# Snook season opens on gulf coast



## BugDopeforENP

Any buddy else read in the Floridasportsman that snook season opens up in September.... Or is that something that's being tossed up in the air. This is my first post by the way, if I'm posting in the wrong area please point me in the right direction. For a fishing report for Tampa bay the redfish are not at tarpon key or jackass key yet, but we have found them with black drum under deep docks.


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## anytide

yes - its been the plan every year since the big freeze, big they've changed their minds at the last minute since then for the left coast.
this is the last one in tampa bay area........so there and welcome.


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## BugDopeforENP

I'm still seeing big snook in tampa bay out of O'neils and up in the New port richey area just hard to sink a hook in to em or when i do hook one pull them out of the structure. Still catchable though and have had success. Nice snook by the way, did you catch him on meat or artificial?


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## anytide

big snook usually keep all their bases covered, they dont venture too far from snags /structure and if they do they are spooky and have lockjaw...
flippin for the hogs in structure i use 8' harrington rod / 80# mono to the hook and live mullet pinfish/ jumbo shrimp are good too - but too far down the chain and get beat up easily by the pins /snappers /sheeps and catfish will suck em in too.
the days of dragging em out and line gaffing are over so - a landing net is key..
--the big girls have to get away asap!! or theyll gas-out pretty quick.. if you can keeping on for a couple minutes -youll be smiling.....

that snook was on topwater and was feeding on full grown october roe mullet...


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## BugDopeforENP

You gotta love it when the big girls move up on the beach where there's no structure around. That's when it's time to bust out the light tackle


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## anytide

yup and i cant get near em, they smot


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## cutrunner

Snook are smart, if im bridge fishing I use a 5 foot long 50pd flouro leader with a 3/0owner live bait circle hook with a nose hooked finger mullet. You dont have to be by the pilings at night, more success by the shadow line. That atleast gives you 30feet to turn em around before they get to the pilings. Anything less than a good 4000 setup and your fooling yourself.
I know its hard to see but the pic in my avatar at the bottom was a 36inch snook caught on a 1000 shimano sedona on a little redington rod.and a rapala.
I wasnt targeting him..
But thankfully there was no structure.
He at my topwater about 10feet from behing the boat, the second I saw the giang crater forming to eat my lure I thought "oh shizz!" 
Monster on super light tackle


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## lemaymiami

Like many, I'm hoping they'll re-open the snook season for the Gulf coast this September. They should have done so last year.... Here's a pic of a big girl (14lbs on the Boga Grip) that my anglers caught and released on Monday.... 







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That day we had four bites from big snook along the gulf coast of the 'glades. We've never noticed the slightest drop-off from the cold kill three years ago as far as the big breeders go (and they have to be released any way...).


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## BugDopeforENP

Down in the glades the past few years you can't get a bait past the reds to catch a snook. I was told by a marine biologist that since the cold killed off all the catfish the redfish numbers have increased due to baby redfish being one of the catfishes main diet. This does not just apply to the glades but all around the state of Florida. 


I have found some huge snook( no babies all over slot) recently on an edge of a channel that has a rock ledge about ten feet deep. They will not bite a thing, I have tried every thing, down sizing my leader all the way down to twenty lb test fluorocarbon,hook size, and artificials. What should I try? Full size mullet or lady fish? I will be giving them another go this Sunday if the Lightning storms stay away.


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## Dillusion

Snook harvest should be banned indefinitely. They still haven't propagated back up to central FL where they were before the freeze.


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## anytide

snook dont belong that far up north, after a few decades of warmer climate - they work their way north to jax/ crystal river area's. then along comes mother nature and pushes them south again or kils them like last time.


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## cutrunner

> Down in the glades the past few years you can't get a bait past the reds to catch a snook. I was told by a marine biologist that since the cold killed off all the catfish the redfish numbers have increased due to baby redfish being one of the catfishes main diet. This does not just apply to the glades but all around the state of Florida.
> 
> 
> I have found some huge snook( no babies all over slot) recently on an edge of a channel that has a rock ledge about ten feet deep. They will not bite a thing, I have tried every thing, down sizing my leader all the way down to twenty lb test fluorocarbon,hook size, and artificials. What should I try? Full size mullet or lady fish? I will be giving them another go this Sunday if the Lightning storms stay away.


You must be targeting them on a wrong tide or something.
The rockledge you speak of, does the tide roll over it on an incoming or outgoing?
Outgoing would be perferrable.
If the water is clear they wont eat...
Try 20lb flouro and a good sized pilchard hooled thru the nose on an owner 2/0circle.
Make sure theres tide movement, at the first hour or two of the tide change


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## cutrunner

> Snook harvest should be banned indefinitely. They still haven't propagated back up to central FL where they were before the freeze.


