Fishing Tips: Winter Snook Fishing - 2/3/2009

Snook move around our area from the beaches in the summer to the canals in the winter and the bridges and passes in between. When the temperature drops in mid-winter you'll find the most snook in the residential canals as the dark bottom muck tends to hold heat.

When you find them, getting them to bite can be quite a challenge. Snook do not handle the cold temperatures well and don't feed aggressively in the cold.

When approcaching it's essential to be stealthy as anything that might bite could be spooked by even a trolling motor. It's best to let the current take you to casting distance after getting close with the trolling motor. Once you get on them it's best not to cast directly into the school but to let your bait find them with the current.

Skipping a live shrmp close will often prompt a reactive bite and if you're going to use artificials I suggest the Mirrolure Glass Minnow, the Maverick Golden Eye and Tsunami Trout Maulers.