Catching a snook of any size is a somewhat elusive accomplishment -- many who have fished Florida for years have never pulled the first linesider to the boat. That's not because snook are scarce, but simply because catching them is a specialized pursuit. Plunk a dead shrimp on bottom off a pier and you could sit there until the first notes of Gabriel's Horn sound before you're likely to reel in a "snuke," as old Cracker anglers called the fish.

Snook like Steve Furry's 44-incher are often tough to locate and even harder to boat. Photo by Frank Sargeant.

On the other hand, if you round up a few live sardines, find a mangrove point where there's a good tide running and a deep hole right at the tip and drift those silver minnows out there on a fly-weight hook and 10-pound-test microfiber line, odds are you'll promptly be tangling with the fish some have called "largemouth bass on angel dust."

Catching a lunker snook, though, is a challenge for even the most skilled angler. As in catching big versions of any species, there's always some luck involved. But as in many things, the smarter you are and the harder you work, the luckier you get. That's true for catching truly big snook, according to most pros that specialize in the pursuit.

How big is a "big" snook? Depends on where you ask. Snook average considerably larger on Florida's Atlantic Coast than on the Gulf Coast. But on the other hand, the very largest fish have been reported from the Gulf Coast. And the landscape has changed regarding how big a trophy must be. At one time, a 30-incher was a whopper, then 36, and these days it takes a 40-incher to be designated a trophy in most circles.

Why is the definition of trophydom changing? Most anglers think it's because snook are now so tightly regulated, thus allowing more to survive to truly huge size. Over the last 25 years, Florida's fishery managers have steadily ratcheted down the harvest. These days, you can take only one fish daily, and the Gulf slot is 28 to 33 inches. On the Atlantic side, it's 28 to 32 inches. Plus, there are seven months of closed season on the Gulf, and almost five months on the Atlantic.

Not surprisingly, the rules have decreased the harvest, but improved the action. These days, those who understand where, when and how can routinely connect with a dozen or more linesiders per trip. But getting the big girls -- all of the big ones are female because the males change sex as they grow -- still takes some special knowledge.

Timing and Tactics
April through October is prime time for large snook on both coasts of Florida. Fishing the beaches and passes during the spawning period nearly always produces some of the largest fish of the year on both coasts.

The fall mullet run on the east coast is also a favorite for many seeking a last wild fling before the metabolism of these tropical fish slows and they head for deep water. On the west coast, some big fish move up coastal rivers to spend the winter in deep holes and around spring outfalls, but the majority appears to travel to nearshore reefs in the Gulf. Those are typically anywhere from a mile to five miles offshore, according to divers who have seen them stacked there in the hundreds.

During the prime warmer months, the largest fish often prefer different habitat than their smaller cousins, according to guides who specialize in chasing them.

Captain Geoff Page of Venice is one of the most skilled artificial lure guides in the state. He finds his largest fish close to deep water, and he catches them on large artificials.

"Big snook like big baitfish," Page said. "So a lure like the full-sized Zara Spook or the BFL from D.O.A. Lures is more likely to turn them on than a smaller lure."