# Snook fly?



## Pierson (Mar 16, 2016)

Gurgler!


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## FlyBy (Jul 12, 2013)

White Dahlberg Diver.


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## 321nole (Jan 11, 2016)

some guy named Chico Fernandez says his favorite is the seaducer


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## Backcountry 16 (Mar 15, 2016)

Which ever one is on my rod when the snook eats it. Can't go wrong with a deceiver.


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## crboggs (Mar 30, 2015)

Another vote for the gurgler here.


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## Cliff (Oct 13, 2016)

White Clouser or Shminnow


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## bonehead (Dec 9, 2016)

x2 for the Schminnow. Depends on where you are fishing for them as well.


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## Backwater (Dec 14, 2014)

Backcountry 16 said:


> Which ever one is on my rod when the snook eats it. Can't go wrong with a deceiver.


Ya beat me to the punch! Ha! I was gonna say "the one off my vise that turns their head and causes them to look at it and come check it out. It's up to me to get them to eat it. "


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## duppyzafari (Jul 9, 2015)

All of my usual go-to snook flies are seaducer variations. However you tie them, they'll probably work if they're presented well. White for docklights, beach cruisers, and sunny days. Earthy/Black for mangroves and dark days.

Brown shrimp flies would be my second choice if the snook aren't feeling the baitfish gear.


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## k-roc (Feb 8, 2018)

I like small white flies on the beach and medium to large black and purple patterns of all types in the glades. 
Love the Lightbulb on the beaches, does anyone know of video on how to tie it? I'm pretty close but not right on the money!


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## Rick hambric (Jun 24, 2017)

Seaducers—white tail w/ contrasting head, gurgs, and schminnow variants. A 1/3 of my box is schminnows. Simple to tie and they work....


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## lemaymiami (Feb 9, 2007)

We use a bunch of different patterns for snook - depending on time of year and where we're fishing, and whether it's day or night (and the size of the fish...). Be careful, snook fishing is addictive...


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## Backwater (Dec 14, 2014)

Do a search on this board on the subject. We've had many discussions about it.


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## duppyzafari (Jul 9, 2015)

Here's a seaducer variation that I use on the docklights.

There are a few lights that I hit that have had Baby Tarpon on them, of late, so these are tied on Gama SL12S No.2s.

If I'm not expecting tarpon, I usually tie these on SL113H No.6s.


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## coconutgroves (Sep 23, 2013)

Simple - deceivers and clousers. When sight casting, I put it on their nose and don't give them much time to make a decision.


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## Backwater (Dec 14, 2014)

coconutgroves said:


> Simple - deceivers and clousers. When sight casting, I put it on their nose and don't give them much time to make a decision.


Whoa bro, where've you been?


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## Backwater (Dec 14, 2014)

Rookiemistake said:


> whats your favorite snook fly?most i see are baitfish patterns. What other patterns work well.


For what?


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## Rookiemistake (Jan 30, 2013)

Well tried the schminnow no luck had a few eat a baitfish pattern so wasnt sure if there was any i was missing. I have a trip to central florida in a couple of weeks


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## Backwater (Dec 14, 2014)

Rookiemistake said:


> Well tried the schminnow no luck had a few eat a baitfish pattern so wasnt sure if there was any i was missing. I have a trip to central florida in a couple of weeks


Where were you and where will you be fishing? What shiminnow? What time of day and what will be the conditions. They wouldn't eat the same fly everytime in any condition.


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## Seymour fish (May 13, 2018)

Rookiemistake said:


> Well tried the schminnow no luck had a few eat a baitfish pattern so wasnt sure if there was any i was missing. I have a trip to central florida in a couple of weeks


Bet a HollowFly would work on sophisticated snook


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## k-roc (Feb 8, 2018)

Backwater said:


> Where were you and where will you be fishing? What shiminnow? What time of day and what will be the conditions. They wouldn't eat the same fly everytime in any condition.


Please give us your insight on how you adapt your snook flies to different conditions. I'm usually trying to match my flies to the size of bait i am seeing.


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## crboggs (Mar 30, 2015)

Don't ever think you've "figured snook out"...you haven't...they're just toying with you...


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## k-roc (Feb 8, 2018)

Haha, I know they are extremely fickle. They won't touch the best of flies for a large part of the time, and then all of a sudden they'll eat any fly you throw at them!


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## Rookiemistake (Jan 30, 2013)

Melbourne to Sebastian inlet.


