at the slightest movement or change in lighting. You can thank this sensory unit for why snook must be fished like you're holding up the corner 7-11 for slurpees and Marlboro lights.

Beneath the Surface

Pretty cool close-up of a good-sized snook, I'd say 25 inches or so. I think this snook took his stupid pills, though. It doesn't seem disturbed by the person doing the filming at all, and usually snook are skiddish.

Night Timing Remix - Tips for Success

Once you're inspired, whether Coconut Records did it or not, try these quick tips for night snooking success:

1.) Use circle hooks. Unlike a traditional J hook, a circle hook doesn't have to be set. What this means: once you feel the bite, just start reeling and the snook with hook itself. No hard rod set is needed, which helps prevent the snook from swallowing the hook or ripping up its mouth.
2.) Use heavy monofiliment leader, around thirty pound test. Night fishing usually means casting around and under docks and pilings. Snook are notorious for taking off near pilings and breaking the line, but heavy monofiliment can help prevent these break-offs from happening. You should start bringing a lot more fish to your boat.
3.)Braided line, 12 or 15 lb test. Sometimes you need all the support you can get, and braided line is strong and abrasion resistant. The wily snook won't break this line, which means more fish for you.
4.)Stay as quiet as possible. Snook are the most skiddish fish out there, and they often see you before you see them. The best way to combat their seeming intelligence is to not say a word. The only noise should be the sound of your paddle if you're in a kayak or the sound of your trolling motor if you're on a flats boat and the sound of the snook flicking out of the water when you hook up.
5.)Cast on shadows and reel your line back through the light. If you cast on top of snook, they'll just scatter. Try to get your line on the shadows casted by the snook lights so it imitates a bait just cruising into the light.
6.)Once hooked, move onto another light. Snook typically won't bite for 15 or 20 minutes in a place where another snook just got hooked up.
7.)Bring a small flashlight if you're kayaking. You want to be able to see what you're doing, but you want as little residual light as possible so the snook doesn't sense your presence.
8.)Live bait. In my experiences, snook pounce on a lively shrimp flicking all around.

Night Timing

I know a song that would pull Granny from her heated Mahjong game with Harold and Henry. It's called Nighttiming by Coconut Records, and it's part glowstick-twirling, sunglass-wearing rave, and part groovin '70s dance party. Either way, it makes people want to get out and shimmy at night. For some, that means tossing the walker aside and finally asking Harold for a first dance, and for others that means hitting the snook lights.
Fishing at night, or early morning if you can get on the water at 2 or 3 a.m., can be a little like playing Monopoly when a hurricane knocks your power out and you have nothing else to do but burn your eyelids with the wax. Or it can transort you to another planet. The former happens when you see the bastards just sitting beneath the lights, and they won't bite any bait you offer. There is no way you can buy Park Place, much less start putting hotels on it. The latter happens when you flick a live shrimp on the edge of the light patch, and you get a whack on your second reel. And this happens on each cast. This is more like a dream than a reality, but that's partly why it's almost like being on another planet. It's like being a fat kid addicted to ice cream and everytime you open the freezer all 17 of your favorite flavors are in there already scooped into bowls...or something like that.
Everyone has their own way of nighttiming, and I hope "you've been nighttiming baby and you're out of control."
To listen to Nighttiming, check out their myspace page.

What a Beauty

Not me, the fish. For those of you still looking for some fins with that grin, I offer you a sweet smile of success. We have a snook light on my dock at home, which is basically just a bright light that shines directly into the water. Snook congregate around the light because it attracts swarms of glass minnows and other small batifish. I caught this 23-incher off my dock one night during summer '06.

Snooking 101

Snook troll the waters surrounding Florida, southern Texas, and Central America. Now I've played softball in Plano and visited my sister in Dallas. I even caught a record billfish in Quepos, Costa Rica last night in my dream. So, I can assure you that I only hold snooking expertise in Florida. With that in mind, don't leave the house without knowing these Florida snook fishing basics.

Not a free lunch: You must first purchase a saltwater fishing license for $22 dollars, then obtain a $2 stamp in order to keep a snook.

Size matters: You can only keep snook measuring a total length of 28" to 32" on the Atlantic side of the state, and 28" to 33" in the Gulf of Mexico, Everglades National Park, and Monroe County.

Don't be greedy: There's a statewide bag limit of 1 per person, but you can only keep snook in open season.
Sorry, we're closed: Atlantic closed season, Dec. 15 - Jan 31, June July August; Gulf, Everglades, and Monroe county closed season, Dec. 1 - Feb. 28, May, June July, August.

Drop your line here: Fish channels from jetties in the early mornings on beaches with the sun at your back. Snook always goove along mangrove shorelines. After dark, try lighted docks and/or bridges and pilings. Try to fish passes (areas where the water flows from the backwater to the ocean) for the biggest fish looking to ambush baitfish on changing tides when the water is warm.

When to get out there: Fishing is usually steady when water temp is 70 degrees and higher. Best chance for big fish is during the May/June spawn.


If all else fails, book a trip to South Padre Island or Belize.

Poppin' Off

We all remember our first time, even if it came soaked in a sparkling forty of Old English. Mine was wet, quick, and succesful four times. It started at the buzz of a 6 a.m. alarm clock, a shimmy into my bikini, and a five minute car ride to the surf's edge. The sun poked above the horizon as the sand squeaked beneath my feet for the two mile walk to Gordon Pass (a waterway connecting the downtown Naples backwaters to the Gulf of Mexico). It was almost like I walked a living Florida postcard - dolphins darted atop the waves, rays shot beneath the surface, and a manatee's nose broke the surface for air.
When we finally reached the pass, I had my line in the water before my boyfriend even set down the tackle box. I flicked my orange and black jerk bait twice, then whack and my line was running. It made that first run for less than a minute, then tired our after a second short run. My first snook measured out at 23 inches, which is far bigger than other first experiences can be. I landed three others within the 20 to 25 inch range that morning, and my boyfriend got shut out. I'd say a good first time.
Ashley 1, Keith 0.