John's Pass lures snook, anglers

Not many people who fish from John's Pass bridge remember the two-lane bridge that spanned the pass years ago.

Like today's bridge, it had wooden catwalks for anglers. And like today, many snook were hauled in over its railings. John's Pass long has been a mecca for snook anglers, and that hasn't changed.

Seminole resident John Franklin has been known to spend a whole night there chasing snook. "It's great relaxation, and that is what it's all about," says Franklin, a call center owner by day. "(One) night I just had one snook hooked, but it wrapped me around a piling and got off."

Franklin visits the bridge about once every two weeks and catches more than snook. Redfish, mangrove snapper and tarpon are a few of the fish Franklin has hooked. His biggest snook is a 32-incher. Select shrimp and pinfish are his favorite live baits, and he prefers free-lining.

Franklin fishes from different spots depending on how the tide is moving. The outgoing tide is the most productive, so most of his time is spent working the north section on the gulf side.

Lifelong friends Josh Parz and Jimmy Whiteside fish the pass two or three times a week. Parz said they are "fish-oholics," and Whiteside joked that he fishes at the pass so much his wife is ready to leave him. Whiteside said he has caught more than 150 snook at the pass, with the biggest measuring 36 inches.

They both prefer live bait, mainly threadfin herring and scaled sardines. Whiteside throws his cast net from the jetty to get the bait they need. So far on this day, they had one Spanish mackerel for their trouble.

"The tide is slow-moving, and we like the faster water movement of four-tide days over the slower two-tide days like today," Parz said. "(Recently) just as the tide changed to outgoing, redfish and snook were being caught. Today just isn't as good. The tide just isn't moving. We also catch speckled trout, flounder and jacks here."

When Alex Blisniuk isn't making tools for a living, he is fishing from the catwalks. He doesn't care what he catches but said that snook are his favorite target. His biggest snook from the bridge is a 33-incher that hit a white jig.

He likes working artificials around the fenders. He even has caught tarpon, hooking as many as nine in two days. Blisniuk usually spends three or four hours early in the morning at the bridge.

"The snook were stacked up right along the shadow line this morning," he said. "Huge ones, too, but today they are just not biting."

Landing a snook the size these guys are talking isn't easy. There are so many factors working against the angler. Concrete structures and barnacle-encrusted fenders and pilings are just waiting to cut your line. The fishing line hanging from the bridge is evidence of that.

Dealing with all that and chasing a fish that lives to wrap your line around one of the above is about all an angler can stand. But there is hope. Using the proper gear can even the odds a bit.

Twenty-pound outfits will help with some fish, but if you're really looking to win it is best to rig as if you are after tarpon. Fifty-pound line and 80-pound leaders will help. Some of the locals are using the stronger braided lines, which they can still cast because the braids are smaller in diameter than monofilaments.

Spinning outfits don't have the drag for this situation. Conventional reels in the 4/0 size have beefier drags for this game. Most anglers use a a pair of pliers to make the drag as tight as possible. What is amazing is that the fish still peel off line.

The favorite baits for these bruisers are ladyfish, pigfish, pinfish, mullet and shad. Most are presented on the bottom, because fish this size are lazy and prefer dead bait. They are called "grubbers" by locals because of their bottom-feeding style.