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## 321nole (Jan 11, 2016)

Rookiemistake said:


> Melbourne to Sebastian inlet.


white baitfish patterns, deceivers, clousers, seaducers this time of year will be the go-to where you find clean water. gurglers at first light. after about 9am the fish either push way up under the mangroves or start patrolling the deeper edges off the flats from melbourne down past sebastian to vero. working these drop offs can be a pain on fly as 99% of the time you won't see the fish until its too late or not at all. good luck!

are you bringing a boat down?


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## Rookiemistake (Jan 30, 2013)

not sure yet my buddy has a 17 ma that we will use. my buddies house im staying at is strict on the boats visible from the steet ( in his driveway) policy. i took it last year though and left it at my uncles.


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## Rookiemistake (Jan 30, 2013)

321nole said:


> white baitfish patterns, deceivers, clousers, seaducers this time of year will be the go-to where you find clean water. gurglers at first light. after about 9am the fish either push way up under the mangroves or start patrolling the deeper edges off the flats from melbourne down past sebastian to vero. working these drop offs can be a pain on fly as 99% of the time you won't see the fish until its too late or not at all. good luck!
> 
> are you bringing a boat down?


oops screwed that up.... reply above


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## coconutgroves (Sep 23, 2013)

Backwater said:


> Whoa bro, where've you been?


Mainly Caribbean waters, not Florida...


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## Seymour fish (May 13, 2018)

321nole said:


> some guy named Chico Fernandez says his favorite is the seaducer


He likes a Dr Ed Rizzolo Special too


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## Seymour fish (May 13, 2018)

Seymour fish said:


> Bet a HollowFly would work on sophisticated snook


Tied select craft fur, some angel hair, neutral to lightly weighted, tan or chart over white plenty seductive time in the zone


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## bugslinger (Jun 4, 2012)

Guardside soft hackle baitfish.... easy to tie, stupid movement in the water. white body, red head has worked for me with trout, redfish and snook. they aren't the most durable fly, but they do what they are supposed to and I can tie a half dozen quickly enough to not frustrate me when one gets mauled.


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## Backwater (Dec 14, 2014)

bugslinger said:


> Guardside soft hackle baitfish.... easy to tie, stupid movement in the water. white body, red head has worked for me with trout, redfish and snook. they aren't the most durable fly, but they do what they are supposed to and I can tie a half dozen quickly enough to not frustrate me when one gets mauled.


Now that's an ole school fly, but still a good one for the fly box!


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## lemaymiami (Feb 9, 2007)

Jack Gartside’s patterns were always worth a shot (the Gurgler is the one most folks know about). Wish he was still with us...


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## lemaymiami (Feb 9, 2007)

A few additional thoughts about Gartside's work..... I was lucky enough to sit next to him and other tyers, the one and only time the National Fly show was held down here in South Florida. I was impressed by all of his work. 

I've always divided the leading edge tyers for saltwater into two categories roughly speaking - those that primarily use synthetics and dinosaurs like me who mostly use natural materials... Like Popovics and others Jack was primarily using synthetics most of the time (and he was a real innovator.... coming up with patterns and uses for odd materials like no one else...). I believe he even wrote a book or two on patterns and tying. I always made a point of reading any articles by him that I was lucky enough to come across. Even today with all the variations you'll see for his Gurgler pattern - the basic original version is very hard to beat since it's easy to tie and really works when something at the surface is what you want... 

As guys like me fade from the scene more and more new patterns will show up that rely primarily on synthetic materials... and I'll be welcoming them. I must admit, though, with all the natural materials I have in hand they'll be what I'm working with....


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## Backwater (Dec 14, 2014)

Rookiemistake said:


> Melbourne to Sebastian inlet.


So many variables. Outside, beaches, passes, inside, docks, flats, mangroves..... morning, mid day, evening, nightime, shallow, stillwater, moving tides, ripping tides, gin clear water, regular, dark tea stained water, murky water, cooler, warm, hot conditions and water, sunny, cloudy, rainy, winter, spring summer, fall, pure salt, brackish, freshwater, juvenal, slot size, big mommas, floating fly lines, intermediate lines, sink tips, full sinking lines, normal fish conditions, pre-spawn, mid spawn, post spawn, single laid up fish, several in a group, larger groups, is there a big female in the group, big schools of smaller ones, big schools of bigger fish, are they in a huge ball of fish, are they swimming, sitting still, up under something or out in the open, inside lagoons, up in rivers and creeks, all the way to offshore, east coast, Guld coast, Florida, central america, caribbean, etc? The variables can be overwhelming for a beginner. Snook can be tempermental and knowing what fly will work best for what conditions is key to consistently getting eats. Even then, there are some conditions where they can be consistent and you can count on a certain fly or 2, or, they can be a PITA and have lock jaw when you line the stars up and think you know what they want for that particular situations. I've seen experts get zero'ed out on sandwich size snook, while novices getting lucky and hooking giants.


