Fishing with George Tunison | Nothing’s better than sight fishing snook in clear shallows
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From bluegills to bonefish, in my angling world nothing beats sight fishing. At the end of my seawall there are several vacant lots ending in sandy natural shorelines. During low tide phases it's not unusual to see snook sunning themselves in the clear shallows and why I planted a large bush at the end of my seawall to hide behind and observe without being seen.
Earlier in the week I slowly parted the leaves to look and there it was, belly to the sand 30 yards away enjoying the warmth of the afternoon sun in the crystal clear water. Casting around the tree without exposing myself, I let the soft plastic settle 10 yards beyond the fish. After waiting for a long minute I slow hopped the bait five yards away going past the fish. Instantly it woke from its nap, and quickly turned, fins now fully extended in attack mode and in a flash darted out and inhaled the bait. Looking down in the clear shallow water from my seawall height advantage I clearly watched every move of the fight including several jumps and runs.
I would like to report this 45-inch monster almost spooled my ultra-lite outfit, but in reality this slightly less than 30-inch warrior put on a great show and to be able to clearly observe the strike and fight was a beautiful thing. Nothing beats sight fishing in clear shallow water.
Not all snook are at the beach doing their summer spawn as I caught this fish from my home's lot at the top of the spreader canal, but thousands of his brothers and sisters certainly are coastal. Over the years I've observed many large female snook at the top of the spreader canal during summer. Did these big females simply choose not to go to the beach? Had they already been, done their thing and swam all the way up into the Northwest Cape to recuperate which doesn't seem likely? Maybe too old to spawn? I can't tell you and the fish aren't talking.
A 40-inch Southwest Florida snook is approximately 10 years old. A little research shows that not all snook spawn every summer while others may spawn several times during the warm water period and, according to our FWC, sometimes "every other day" releasing millions of eggs.
It's interesting to note that a 10-year-old, 40-inch long east coast snook will weigh somewhere between 25 to 30 pounds while the same age and length fish will average about 22 pounds here in Southwest Florida.
With most fish at the beach, sight casters wait for east winds to pursue their favorite sport. East winds means a quieter surf zone making spotting fish much easier as anglers and fish move along the beach. With a bright blue sky above, is it necessary to dress all in light blue to blend and help camouflage yourself from prying eyes in the clear Gulf waters? Some think so, others not so much. I'm from the not so much group choosing instead to not move around but simply stand, waiting and watching for a 10 to 15-minute period before relocating further down the shoreline.
Hot lures for surf zone snook include silver spoons and white bucktails or Z-Man white soft plastic jigs on 1/4 to 3/8-ounce jig heads. MirrOlure twitch baits and at times natural color DOA Shrimp can do the trick when slowly floated along naturally with the current. It's no secret that snook love topwater plugs so firing one down the beach in the very early morning before sight fishing is possible can pay off with an explosive strike.
Many snook purists refuse to harass these fish during the spawn and I can't argue with that. Guess I'm not in this group but I do take great pains to make non-handling, in-the-water-only releases a priority.
Capt. George Tunison is a Cape Coral resident fishing guide. You can contact him at 239-579-0461 or via email at captgeorget3@aol.com.