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Updated 3/24/08
A Week Of Ups And Downs And Plenty Of Snook
by Capt. Matt Mitchell
High winds made for a roller coaster of a week on the water. The
fishing was more consistent than it has been but running a boat
around out there was rough and wet to say the least. March is
usually a little windy but it has been blowing for weeks in a
row. Here is the catch 22: Water is warm and the fish are
feeding but wind conditions are just too rough to get to where
you know the fish are.
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Fishing on a few extra-windy
days mid-week conditions where so rough I never even crossed the Sound
with my charters. We stayed up close to Pine Island and fished from York
Island to Demiere key. Deeper shorelines and sand holes on the low water
produced a nice mixed bag of fish. Most deeper water areas that were
sheltered from the wind and had moving tide held redfish, trout and
snook.
Snook fishing was the best bet all week with close to a dozen fish
caught every day. Most of the fish were 22 to 26 inches and fed well on
live pinfish and shiners. Several much bigger fish were hooked and lost.
The week seemed like it was all about that big one that got away with
one big snook lost to the mangrove roots on what seemed to be a daily
basis. Three charters in a row I watched helplessly as big snook got the
better of my anglers.
The most memorable such break-off of the week came fishing the back wall
of Wulfert Keys. After a few short snook were pulled from under a
mangrove, a much larger snook picked up a tail-hooked pinfish and made a
head-shaking, drag-screaming 20-yard run down the barnacle-crusted
shoreline. The angler went down low with the rod tip and managed to
steer the fish free of the cover. Breathing a sigh of relief I thought
we had her beat as she came out 20 feet from the trees. A second later
like she took a breath of air and, fully rejuvenated, the big fish made
that classic big snook move: a head down, quick 180-degree turn and
another blazing run right straight back towards us and the mangroves. We
watched in amazement as the line hit the roots and broke. There was
simply nothing that could have been done.
Landing that big snook on light tackle is not an easy thing to do. On
the bright side, losing that big snook gives you that fever and keeps
anglers coming back for more, year after year. I like to refer to it as
job security.
Long-time client Jay Kapella from Michigan did manage to break the big
snook drought on my boat this week. After catching a 22-inch redfish at
the first stop of the day, things slowed down as we waited for the tide
to start coming back in. Working a few spots out of the wind Jay caught
a few smaller snook as the fish began to turn on with the moving tide.
While anchored and fishing a favorite channel, we saw a big snook come
up on the surface and chase one of our hooked pinfish. After three or
four explosions on top and a few big swirls the snook simply gave up on
that bait. Watching the big snook chase the bait around and not eat the
hook was driving us crazy. On the next cast the fish came out from the
mangroves chasing the fresh lively pinfish up to the surface again. The
big snook popped it once and missed it, swirled back under the pinfish
and just creamed it. After a few strong runs and some great head-shaking
jumps we boated the 31-incher.
Thanks Jay I needed that one!
Click the links below to view copies of my other recent reports.
02/11/2008
- 03/03/2008
- 03/10/2008
- 03/17/2008
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