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## K3anderson (Jan 23, 2013)

I know you aren't going to believe this because crabs don't make up a large percentage of a snook's diet, but, the "Grillo hardshell Crab" is a favorite of mine for snook in mangroves. Named for Vince Grillo in Choko.






I believe it's intended to mimic those mangrove crabs that are almost black. Its gets annihilated in mangroves. The "hard shell" part is adding loon or whatever to the shell part and it is smaller than say a merkin type crab. Try it, if you're looking for something other than a traditional baitfish. It will surprise you. I even caught a juvi jewfish on it near watsons a couple years ago. Sheepies will also chase.


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## K3anderson (Jan 23, 2013)

I think the hard shell part of the Grillo crab is what causes snook to murder it. It hits the water like it fell out of the mangroves and the shell must make a distinctive fell as it sinks. Purely guesses, but, snook crush it.


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## crboggs (Mar 30, 2015)

K3anderson said:


> Purely guesses, but, snook crush it.


Absolutely. Pulled three back to back to back snook out from under a mangrove over hang with the fly below. Just let it sink and retrieved it with a slow drag...

View media item 1484


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## Seymour fish (May 13, 2018)

K3anderson said:


> I know you aren't going to believe this because crabs don't make up a large percentage of a snook's diet, but, the "Grillo hardshell Crab" is a favorite of mine for snook in mangroves. Named for Vince Grillo in Choko.
> View attachment 34854
> I believe it's intended to mimic those mangrove crabs that are almost black. Its gets annihilated in mangroves. The "hard shell" part is adding loon or whatever to the shell part and it is smaller than say a merkin type crab. Try it, if you're looking for something other than a traditional baitfish. It will surprise you. I even caught a juvi jewfish on it near watsons a couple years ago. Sheepies will also chase.


Favors a Mangrove Critter. Ever see snook splashing crabs off the mangroves ?


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## Backwater (Dec 14, 2014)

You guys may know I like tarpon fishing, but snook is my passion when it comes to fishing. I told my wife once that I was getting a black line tatt on my sides.  All kidding aside, after 48yrs of hardcore fishing for them and 28yrs on the fly, and sure I could write a book on the subject, there is not just one or 2 flies that will consistently produce in most situations. You can, increase your odds with a few choice flies, but I see even Capt LeMay not commenting on particulars, since it's a wide open subject.

But as k-roc stated up above, your best bet is to try to have enough flies to cover a wide variety of situations. The Key is to "match the hatch," have good fly placement without spooking them, have flies that push a little more water to get their attention, knowing where they typically hold if you can see them, or lead the fish if ou see them coming and let the fish discover the fly without you dragging it into their face. Then think like the bait you are imitating and imagine your bait sees this monster sneaking up to it to eat it and how it will react without trying to be scared out of it's mind. Lol. In other words, pick up the pace when you see the fish is on it. That will cause a reaction strike out of them. That's the difference between an imperfect fly getting eaten and the perfect fly ignored. 

I try to throw flies that have natural looking presentations that matches the nearby bait and color matching the water clarity, light levels, bottom hughes, etc. The clearer the water and brighter light levels, the lighter color the fly could be and the less the fly needs to push water cause it can be seen, but still good to push some water. That big black lateral line does have a purpose, ya know.  The darker the water and conditions, the more the fly needs to push water and color contrasting against the background. With that being said, going darker, even to black with a big bushy head will help get results in those darker waters and lower light conditions.

In the normal scheme of things, snook would rather hold down deep rather than suspend themselves higher in the water column. They are ambush feeders and also conserve lots of energy, hence the reason you often see them holding in one spot, in some sort of moving water where the bait comes to them, rather than them searching around looking for bait, unless they are moving from one spot to another, following a spawning pattern, or looking for bait schools.

They are an opportunist feeder, where you will see them looking at a glass minnow school and a then eat a sand flea as it swims by. But they can get focused and zero'ed in on a particular bait that is in the area. Case in point. Would you throw a shrimp pattern at them during a mullet run?? Oh you can, but it will get ignored.

Also feeding times are key for snook. They will turn on and then like a light switch, they will turn off, just like a flip of a switch. Not all fish will follow it, but if you pay attention to the solunar tables and where are the peak bite times based on where the moon and sun are located, snook will follow that like they have their own personal app on their iphone waiting for those times to come up to feed in general. Line that up with moving water and especially early morning and late evenings during these summer months and you have a combination that will increase your odds.

