Tampa Bay’s snook season kicks off this month! In fact, Tampa Bay is one of the very best places in the world to fish for snook in the springtime, and every angler out there will have these big-fighting, sweet-tasting fish on their minds.
Snook are some of the most popular fish in the Tampa Bay area—for catching as well as eating—and that’s why there are such strict regulations about fishing them in order to manage the local snook populations.
With the FWC’s new regional snook management guidelines for 2024, we’ll only have March and April 2024 to bring snook home with us. And in fact, recreational and charter fishing operations are the only people legally allowed to bag snook. Commercial fishermen aren’t allowed to go after them, and you won’t find them on any menus or in any markets: Snook are illegal to sell, in any form, in the state of Florida.
That’s right, the only way to get snook is to catch them yourself.
So book your Tampa Bay fishing charter boat today, and Capt. Chase will take you where the snook are. We’ll even clean your catch for when we get back to the dock!
Why are snook so popular in March and April in Tampa Bay?
First of all, snook are just super-fun to fish for. And they’re at their most aggressive this time of year, so you don’t have to spend a lot of time coaxing them out of hiding. They’ve just spent the cooler months in warmer freshwaters like the Alafia, Hillsborough, Little Manatee and Manatee rivers. In March and April, the snook return to Tampa Bay, and they are hungry. We drop our live bait in the right spot, and they’re a pretty easy target.
And when they hit the hook, snook fight hard. They’re strong pullers, relative to their size. And this time of year we’re mostly getting snook in the 20” to 25” range, but it’s not uncommon for us to land them up to 36”. That’s a lot of fish to fight in any species, and with snook, you’re sure to have a great time. An easy hook but a hard reel equals a fun day on the boat.
Secondly, snook are super tasty. And like we said above, you don’t have a chance to taste snook unless you catch them yourself. There’s something super-satisfying about eating your own catch. But on top of that, snook give you a mild, fairly firm white meat that’s great for a backyard grill (or any other preparation).
Where can you catch snook in Tampa Bay this season?
In March when the tide is high, we target snook around Tampa Bay’s mangrove points and islands—that is, places with pronounced currents, which snook love, as well as sneaky hiding spots where the snook like to ambush their prey.
In low tides, we fish for snook in grassy potholes, where snook will once again lie in wait for passing food that can’t help but swim right over them. These little snook hidey-holes are prevalent in relatively shallow Tampa Bay when you know where to look for them.
What kind of bait and tackle do you use to fish for snook in Tampa Bay?
We’ll hook you up with light tackle and live bait to bag your limit of snook. Specifically, you’ll probably be fishing this season with a 20lb fluorocarbon leader and 1/0 circle hooks, baited with greenback, threadfin, and shrimp—basically, things that are irresistible to snook this time of year.
But you don’t need to know the specifics, because Unreel will take you to the snook and set you up with exactly what you need to catch them. Once you book your Tampa Bay fish charter this spring, then all you have to do is get ready for an awesome time on the water with Capt. Chase. (And maybe have the grill fired up and some great snook recipes waiting for when you get home.) The fish won’t see us coming!
Deckard & Company