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Outdoors

Spring into action

March is the start of an exciting time for snook anglers. The ravenous linesiders are rushing

By DAVID A. BROWN
Published March 12, 2005

the flats in hot pursuit of the annual baitfish blast.

Yawn, stretch and roll out of bed.

What's the first thing most of us think of after a long nap?

A snack.

Spring snook are just about the same, except their snack means a full feeding fest in which they will eat just about anything that doesn't eat them.

Spending the winter months tucked away in coastal rivers, creeks, canals and power-plant outflows, linesiders typically burst onto the flats and bays in early March.

An extremely cold-sensitive species, snook emerge when their internal thermostats and external thermometers come to an agreement on comfortable conditions. This generally coincides with a massive explosion of baitfish - mainly threadfin herring, which also are known as pilchards or whitebait.

Thrilled with the confirmed conclusion of a cold-front season, ecstatic over the abundance of blossoming bait schools and anxious for the approaching summer procreation, spring snook are as fired up as they get.

For inshore anglers, this is big fun. You can catch spring snook on artificials. But if someone showed up at your backyard barbecue and tried to sell you a fast-food burger, would you buy it?

Some might. Yet when the real thing is abundant, the impostors just don't get much attention. That's why at this time of year, daybreak hears the crash and splash of lead-lined monofilament hitting the coastal shallows.

The morning ritual of rounding up loads of frisky baits is a true labor of love. With about 200 pilchards swimming laps in the livewell, you're in good shape to tempt the snook with a round of appetizers and close the deal with the main course.

Like all predators, snook are opportunists at heart. They will hunt down a specific meal now and then, but a hungry fish will feed when food avails. Snook anglers can capitalize on this by chumming with handfuls of live baits.

During slow periods, or slack tides, the sudden appearance of food can spark a feeding flurry among otherwise lethargic fish. In the spring season, however, chumming generally is just a target location tactic.

Spread 12 or so livies across an area, then watch for the cannonball explosions that occur when a snook pops a pilchard at the surface. Hooked baits tossed into the hot zone rarely last long.

Because setting up too close to the snook will spook your quarry, you'll need to sling the chum baits as far as possible. Do this more than a couple times and fatigue becomes an issue.

Avoid unnecessary strain by using a simple yet effective chum launcher consisting of a 2-liter soft drink bottle mounted neck-first onto a wooden handle. With the bottle's bottom half removed, load 12 or more baits into the receptacle and whip them forward with the handle.

Not only will you get greater distance with more baits and superior accuracy, but you won't need to ice down your shoulder after each trip.

When presenting live baits, you will want to use medium-action spinning rods with plenty of snook-stopping backbone but a flexible tip for proper presentation.

If a rod tip is too stiff, there's not enough bend on the cast and your bait can pull off the hook in mid-flight.

Also, a flexible tip allows for better hooksets by gradually coming tight when the fish first picks up the bait. With too much tension, the snook senses unnatural pressure and spits out the bait.

Common snook rigs comprise 18 inches of 20- or 30-pound leader tied to 10- or 12-pound mainline and a 1/0-2/0 kahle-style hook.

The hook's wide gap and offset point tends to work its way into the snook's mouth with less pressure than a standard straight shank hook. Also, the Kahle hook's ample width allows baitfish maximum mobility for an authentic presentation.

In shallow water, hook the bait through the nose to keep it near the surface.

In deeper areas, belly hooking through the soft pocket just above the pectoral fin hangs the hook below the bait and influences it to swim deeper. In thick grass, you will want to float the bait and limit its diving range to just above the concealing grass.

With any hook position, give the bait just enough slack so it can move unhindered.

It will swim around in random patterns, looking for a hiding place. But the second your bait spots an approaching snook, it's showtime. When nervous darting drives the snook's aggression into high gear, somebody's getting chomped.

On the strike, reel up all slack, point the rod tip at the snook and set the hook with a firm, controlled upward stroke. Sharp hooks have a way of upsetting snook, so look for several long, hard runs punctuated by aerial acrobatics.

Fight duration will vary from fish-to-fish, but usually the 2-pounders will make up for their lack of size with spirited temper tantrums.

Keep the rod tip high, maintain constant pressure and gather line each time the fish pauses. Making the fight short is an important step in snook survival, as expending great amounts of energy in rapidly warming waters can exhaust a fish.

When the contest ends with a catch, take time to thoroughly revive your worthy opponent before release. Dropping a snook back into the drink won't cut it.

Hold the fish firmly by the lower jaw and support its tail as you gently lower it back into the water. Face the fish upcurrent and move it back and forth to force oxygenated flowing over its gills.

When a snook starts to recharge, it will lightly chomp down on your thumb and kick off by itself. This extra effort helps ensure plenty of snook for future spring emergence.

[Last modified March 12, 2005, 00:49:09]