The Complete Snook Tackle Box Basics
The perfect snook tackle box setups for maximizing your catch should include flair hawk snook jigs, 4 inch paddle tails in white and root beer or purple and a walk the dog top water lure like a Zara Spook.
Snook are voracious marine predators that eat crabs, shrimp and fish. When you are targeting big snook you will want to use big lures.
There are different times when you should use different lures to catch more snook.
Snook Fishing in the Day
The number one pick for big snook during the daylight hours is 4 to 6 inch paddle tail lures. You can set up this lure with a jig head; a weed less hook; a weed less hook with a pinch weight or rigged as a Texas rig.
All of these techniques will help you catch snook based upon where you are fishing for them. Go weed less when you are fishing around mangroves or any sort of structure so you don't lose a ton of lures.
A straight jig head with the paddle tail is your best bet for open water scenarios. I like to use a 1/8 ounce up to a 1/2 ounce depending upon depth and current.
I am an INSHORE FISHING GUIDE on the Treasure Coast of Florida. I have been fishing the grass flats, mangroves, beaches and docks for snook all over the state of Florida for more than 40 years.
In the article below, I will cover the best snook tackle box setup for catching tons of big snook. Let's get started.
Watch the video below to learn the best snook tackle box setup.
The perfect snook tackle box setups for maximizing your catch should include flair hawk snook jigs, 4 inch paddle tails in white and root beer or purple and a walk the dog top water lure like a Zara Spook.
Snook are voracious marine predators that eat crabs, shrimp and fish. When you are targeting big snook you will want to use big lures.
There are different times when you should use different lures to catch more snook.
Snook Fishing in the Day
The number one pick for big snook during the daylight hours is 4 to 6 inch paddle tail lures. You can set up this lure with a jig head; a weed less hook; a weed less hook with a pinch weight or rigged as a Texas rig.
All of these techniques will help you catch snook based upon where you are fishing for them. Go weed less when you are fishing around mangroves or any sort of structure so you don't lose a ton of lures.
A straight jig head with the paddle tail is your best bet for open water scenarios. I like to use a 1/8 ounce up to a 1/2 ounce depending upon depth and current.
I am an INSHORE FISHING GUIDE on the Treasure Coast of Florida. I have been fishing the grass flats, mangroves, beaches and docks for snook all over the state of Florida for more than 40 years.
In the article below, I will cover the best snook tackle box setup for catching tons of big snook. Let's get started.
Watch the video below to learn the best snook tackle box setup.
The Complete Tackle Box continued.....
The number one, go to snook fishing lure is the paddle tails mentioned above. You just have to include this lure in your snook tackle box. They are just that effective.
You can fish them with various hooks and with various retrieves. The paddle tail creates those low frequency vibrations that snook and other predatory fish just can't resist.
Snook Fishing at Sunrise and Sunset
Your next lure for catching BIG snook in low light scenarios is a walk the dog type of lure like a Zara Spook, Mirrolure Top Dog or a Rapala Skitter Walk. These lures all look basically the same and they all do the same thing so you have to decide which brands you want to use.
Get an all white one and a natural looking one for best results.
Snook Fishing at Night
The undisputed champion lure for night time snook fishing is the flair hawk snook jig. It has always worked and will always work for catching huge snook at night.
You will need a white one for clear water scenarios and a chartreuse one for dirty water scenarios. That is all the colors that you will need to become a night time snook catching machine.
I wrote another article that covers in great detail how to use a snook flair hawk jig. You can access it by clicking right here.
Rods and Reels
You need to get yourself a medium or medium heavy rod for pitching paddle tails all day. I like to use a medium heavy rod if I am fishing around docks for snook. The extra backbone really helps you dig those snook out of the structure.
When I am fishing the open grass flats and bays the medium action rod is better. You will get less tired using the lighter rod and you will get better action with your paddle tails because of the softer backbone.
My reel of choice is a 3500 series because it is heavy enough to handle snook close to 40 inches long and it is light enough to cast lures all day without getting too tired.
The perfect reel for open bays and grass flats is probably the 2500 series if you want to buy the perfect reel for every scenario.
When you are pitching the flair hawk jigs at night the best reel will probably be something heavy like a 4500 to a 5500 series reel. You really need the strong drag to get those monster snook out of deep water around structure.
Lines and Leaders
I like to use 10 pound braided line with a 30 pound mono filament leader when I am targeting snook in the open bays and grass flats. The 10 pound braid will cast a mile and you can get a lot of it on a reel so you won't get spooled.
When I am fishing around docks I like to have a 25 or 30 pound leader to get those snook out that are wrapped around pilings. You are much less likely to land a fish with the stronger line.
Flair hawk snook jig fishing will require even heavier line like 30 or even 40 to get those big fish from down deep around structure. You will also want to beef up your leader to 40, 50 or even 60 pounds.
I created a complete online video snook fishing course. You can access it by getting on our email list today.