Fishing: Snook season ending May 1

Fishing: Snook season ending May 1
By John Preeg

Wednesday, April 25, 2007

This will be the last weekend that you can invite a snook back to your house for dinner. Snook season closes on Tuesday, and from then until Sept. 1 you are welcome to work out with a snook but you can’t eat him.

This closed season will have little effect on most anglers since the snook is such an esteemed fish that the majority of fishermen practice catch-and-release when snook fishing, even when they are lucky enough to catch a fish in the slot. This is good for the snook, but tough on cows or other fish since these same conservationists tend to come home and eat a rare steak or three salmon filets after a long, famishing day on the water.

Typically, April is an excellent month for snook fishing, but this has been an extremely windy April, so the snook have done quite well. Unfortunately, for those snook that have avoided the frying pan so far this season, this weekend coincides with the approaching full moon. This a time when snook just can’t keep their mouths shut and stop eating. Women anglers might be better able to sympathize with this feeling than men. Anyway, the snook and the snook fishermen will be gathered in the passes south of Marco Island testing each others skills.

Personally, this weekend, I will be rooting for the snook. I don’t want to influence anyone on whether to keep or release, but any pretty ladies (all big snook are females) that make it till Tuesday will then get a chance to spawn this summer and preserve the species.

NAPLES: Capt. Tommy Robinson reported that it has been very windy, but he has been getting out, and the fishing is fairly good, especially wreck fishing. On Sunday, Robinson’s party landed gag grouper up to 33 inches as well as amberjack to 20 pounds. Many more amberjack would have been boated except for the goliath grouper that were so aggressive that they were chasing the amberjack all the way to the surface. One 200-pound plus goliath actually raced so fast to the surface that it blew its own swim bladder before hobbling back towards the bottom.

Earlier in the week, Robinson had been finding “smoker” kings up to 30-pounds on these same wrecks along with a few snapper. Cobia and permit, however, have been completely absent.

MARCO ISLAND/TEN THOUSAND ISLANDS: Capt. Bill Jones says that it has been windy and the water is dirty, but there are plenty of snook around the south end of Marco Island for anyone who has good bait. Jones has been going offshore early in the morning before the winds kick up to get his bait, and then bringing it back in shore to catch the snook.

On Tuesday, Jones guided John Stevens tarpon fishing. Stevens hooked up early and landed a 100-pound fish. After that battle, Stevens had had enough tarpon fishing so they moved into the backcountry to fish for snook. Stevens first snook measured 34 inches, and he added another six large fish before the morning was over.

Jones said that the snook fishing should get even better this weekend, and the tarpon fishing will improve as the waters warm.

EVERGLADES CITY: Capt. Tony Brock has not been fishing that much this past week because of the wind and dirty water, but said that there are a few big snook on the outside north of Everglades City and redfish far to the south. Before last week’s front, the snook were extremely plentiful but small. Brock said that he was catching a dozen small snook for every legal fish. The fish should get bigger over the next week as the waters warm.

Typically, large, “gator” trout move back into the rivers in March and April, but this year, they never arrived. Smaller trout, however, are plentiful on the outside and in some of the back bays. Tarpon have been scarce because of the wind, but rolling fish will be common as soon as the winds subside.

Brock expects the fishing to improve considerably over the next few weeks.

WIGGINS PASS: Capt. Dave Hanson has had a difficult time getting offshore this week because of the wind. He did manage to get out 36 miles one day while fishing with Ron Musack. They caught a five-foot blacktip shark, and had several legal grouper on, but the sharks attacked the big grouper, and only the heads were brought to the surface. Hanson said that luckily they landed enough Spanish mackerel and snapper so that they had plenty of fish to eat.

Capt. Larry Regienczuk also tried getting offshore to tarpon fish last week. He did get out, but said the waters were very dirty and there were no tarpon sighted. He did manage to catch a few small sharks.

FRESHWATER: The Golden Gate canal system is holding lots of fish but very little water, according to Jess Edwards of the Golden Gate Tackle Box. Water levels are three to four feet below last year’s level, and boaters need to be extremely cautious. The fish are stressed, and concentrated in the deep holes where they are tacking mostly live baits because of the clear water. If you can get to a deep hole, the fishing can be spectacular.

Panfishing is also good. This is the time of the year that the bluegill and brim move up onto their beds, so the fish are large. Live worms or Missouri minnows are the best baits.