Again, that's not to say that snook wouldn't snack in-between meals, because they can and do. They can normally feed on the tinest little glass minnow, or choak down a baseball bat size mullet, and everything in between. So they may not be in the mood for a loaded dbl stack 5 Guys hamburger, but they will eat a few potato chips here and there as a opportunist snack.  That's why flies do work on them, but not always. 

Ok, let's get down to it. I like natural baitfish patterns (sardine, threadfins, bunker style, pinfish, bay anchovy, mullet, killie fish, shrimp, etc). Match for the time of year that bait is previlent and the areas that they are in. Do you see shrimp in the summer? Not hardly! So do you see sardines up in the mangroves in the winter? No. Do you see mud minnows out on the beaches? No! I'm sure you see the pattern here. So don't look for a fly for what the name of the fly is, but rather how it looks and behaves in the water and conditions and does it look liket that bait you want to match. Attracter colors can also work in less than ideal conditions. Attractor colors like chartreuse and also red can also make that bait stand out like it's injured. Again, a snook will try to conserve energy and prey on injured bait cause it's easier for them and they don't have to work so hard to get it. So keep that in mind.

I like flies with heads that have fibers that will stand up and rake the water (for lack of a better term) and vibrate in the water. Seaducers, DT Specials, that heavy collar that Capt LeMay ties on his seaducers, dalberg divers, mullet heads with some collar fibers sticking up instead of trimmed back tight, long chenilles like Ice or Estaz on bodies or heads, etc.

I've often found that building up a silhouette of a baitfish, whereby you are given them more of a profile without being too thick and bulky and giving them a hint that there is something there, as oppose to building up too much bulk and given them more to eyeball and analyze if they want to eat it or not, is very important. So in many cases, sparser and less material used, is more, while still maintaining profile length and size of the fly. Those type of flies will also be easier to cast.

Another subject is flash. How much flash to use with snook? With some species, more flash can be an attractant. But for some reason with snook, I found that less is more in the flash dept and often times, I wouldn't use any. Sure the dinks can be attracted to it, but the bigger fish can shy away from it.
Some of the biggest snook I've caught on fly had no flash whatsoever. So keep that in mind. Snook flies at fly shops with lots of flash are to capture potential snook fisherman more than the fish itself. So I'll use a few strands for laterial lines on baitfish type patterns (clouser and bay anchovy type patters), that have them, or a few strands of pearl, silver or gold down the body and tail of the fly, depending on what patterns and water color, just to get an extra hint that it's a baitfishy type minnow of some sort out there. But quite honestly, it's not totally necessary. I've honestly caught more snook without flash than I have with flash. Maybe 2 to 1 respectively.

Poppers, crease flies and topwaters like gurglers seem to work better close to fallen trees, mangroves, seawalls and structure more than out on open flats or deep water. Weighted flies, especially with int sink tip or intermediate lines seem to do better around deeper waters and deeper cuts. Suspended flies seem to do better when using soft materials that tend to breath well underwater, better than flies using stiff materials. That's where you can strip and pause, strip and pause and the materials are still moving and undulating like the bait fish is alive even when the fly stops moving. Materials that are stiffer needs do have something that gives it a little more action and movement, whether the way you strip it, or some add on weight like dumbbell eyes or lead wraps, rubber legs, some belly fur on the belly of the fly or something like that. Maybe a collar that has something raking or vibrating the water as it pushes it, like palmered hackles or sparsely palmered chenilles or brushes (key word is sparse on the brushes and chenilles). So look closer at how the fly is tied, or, think when sitting down at the vise what materials would make that happen.

Be careful about throwing patterns too big or too bulky. You can get more eats with smaller and more sparse profiles. But if you are going bigger to try to target bigger fish, yes go longer and push a little more water without using too much material. So with big patterns, go sparse, while maintaining that larger silhouette profile. Case in point.... have you ever noticed that a fly gets eaten more after it's been shredded some by a few fish, some fibers ripped out and appears to be spase at that point? Hence the reason I mentioned that point.

I hope this help when selecting or tying up some snook flies. It's one thing just to tell you to use a few certain flies, but another thing to share with you the "whys" when it comes to selecting flies to use for whatever situation you may come across and what to choose the better fly to entice those fish. Snook will eat just about anything. But it's the "whens, hows and whys" that help you decide on which fly to choose for which situation and end up producing more. Because, there is no "one fly" to use for snook in every situation. An example of that is I have one fly that I've personally caught maybe over 500 snook on (not counting the gobs of other snook caught with people I've put on those fish with that same fly). But I can't take that fly and be any good with it in all other situations, because it will get ignored. Hence, the reason for this lengthy explanation.

