# Hooked A Snook - 7/27/08



## HaMm3r (Dec 11, 2006)

This morning I wanted to put my Gheenoe on the trailer for the first time in a year and a half, so I could garage her for some maintenance that would be difficult to do on the lift. Since I was launching anyway, I figured I might as well get some fishing in.







 So, I decided to spend a couple of hours working the area docks and seawalls, which is a style of angling I seldom do.







 On top of that, I rigged up my fly rod instead of my spinning gear. I was thinking I needed some practice and perhaps I’d get lucky and run into some juvenile tarpon.  









So, I threw and threw and threw, and eventually I started to get the knack for flicking a fly underneath and around the docks and pilings. I saw a few sheepshead, black drum, mangroves and blues, but no takers. Had a couple of the snapper and a drum follow the fly, but they didn’t eat.









Then, as I was drifting and casting along a particularly lengthy dock, I saw a big silhouette shadowing my self-tied crystal minnow.  







Strip, pause, strip, strip, pause…he came right up to the fly and touched it with his nose, then turned back to the dock.







 “Holy crap”, I thought, “that was a big snook!”  







(_You may recall that I am often lamenting my inability to catch a snook in my home waters. I’ve caught them up to 15lbs on the road, but never here._)

Shaking slightly with excitement, I scanned the water beneath the dock for any sign of the fish. “Oh my god”, I said to myself, “there are a bunch of them under there!”  







Sure enough, I’d spotted multiple linesiders floating in several groups of three or four, with the occasional torpedo-like shape gliding slowly from group to group.

It took me three trembling casts before my leader unrolled deep into the shadow of the dock, and on my first strip I felt the most powerful strike I’ve ever felt on a fly rod!  







As the line ripped through my fingers, the snook broke the surface with a huge headshake, going the opposite way my line was…he had me around a piling!  







Before I could even react, (_not that there was anything I could have done anyway_), the line went tight on the reel and my first snook on fly was gone.  







That experience was so thrilling, I wasn’t even upset over losing the fish.









Knowing it would take me half the day to tie up another fly leader,







I grabbed a spinning rod and tied on a brand new mirrodine.







 Skipping that under the dock to the remaining fish also resulted in another beauty snook, and another breakoff!









I had one more new, still in the pack mirrodine, so I upped the leader to 30lb and tried again. Bye, bye mirrodine!  







Next time I’ll just throw $5 bills at them!









Man this was getting frustrating. These snook were in the 25 inch range I’d estimate, and hungry, yet I just couldn’t get them clear of the structure. I tried switching to a cheaper Gulp/jighead combination and landed a couple of mangroves on a watermelon jerkshad, but the snook just watched with disinterest.

















So, then I tied on a penny shrimp and skipped it into the pilings once again…yet another breakoff!  







I rerigged again, only this time when I felt the strike, I assumed it was another little snapper. However, to my surprise it turned out to be a young snook!

















Once I’d snapped a picture and sent the little linesider on his way, I prepared to make another cast, only to find my snook school had given me the slip.







 I trolled up and down the surrounding canals, searching dock after dock, but they were nowhere to be found.







Eventually, I had to admit defeat and get back to the task of trailering the boat.

Even though it had cost me two new mirrodines, one of my favorite flies, a Gulp/jighead combo and about 22 feet of fluorocarbon and/or mono leader, that twenty minutes was just incredible. Not only that, but I finally caught a northeast Florida snook…hey, the small ones still count!







 









Tally for the day;
5 Mangrove Snapper – 10” to 14”
1 Snook - small


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## cal1320 (Jun 6, 2007)

Fixed it for ya


> Tally for the day;
> 5 Mangrove Snapper – 10” to 14”
> 1 Snook - small
> 15 dollars worth of lures


Very cool   It sure gets exciting when you know the fish are there ready to strike.


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## tom_in_orl (Dec 9, 2006)

Great report!!!!!


So that brings up an interesting question. What is the right fly rod setup for dock fishing for snook? Is there one?


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## phishphood (Dec 15, 2006)

That's too bad about the snooks and the lures. I lost my fav mirrodine last weekend too. Time for a trip to Bass Pro.


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## Brett (Jul 16, 2008)

Proper fly setup for dock snook: 
12 weight with 100lb superbraid and 10 feet of monel tippet.
Kinda like cane poling the pilings at night on the Bahia Honda bridge back in the 60's


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## HaMm3r (Dec 11, 2006)

> So that brings up an interesting question. What is the right fly rod setup for dock fishing for snook? Is there one?


I know you're not asking me...I got no skills and even less know-how. : Will be interested in the final answer though. 



> That's too bad about the snooks and the lures. I lost my fav mirrodine last weekend too. Time for a trip to Bass Pro.


Just went to Gander at lunch today. Wallet is a bit lighter, but my mirrodine inventory is back up. ;D



> Proper fly setup for dock snook:
> 12 weight with 100lb superbraid and 10 feet of monel tippet.
> Kinda like cane poling the pilings at night on the Bahia Honda bridge back in the 60's


There we go!  

Thanks guys!


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## axe11924 (Jul 27, 2008)

> So that brings up an interesting question. What is the right fly rod setup for dock fishing for snook? Is there one?


I use a Loomis Cross current GLX 8wt for most dock Fishing. But if I know there are a few big ones around then the 10wt has enough back to get them out. My 10wt is a Loomis Crosscurrent 3 piece.


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