Common Snook

The common snook is a sleek, silvery fish instantly known by the hard black lateral line that runs from the gill to the tail and by its sloping, protruding lower jaw. The body is elongate with a high divided dorsal fin and yellow-tinted fins, and large fish readily top 40 inches.

Snook are inshore residents of the warm western Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico, and Caribbean, with a stronghold in Florida. They hold tight to mangrove shorelines, passes, inlets, bridges, docks, and river mouths. Sensitive to cold, they retreat into warmer backwaters and canals through winter.

As ambush predators they stack along current edges and structure, waiting for bait to sweep past. Live pilchards, mullet, and shrimp are deadly, while anglers also throw soft-plastic jigs, swimbaits, and topwater plugs at dawn and dusk. Fish tight to cover with 20 to 40 pound leader, since snook chafe and cut line on pilings and their sharp gill plates. Moving water on the tide is the key trigger.