Sight Fishing Beach Snook

 Some key ingredients for success in sight-fishing Snook on the Beach are; calm or no wind, bright sun, bait on the shoreline.

A sized-to-match white fly imitates the white bait which are about an inch to an inch and three quarters long. I use a generous 9-foot leader with 25-40 lb. shock tippet.

I like to walk well above the shore line as I can see into the water easier and to better avoid spooking Snook. Often, we'll see fish crashing right at the shoreline and casting near the swirls can be effective. But a favorite situation is where we spot a Snook cruising toward us. If the cast lands four to six feet in front of the Snook, let it sink. Often that's all it takes. Slow but deliberate strips back will often seal the deal...provided the cast never brings the fly toward the Snook or on his head. Snook often cruise the beach in schools. Look for the one more agitated fish and cast to him.

Recently I have been walking Naples Beach each day for about a month .... well, since October 18 ... whenever conditions are ripe to play with Snook. For several years now, whenever the wind is minimal and from the East, whenever the tide is high or outgoing, whenever the water is clarified, beach Snook fishing has been a favorite way for me to train my eyes and work on casting accuracy. So, it isn't so much about "needing a hook up" as it is about taking a walk in the sun and practicing. Sometimes the schools of baitfish are offshore and the Snook are not prowling. Sometimes the bait is right on the beach. You just never know how these conditions will align until you are there, walking and looking, so I go often enough to satisfy myself that I have been a player...I rarely cast to anything other than a Snook I see. Anyone who is a sight-fishing enthusiast should try beach Snook fly fishing to see what fun it is. It's hard. The Snook are wary, especially the big ones...26" up to 40". 

Here are some tips; As you walk, stay as high above and as far away from the water as you can, keeping the sun at your back. I walk slowly because the fish can materialize out of deep water behind you. The Snook that are right along the water line...or facing the shore, maybe a foot from the sand....They are the players! They are the active feeders and ready to eat. It is possible to lay a fly in front of Snook who appear to be in transition, swimming parallel to the beach and out from the shore. It's possible to draw one fish away from a school of several....usually only the smaller fish will dart away from the moving school. Once you have seen Snook prowling the beach in different water clarity conditions, low light, etc, they become easier to see. Once I see fish, I try to stay as far from the fish as I can placing the fly a safe 6 feet or so in front of the Snook's nose. Any closer, and they'll usually spook and jet away. The fly lands hopefully softly and begins to sink....at that point, I will move the fly away from the fish and keep it moving. 

If the fly stops, the Snook will either spook or turn away....I remember, "Everything small moves away from a Snook and keeps moving!" You get to see everything when the Snook bites down on the fly. First, they will dart forward, maybe accelerate, and turn as they eat it. Perhaps I'll post some fly patterns next time....but there's only one fly you need for this....the DT.

There's more than a few distractions on the beaches around Naples, so just take it like a man and brave the adverse conditions.