Snook & Sea Trout Bite is On In Daytona Beach Area September 20, 2005
Frank
out on both snook and seatrout nightly using jumbo live shrimp fished
about five feet under bobbers fished the bridge lights in Volusia
County, FL (Daytona Area). (I usually fish my shrimp freeline, rather
than under a bobber, but this I'm told is working right now.)
Fish at night when the tide is running. Snook do not bite on a slack
tide! Fish the down-tide side of the bridge. Fish hold in the current
breaks. Keep your baits in/near the shadow lines of the bridge lights.
If there is a full moon, forget fishing. The sky will be too bright and
the fish too dispursed, not congregated about the bridges following the
baits.
For best control, I prefer a substantial baitcasting rig to spinning
gear. You will not actually be doing much casting, but you will need
the extra backbone to "guide" a 15 - 30 pound fish away from the bridge
pilings.
The snook will think otherwise and head for his home grounds, It is
your job to convince him to see the light! Good luck!
Fish using spiderwire 20-25 pound test with 18-36 inches of mono and a
proper sized circle hook for the size shrimp being used. Snook have
very sharp gill plates so expect to be cut off frequently, If you use a
short piece (6-12")of wireleader, you will land more fish, but get far
fewer strikes.
NOTE You MUST have a snook stamp (currently $2.00)in addition to a
valid Florida salt water fishing license. The snook season just opened
September 1, so expect to be checked. Be careful about the slot size,
too. The size varies and the daily limits vary depending where in FL
snook are caught. Read the rule book!
If you do have your catch checked by a game warden, it might be a good
idea to get his name and badge number in case you should get stopped a
second time in another part of the state transporting the fish home.
Should that area have a different size limit or daily catch limit, you
will be able to prove that you have a legal catch for the area you were
fishing.
Remember also, if you have never eaten snook before, you MUST SKIN
snook before cooking it. If you do not it will taste like SOAP!
A lot of trouble,to be sure, but once you have been bitten by the
greatest inshore game fish there is, you will know why.
Please write us, after you've been snooking!
Tight lines!
Frank