Hook And Cook A Snook

I don't often kill snook, but at least once a year I like to validate the fact that they are among the tastier of saltwater fishes.

So, I put one in the box.

If you're inclined likewise, the next few weeks will be prime time to catch a slot fish and invite it home to dinner. And according to state biologists, as long as all of us stick strictly to the legal bag limit of one fish daily, a little snook on the table is not going to harm the fishery, which in general seems to be doing very well on both coasts.

The fish will be coming out of winter refuges, and the first place for anglers to seek them is at the mouths of coastal rivers and canal systems. The fish ease out on the flats, particularly on sunny afternoons, to soak up the heat and get their metabolism up so they can start running down baitfish.

Many canal systems have turning basins or dredge areas near their entry into open water, and these are likely staging spots for snook on the move. So are docks, overhanging mangroves and riprap shoreline.

And at river mouths, any potholes or sloughs within a mile or so of the outflow will be worth checking the rest of this month.

With a good eye and Polarized glasses, it's often possible to see the snook on the flats - and where you see one, there are likely to be a half-dozen more that you don't see. Sometimes, they come out in schools of dozens.

Live shrimp will continue to be a good bait for the next couple of weeks, while sardines of adequate size might be a little difficult to find. As soon as sardines 2 to 4 inches long start showing up, they are hard to beat as prime snook baits, as well as for live chum.

Among artificials, plastic shrimp such as the DOA are effective in early spring, as are small jigs. As the fish become more active, sardine imitations such as the MirrOdine or swimbaits such as the Tsunami come into their own, and weedless jerkbaits are also effective in grassy areas. In waters where the fish run large and finger mullet are a favorite food, the No. 3 Reflecto spoon is a great lure.

Specifically, some of the rivers that will be worth checking include the Anclote and Pithlachascotee north of the Tampa Bay area; the Alafia, Little Manatee and Manatee rivers feeding Tampa Bay; and the Peace and Myakka rivers feeding Charlotte Harbor. Also on Tampa Bay, sloughs coming out of Rocky Creek, Double Branch, Weedon Island, Cockroach Bay and Bishop's Harbor will be likely, while at Charlotte Harbor the areas around Bull Bay and Turtle Bay are famed snook fisheries, as is the Matlacha Pass region between the mainland and Pine Island. The flats near the mouth of the Caloosahatchee River at Fort Myers also will be productive.

While it's not difficult to catch snook at this time of year, catching a keeper might take some doing. The slot on these fish is now a scant 5 inches; only fish between 28 and 33 inches long can be kept on our coast, and the limit is one per person per day. Most guides report catching 50 or more undersized snook for every keeper.

Of course, these tight limits are resulting in more and bigger snook in our waters every year, so the fact it's difficult to get one to fillet is no bad thing.

The fact that most snook you hook won't be legal for harvest puts a burden on the angler, though, to handle the fish properly so it's likely they will survive the release process. It's best to flatten barbs for easy de-hooking.

And if you know a fish is too big or too small to keep, try to remove the hooks without bringing it in the boat. Take a quick picture in the water at boatside for your bragging book, then slip out the hooks and let it swim away.

On fish that are brought into the boat for measuring, biologists say they should never be hoisted vertically by the jaw, which is likely to dislocate the jawbone. Instead, grab the jaw in your right hand and support the tail with your left and lift the fish in horizontally. Measure it on a wetted tape; if it's too big or too small, snap a quick photo and get it back over the side immediately.

Fish you keep should immediately go into a bed of chipped ice. Fillet and skin them, and you can then cook the flesh any way you like. Fried, baked or broiled, it's a delicious treat, particularly if you enjoy it only once or twice a year.