Don't be bound to specific patterns. You can use it as a baseline to build up from. Nobody says you can't deviate for it's original design, cause you can.  Get creative and don't worry what other people think. All you really should care about it is if the snook or whatever your targeting, will eat it or not! 

That's all I got for now. Gotta run! 

Ted Haas


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## K3anderson (Jan 23, 2013)

Seymour fish said:


> Ever see snook splashing crabs off the mangroves ?


No, but, I really want to.


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## Rick hambric (Jun 24, 2017)

bugslinger said:


> Guardside soft hackle baitfish.... easy to tie, stupid movement in the water. white body, red head has worked for me with trout, redfish and snook. they aren't the most durable fly, but they do what they are supposed to and I can tie a half dozen quickly enough to not frustrate me when one gets mauled.


looked that one up. then realized half my streamer box is full of them! always just called them marabou streamers. hell of a fly for shoal bass and stripers!!!!!


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## Backwater (Dec 14, 2014)

crboggs said:


> Absolutely. Pulled three back to back to back snook out from under a mangrove over hang with the fly below. Just let it sink and retrieved it with a slow drag...


Wooow....

~thinks~ Humm.... I just caught a "bunch" of underslot snook yesterday evening, on a couple of flies and were not worth getting any pics of them. Should I tell him to use those flies too? Nah, because who knows were he's gonna fish? If the beaches, then.... nope!

But then, I did get this by-catch on my 9wt with my one of my snook flies.








This fish had a buddy that swam up to the boat with her. So I wanted to see if I could get a repeat. Threw the same thing out there, cast after cast. Nothing! 

So I pick up my 8wt and tied on something that I designed for redfish, but caught more snook on it than anything. But still caught a few reds on it. Thought it may work.  So I throw it to the same spot and after about a dozen blind cast, I was hooked up again. Only this time, this is what grabbed it.







Ok, I like that one and did pull some good string!! 

So after a few more tries, I gave up and turned to see if I can get a few more snook on that same fly. So same fly, same general area, but different water temps and time of year. Nothing for about 30mins of trying while the snook bite was still on! Only got a few nice mangrove snapper, which was also nice as a by-catch, which I kept. 

So same fly, same area, different conditions. You see? Here's a pic of the same size snook sandwiches I was catching, with the same fly, same tide, same general area, but different time of year and conditions (a little cooler and rainy).








Notice the same fly.

So the snappers I also released later yesterday evening in this bowl of ceviche! 









*So to the OP*, this time of year over there on the atlantic coast, pack some sparsely tied chartreuse and white clousers, white half and halfs and red head, white bodied seaducers and some typical deciever type flies tied on #2's for general fishing. Also add shminnows and DT specials for the beach, along with the half and halfs (half clouser/half deceiver). Some synthetic sardine patterns or ep minnows, mullet patterns.... a couple of those Guardside soft hackle baitfish patterns that Bugslinger recommended. You can even pak a few of cboggs mangrove crabs too!  Also some floater like a few white/pearl crease flies and some chartreuse and white gurglers or poppers. With all of those, I think you are bound to catch something. 

Signing off and good fishing!

Ted Haas


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## Seymour fish (May 13, 2018)

Backwater said:


> You guys may know I like tarpon fishing, but snook is my passion when it comes to fishing. I told my wife once that I was getting a black line tatt on my sides.  All kidding aside, after 48yrs of hardcore fishing for them and 28yrs on the fly, and sure I could write a book on the subject, there is not just one or 2 flies that will consistently produce in most situations. You can, increase your odds with a few choice flies, but I see even Capt LeMay not commenting on particulars, since it's a wide open subject.
> 
> But as k-roc stated up above, your best bet is to try to have enough flies to cover a wide variety of situations. The Key is to "match the hatch," have good fly placement without spooking them, have flies that push a little more water to get their attention, knowing where they typically hold if you can see them, or lead the fish if ou see them coming and let the fish discover the fly without you dragging it into their face. Then think like the bait you are imitating and imagine your bait sees this monster sneaking up to it to eat it and how it will react without trying to be scared out of it's mind. Lol. In other words, pick up the pace when you see the fish is on it. That will cause a reaction strike out of them. That's the difference between an imperfect fly getting eaten and the perfect fly ignored.
> 
> ...


Ted, Thanks for taking the time. Like how you think. Seymour


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