Thats also the yankee reasoning to why manatees should be on the endangered list forever no matter what


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## fishicaltherapist

We need to remember... it's 100% OK to catch Snook, just can't keep them. Two more years of non-harvest would make the fishery better than anyone can remember. It's called CONSERVATION not abstinence. We are all eager to eat Snook again so, let's get the population to a SUSTAINABLE LEVEL; then hope & pray we don't have another fish killing disaster of any kind! [smiley=2cents.gif]


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## Rediculous

> Down in the glades the past few years you can't get a bait past the reds to catch a snook. I was told by a marine biologist that since the cold killed off all the catfish the redfish numbers have increased due to baby redfish being one of the catfishes main diet. This does not just apply to the glades but all around the state of Florida.
> 
> 
> I have found some huge snook( no babies all over slot) recently on an edge of a channel that has a rock ledge about ten feet deep. They will not bite a thing, I have tried every thing, down sizing my leader all the way down to twenty lb test fluorocarbon,hook size, and artificials. What should I try? Full size mullet or lady fish? I will be giving them another go this Sunday if the Lightning storms stay away.


Try a head from a 2-3lb mullet, fresh of coarse. They absolutely love it. Also, a live catfish works well also, if the snook are really big.


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## BugDopeforENP

> Down in the glades the past few years you can't get a bait past the reds to catch a snook. I was told by a marine biologist that since the cold killed off all the catfish the redfish numbers have increased due to baby redfish being one of the catfishes main diet. This does not just apply to the glades but all around the state of Florida.
> 
> 
> I have found some huge snook( no babies all over slot) recently on an edge of a channel that has a rock ledge about ten feet deep. They will not bite a thing, I have tried every thing, down sizing my leader all the way down to twenty lb test fluorocarbon,hook size, and artificials. What should I try? Full size mullet or lady fish? I will be giving them another go this Sunday if the Lightning storms stay away.
> 
> 
> 
> You must be targeting them on a wrong tide or something.
> The rockledge you speak of, does the tide roll over it on an incoming or outgoing?
> Outgoing would be perferrable.
> If the water is clear they wont eat...
> Try 20lb flouro and a good sized pilchard hooled thru the nose on an owner 2/0circle.
> Make sure theres tide movement, at the first hour or two of the tide change
Click to expand...


It's a canal one side residential one side mangroves, there is a fifty yard stretch that has a ten foot ledge right of the mangroves that has huge rocks(looks like a rock slide) The snook are hanging at the bottom of the ledge( fifteen to twenty per school) These fish are always there and they don't spook. If I can't catch them I'm going to dive down and take pictures and video.


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## BugDopeforENP

> Down in the glades the past few years you can't get a bait past the reds to catch a snook. I was told by a marine biologist that since the cold killed off all the catfish the redfish numbers have increased due to baby redfish being one of the catfishes main diet. This does not just apply to the glades but all around the state of Florida.
> 
> 
> I have found some huge snook( no babies all over slot) recently on an edge of a channel that has a rock ledge about ten feet deep. They will not bite a thing, I have tried every thing, down sizing my leader all the way down to twenty lb test fluorocarbon,hook size, and artificials. What should I try? Full size mullet or lady fish? I will be giving them another go this Sunday if the Lightning storms stay away.
> 
> 
> 
> Try a head from a 2-3lb mullet, fresh of coarse. They absolutely love it. Also, a live catfish works well also, if the snook are really big.
Click to expand...


Yeah they are all well over thirty five inches. It looks like Stump pass marina (basicly they have huge snook that sit under the cleaning stand but you cant fish for them) but you can try to catch these fish that I found. I will go ahead and net mullet tomorrow and give it a shot.


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## anytide

> Down in the glades the past few years you can't get a bait past the reds to catch a snook. I was told by a marine biologist that since the cold killed off all the catfish the redfish numbers have increased due to baby redfish being one of the catfishes main diet. This does not just apply to the glades but all around the state of Florida.
> 
> 
> I have found some huge snook( no babies all over slot) recently on an edge of a channel that has a rock ledge about ten feet deep. They will not bite a thing, I have tried every thing, down sizing my leader all the way down to twenty lb test fluorocarbon,hook size, and artificials. What should I try? Full size mullet or lady fish? I will be giving them another go this Sunday if the Lightning storms stay away.
> 
> 
> 
> You must be targeting them on a wrong tide or something.
> The rockledge you speak of, does the tide roll over it on an incoming or outgoing?
> Outgoing would be perferrable.
> If the water is clear they wont eat...
> Try 20lb flouro and a good sized pilchard hooled thru the nose on an owner 2/0circle.
> Make sure theres tide movement, at the first hour or two of the tide change
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> 
> It's a canal one side residential one side mangroves, there is a fifty yard stretch that has a ten foot ledge right of the mangroves that has huge rocks(looks like a rock slide) The snook are hanging at the bottom of the ledge( fifteen to twenty per school) These fish are always there and they don't spook. If I can't catch them I'm going to dive down and take pictures and video.
Click to expand...

if you want to get close for pix etc. , you have to dive in and come up from under and behind them.....


