“During March and early April, or until the water warms to about 72 degrees, the fish are in transition. The majority of the population is moving from their winter habitats to summer habitats. If the winter is severe, then most snook will still be found in the rivers near sources of warmer water, or in deep bends with structure -- snags, falldowns, or scoured rocky bottoms.

“If the winter is mild or the season is near the spawn, then snook may be found near the mouths of creeks and rivers and out on the adjacent flats. But I would always check the passes and inlets, because the fish may react to conditions that we cannot measure and become ready to spawn before we know it.”

Given those general insights, you still need to figure out which water to try.

“Which rivers should you check?” Taylor reflected. “We’ve found snook in all the major rivers south of Tarpon Springs on the Gulf coast and south of Melbourne on the Atlantic coast. There are reports of snook in the Chasshowitzka and Suwannee Rivers on the Gulf side and the Banana and Tomoka rivers on the Atlantic.

“During mid-April through May, snook are everywhere. They’re using all their habitats. But the majority of snook are found in or near passes to the Gulf and the ocean south of the aforementioned locations, along the beaches near the inlets, and on the near-shore reefs.

“Plus, there’s always a contingent of snook located in the rivers. In fact, latest research indicates that some snook do not leave the rivers each year, as we once thought.

“It’s safe to say that an angler may find at least one snook in any habitat on any day of the year.”

That said, let’s have a look at two of the best spots in the state in some detail.

TAMPA BAY
Tampa Bay boasts one of the largest snook spawning grounds in the state. This shallow grassy bay is laden with structure, offering prime habitat for linesiders.

Capt. Ray Markham knows this fishery well. According to him, water movement is the key to catching Tampa Bay snook.

Regardless of whether the tide is incoming or outgoing, snook are opportunistic ambush feeders that rely on strong currents to sweep forage into their strike zones. The outgoing tide is typically the strongest around new and full moon phases, peaking in strength about 2/3 down the outgoing cycle. That may be the best time to fish for snook here.

During the summer, snook are on the beaches, in passes, on mangrove points and in swash channels around oyster bars and barrier islands. During the spring and fall, snook are found in backcountry areas with good depth, in rivers and creek mouths. Snook are structure-oriented fish, and most structure like rocks, seawalls, pilings, boats or docks that are in the current hold these linesiders.

Forage changes with the seasons. During the summer, baitfish such as scaled sardines, threadfin herring, and killifish are their prime targets, along with live shrimp and small crabs. All of these make good natural baits.

Artificial equivalents include gold spoons, MirrOlure’s MirrOdine, Rapala’s Twitchin’ Rap, and the DOA CAL Shad Tail Jig.

Effective spring and fall baits include those already mentioned, along with finger mullet and glass minnows. Fake bait equivalents are the DOA Baitbuster, Rapala Skitterwalk, DOA Shrimp, and the MirrOlure MirrOminnow.

Presentation is about getting your bait into the snook’s strike zone. Strike zones increase in size in warm weather. Snook can be aggressive feeders, attacking out of both hunger and aggression. Lures should be moved briskly and erratically when water temperatures are greater than 70 degrees.