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 flyfishing 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 prowing 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 accellerate, and turn as they eat it. I’ll post some fly patterns next time….but there’s only one fly you need for this….the DT.
nice work marsh … i truly enjoy fly fishing from foot on the beaches, wether it’s for snook in florida or albies/bonito/stripers here in the northeast … of course, i love the boat game too and there is no doubt that a boat gets you more access to a variety of fish and species that are otherwise inaccessible from foot … with that said, the game changes and the rewards change …. so, many times this season i left my boat on the dock and pursued the albies on foot … in the saltwater, i enjoy both the foot and the boat games equally … nice work spotting and tricking them from foot … hopefully we get to take a couple casts to some tarpon down there together this season ..
Great post very informative. I would love the opportunity to some day fish Snook and Tarpon from shore I think it would be pretty similar to stalking big striper from the beach always a ton to learn. Great description of the hunt…
Alex
Marsh, I love sight fishing, that sounds like an absolute blast! Taking a walk in the sun sounds like a nice option too, especially on a beach. The sound my frozen fly line makes as it goes through the eyes of the rod is disgusting.
Mad-Dawg Demott!
Good to see a post from the sunny side of the east coast. Good read. I felt like I was on the hunt for snook right there with you. Cool how this sport does at times truly feel more like hunting than fishing. Some situations call for the angler to be a sniper, and looks like you had a direct hit. Congrats on the nice beach Snook!
I hope you can come down here again, Dave!
b-careful wading in the cold water.
p.s. a guy got stung yesterday on the beach by a ray…!
I hope we get out down here this winter and fish a day together….this time let’s go with one of the local guides, maybe jeff, kevin or tom!
thanks alex.
marsh
boz-mon…
it’s a hunt alright…when they’re there and over bait…Diane walked with me yesterday …loved the walk and she saw fish too, way better than most newbees. too bad the Snook were super-wary….I must have spooked four or five fish by laying the fly gently 5 feet from them. I hope you get to come down this winter and we can fish a day or 2!