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## Caydon

I got this little guy at long point park right there at the mangroves and that was march 17...


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## telltail

> That day we had four bites from big snook along the gulf coast of the 'glades.  We've never noticed the slightest drop-off from the cold kill three years ago as far as the big breeders go (and they have to be released any way...).


Capt. Bob - are ya seeing the #'s of little guys like you did in the past? I'm not fishing as much as I used too, but my days of consistently/easily catching double digit amounts of dinks in the Flamingo area and west are a memory. Weird thing is I am catching more big girls than ever, so go figure? Tight lines...


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## lemaymiami

Big, big difference between cold survival rates for snook depending on where they are when the killing starts... Fish caught in shallow water (or areas where they just can't get to deeper water in time) will die off in great numbers. Fish in places with easy deepwater access (creeks, rivers, some with freshwater springs maybe...) will survive a cold kill in good shape. The difference between survival rates is probably very significant, but I'm no biologist -just a guy on the water day after day.... I know that we caught and released as many as 20 fish in one small creek (fish as small as 15" and as large as 24") only one week after that last big cold kill... The creek was within a stone's throw of Everglades City where everyone was moaning about the cold kill (and that occurred three years ago...).

I'm seeing pretty good numbers of smaller snook inside of Whitewater even after the kill. Almost 90% of our big fish are found in warmer months somewhere near river mouths along the gulf coast between Cape Sable and Lostman's River... I never noticed the slightest drop in numbers these last three years in that area. I know that nearby Florida Bay had a huge snook kill along with bones, small tarpon, and other cold sensitive fish. The difference has to be how shallow that area is... with no easy deepwater refuges to be found unless they could get to East or Middle Cape canals...

By the way the one specie that really did take a hit in the interior were small goliath grouper which had heavily moved into shallow shorelines in Whitewater Bay and nearby areas. To this day I can't find one inside anymore (but I am beginning to find them again just inside rivers and along nearby shorelines....). For weeks after that big kill three years ago you'd see floating goliath carcasses on the tide changes in gulf-side rivers floating in and out... Old snook spots in the interior are now holding snook again.... it's been a treat!


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## Flats_running1

Catch fillet and release can't wait till they open it..


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## anytide

> Catch fillet and release can't wait till they open it..


thats brilliant [smiley=1-thumbsup1.gif]


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## Dillusion

> Catch fillet and release can't wait till they open it..


You have the IQ of a cantaloupe.


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## cutrunner

Matty do you ever eat any fish you catch?


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## anytide

> Catch fillet and release can't wait till they open it..
> 
> 
> 
> You have the IQ of a cantaloupe.
Click to expand...

muskmelon maybe, 
---he dont eat what he dont catch.....


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## Dillusion

> Matty do you ever eat any fish you catch?


Not since I was 12. The luster of keeping fish wore of when I matured and realized the importance Florida's ecosystem has in my life, and will have in the lives of my children.

I have no need to keep fish. No one 'needs' to keep fish. Even if you're poor and on EBT cards and food stamps, you're probably eating better than a low income working family these days.


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## Rediculous

I agree with matty... There are fish I prefer to catch and fish I prefer to eat. I go to Miami a couple times a year, and load up with mahi and snappers. I'll go shrimping a few times a year also. The other 100+ days a year I spend on the water, is strictly catch and release. I, personally, fish for fun not food. I wish they would open a season for goliaths and manatees, I'd eat the hell out of those.


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## cvilt

I thought Manatee would be tender but I was suprised


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## cutrunner

Lol not gunna ask

I have a good family friend that is recognized by the state of fl as 100% seminole indian.
According to him he is alowed to take 1 manatee for harvest per year. Simple because it was a food staple of his people and the goverment cant legally deny him that.

Wish I was full seminole and not 1/5..


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## anytide

just take a 5th of one.


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## lucasmccurdy

I have never understood the attraction to manatees. They must have some sort of "scratch my back" disease. Why else would they always put themselves in the path of boaters.
Further, I know dolphins are cute, but they are the wolf packs of the ocean.


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## TC

Appears to be officially open Sept. 1.

http://www.theledger.com/article/20130613/outdoors/306135000


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