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Fresh Take On Snook

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By FRANK SARGEANT | The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 12, 2007

Snook are saltwater fish, but as winter draws near, many that have spent the summer on the warm, shallow grass flats will change their stripes, so to speak, and become freshwater species.

It starts with a major movement into the lower rivers, typically in mid- to late October. The fish stay in this water for several weeks, perhaps acclimating to the brackish water mix. But when the first cold front of November arrives, they head upstream, and some of them keep on going until they're many miles from the coast, in water that usually supports only bass and bluegills.

Among the rivers noted for these migrations are the Pithlachascotee and the Anclote north of the Bay area. Good winter rivers flowing into Tampa Bay itself include the Hillsborough, Alafia, Little Manatee and Manatee. At Charlotte Harbor, the Peace and Manatee rivers have plenty of winter snook, with fish on the Peace sometime traveling as much as 30 miles upstream. And the Caloosahatchee at Fort Myers is another famed winter snook route, with fish moving all the way to Lake Okeechobee at times.

All the rivers in the Everglades also get winter snook migrations, and fortunately in cooler weather the fish can be pursued without dealing with the hordes of mosquitoes and no-see-ums that are common there along the coast throughout the summer.

No one is sure why the snook move up the rivers, but biologists think it's because they are seeking warmer water. The rivers are 'blackwater' for the most part, stained by tannin from cypress trees and other vegetation, and the black water absorbs the sun's heat better than clear water on the flats. The rivers also have lots of deep holes, and depth provides insulation during cold snaps. Finally, many rivers have springs flowing into them, with water from these seeps typically around 70 degrees, no matter how cold the air temperature. It all goes together to create winter 'spas' where the fish can keep warm.

Researchers have found that snook begin to die from cold shock when water temperature drops into the lower 50s, especially if the fall is rapid, as it is on the flats when a strong cold front blows through. Fish that move into the river sanctuaries are much more likely to survive a wintry blast, and so the trait is passed on.

Whether it will continue to be advantageous if our winters grow ever warmer, as they appear to be doing, remains to be seen. We have not had a severe freeze in more than 10 years, while prior to 1995 it was common to get two or three per winter. In the winter of 1989, when I first moved on to the Little Manatee, some 10,000 snook were killed in the lower river and along the shores of Tampa Bay by a night that fell into the mid-20s.

In any case, once the fish move into the rivers, they are a captive audience for anglers. The snook tend to stack up in deep bends, around docks and bridge pilings, and under logs and overhanging tree limbs. When the tide falls and water pulls out of side creeks, the fish often hang on the edge of the drop to attack baitfish forced out of the shallows.

The classic bait for snook in the rivers is a topwater, with fairly small lures like the Rapala among the favorites. Some anglers also do well with big, noisy plugs like the Top Dog early in the season when the fish have first moved upstream, but they tend to get plug shy after being worked on for a few weeks.

Plastic shrimp drifted under dock lights is another effective tactic, and fly rodders often do well after sundown by casting small white or tan flies to the lights to imitate small shrimp or glass minnows.

Live shrimp are, of course, among the best possible offerings, though if you get too far upriver the shrimp are likely to die due to the fresh water. Some anglers also do well on big snook by fishing tilapia about 4 to 6 inches long in the deep holes.

A classic winter tactic, imported by Midwestern anglers, is to troll diving plugs through the deepest holes in the rivers. It can be boring, but it's a good way of finding where the snook are hanging out, and it does produce some very large fish for those who are persistent.

Not all fish go to the rivers - at least as many travel into the Intracoastal Waterway, and you can see dozens and sometimes hundreds around the docklights from Clearwater south all the way to Fort Myers along this inside passage.

Winter snook rules have changed this year, with the closed season beginning on Dec. 1 and continuing through February, a full three months, on the Gulf Coast. The size limit here is 28 to 33 inches, the bag limit one daily, and you need a snook permit in addition to the saltwater license to retain snook, even if you catch them in totally fresh water.

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