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| Can you tell Eric Porter of Colorado is a happy camper after landing this fine snook on fly rod? |
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| Hungry snook gether by a light at night. |
As many of you are aware, we recently began offering night snook charters. It’s a great way for beginners and veterans alike to fish for snook in exciting conditions.
Our success rate to date has been very good, with several anglers getting either their first snook on fly, largest snook on fly – or both!
We launch the kayaks at night. After a short paddle, we arrive to fish lighted docks. The lights attract shrimp and baitfish, which, in turn, attract snook, spotted seatrout and other predator fish.
I’ve got one client who doesn’t want to fly fish for snook at night.
“Too easy,” he said. “Like shooting fish in a barrel.”
I have other clients who quickly will disagree.
Reason is that night snook fishing requires pinpoint accuracy and several of the docks present tricky casting problems. A typical overhead cast just won’t work in many cases.
Sometimes, you have to get the fly under a dock or right next to a piling. To get the fly under a dock, you must change your casting place from overhead to sidearm. The cast is the same, but the plane is altered.
Since I use Native Watercraft Ultimate 14.5 kayaks, there’s ample room in the cockpit for the fly line. In fact, I call the kayaks the world’s largest stripping baskets! When I strip the line in, I let it fall into the cockpit right between my legs. This prevents the fly line from floating out in the water and tangling around pilings or debris.
I also advise pointing the bow of the kayak toward your target and retrieving the fly in a straight line back to you. Your rod tip should be in the water or on the water’s surface.
Some anglers will retrieve the fly with the rod tip 18 inches above the water. That’s 18 inches of slack you have to remove before you can move the fly or set the hook. If your rod tip is on the water’s surface, there is no slack. If a fish hit, you’re directly connected and ready for action.
For night snook fishing, I like an 8-weight fly rod with a full floating line. I use a 9-foot leader with 20-pound shock tippet. I’ll go with a heavier tippet – 25- or 30-pound – if the bite is aggressive or the fish are larger than normal.
The average snook is about 23 inches. However, we’ve been getting snook to 30 inches or more on almost every trip. Sometimes, however, it’s tough to get your fly through the smaller fish to get a larger snook.
Fly choice isn’t really a big deal. I prefer a small shrimp or baitfish imitation on a No. 4 or No. 6 hook. Color choice is white. I do smash the barbs on the hooks so that I don’t hurt the fish.
Trickiest part of night snook fishing is learning to back-paddle while you’re fighting the fish. Remember, you have to get the snook away from the dock and pilings. To do so, you must hold the rod in one hand, and back-paddle with the other.
Most anglers get the hang of it quickly.
On a recent solo outing, I caught and released six snook to 28 inches and four seatrout to 19. It was a fun morning.
I have had outings where I’ve caught a Slam (snook, trout and redfish) on fly before dawn.
The fishing slows down drastically as soon as light appears in the sky. That’s when it’s time to go home or head out to nearby flats. On recent outings, Terry Rychlik of Connecticut caught several nice trout and a decent snook on the flats. Eric Porter caught several trout, including his largest, a plump 3-pounder.
Wind and tide are what affect night snook action. Usually, I just like a strong incoming or outgoing tide. Too much wind simple makes casting and positioning a little more difficult.
Night snook fishing also is a great way to beat the Florida heat. You can catch snook in the cool of night. When the sun comes up, it’s time to head home. And you will be in the pool, sipping a Rum Runner or Mojito by noon.
If you’re interest in a night snook trip, give me a call at (941) 284-3406 or email me at steve@kayakfishingsarasota.com.
Come catch your first snook with me!
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