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Daily fishing report

© St. Petersburg Times,
published October 15, 2001

A week of predominantly easterly wind and good water flow has helped cleanse the bay of our most recent bout of Red Tide. Poor water clarity and an abundance of floating grass and weeds have made for difficult fishing in exposed areas.

Backwater snook fishing has been the best bet. Snook have been holding tight to mangroves on a high tide. I prefer a premium 2.0 live bait hook, a small float with 2 feet of 30-pound fluorocarbon leader and a lively, select shrimp that will allow you to fish within inches of the mangroves and draw snook out. Pay close attention to your float, react quickly to the bite and keep firm pressure on the fish to keep them from going back in the mangrove roots and busting off.

Practice casting before heading to the backwaters. It is essential to make fairly long casts and present your baits as close to the structure as possible. Every time you have to pole up to the shoreline to retrieve your rig from the limbs and roots, you spook the fish for 50 feet around.

Don't get discouraged; even the best anglers end up in the brush occasionally. That's the nature of snook fishing. They are structure-oriented and if you are not close to the structure you are missing a lot of fish.

-- Capt. Dan Brooks charters out of St. Petersburg and can be reached at (727) 867-7856 or by e-mail at wildd1@gte.net.

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