What is the best tide for snook fishing?
The best tide for snook fishing is the first two hours of the outgoing high tide. The outgoing tide washes shrimp, crabs and small fish out of the estuaries, mangroves and grass flats right into the mouths of the hungry inshore snook.
A full moon or new moon outgoing tide is optimal because there is more moving water to bring food to the hungry snook.
The outgoing tide is a great tide to fish for just about any species of fish, not just for snook. Predatory fish count on the outgoing tide to wash food items out of their hiding places so that they can get something to eat.
It is also easier for snook fishing because the outgoing tide has dirtier water than the clean incoming tides so it is easier to fool snook into eating your lures and baits.
If you can't fish the outgoing tide, then you just need to fish a moving tide whether it is an incoming or outgoing tide. Snook like to eat when there is moving water. I don't think that I have ever caught a snook during the slack tide when the water is still.
The author of this article is a FISHING CHARTER CAPTAIN. He has been fishing the grass flats, oyster bars and mangroves all over Florida for more than 40 years.
In the article below, we will talk about the the best tides for snook fishing and the best baits, lures and techniques.
Let's get started.
Watch the video below to learn more about the tide that is best for snook fishing.
The best tide for snook fishing is the first two hours of the outgoing high tide. The outgoing tide washes shrimp, crabs and small fish out of the estuaries, mangroves and grass flats right into the mouths of the hungry inshore snook.
A full moon or new moon outgoing tide is optimal because there is more moving water to bring food to the hungry snook.
The outgoing tide is a great tide to fish for just about any species of fish, not just for snook. Predatory fish count on the outgoing tide to wash food items out of their hiding places so that they can get something to eat.
It is also easier for snook fishing because the outgoing tide has dirtier water than the clean incoming tides so it is easier to fool snook into eating your lures and baits.
If you can't fish the outgoing tide, then you just need to fish a moving tide whether it is an incoming or outgoing tide. Snook like to eat when there is moving water. I don't think that I have ever caught a snook during the slack tide when the water is still.
The author of this article is a FISHING CHARTER CAPTAIN. He has been fishing the grass flats, oyster bars and mangroves all over Florida for more than 40 years.
In the article below, we will talk about the the best tides for snook fishing and the best baits, lures and techniques.
Let's get started.
Watch the video below to learn more about the tide that is best for snook fishing.
What tide is best for snook fishing the inlets?
The outgoing tide is the best tide for snook fishing in the inlets with artificial baits. This may seem obvious to most fishermen but the outgoing tides are dirtier than the clean incoming tides.
The dirty water makes it harder for the snook to see that your artificial lures are not real. This doesn't mean that you can't catch some big snook with artificial lures on the clean incoming tides but it is harder to get those bites for sure.
The best way to fish the outgoing tides in an inlet is to use a flair hawk jig that you can bounce off of the bottom or at the very least swim it within a couple feet of the bottom. I wrote another article on this website that covers in great detail how to use a flair hawk jig for snook fishing. You can view that article by clicking right here.
Another great lure to fish in the inlets is a lipped plug like a bomber lure. Most inlets are at least 30 feet deep so you need to get you lure down to at least that deep to catch any snook unless you are fishing the shallower sides of the inlets next to the rocks or cement walls that usually are used for inlet boundaries.
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What tide is best for snook fishing bridges?
The outgoing tide is that best tide for snook fishing the bridges too. Bridges hold some huge snook. Those big females and smaller males will be right at the base of the structures facing into the current. They are waiting for the moving tide to bring food to where they are waiting to ambush them.
Days that have strong tides are better than days that have weak tides. On weak tides, the bite will usually be week too. This means that you will want to fish the days before and after the full moon and new moon phases if you can.
Those will be your strongest tides. It makes it harder to fish because the current is greater but it can yield some monster snook. You will need to use more weight to get down to the bottom around bridge pilings.
Just remember that snook will be facing the current so you will have to cast up current if you are using lures. If you are using live baits, then you can let the current take your bait to the snook. This means you can fish from up current if you are using live baits.
What tide is best for snook fishing spoil islands, docks, and channels through sandbars, mudflats and grassflats?
Spoil Islands
The channels that run between spoil islands is a great spot to fish for snook during the incoming and outgoing tides. The snook will wait to ambush shrimp, crabs and small fish that are brought through their feeding gauntlet between spoil islands.
You will want to get your live bait or dead bait on the bottom of the deepest parts of these channels. Whatever amount of lead that you use make sure that it is just enough to keep your bait stuck to the bottom. You don't want it to moves once you cast it in place.
If you want to use lures for fishing this area then you will want to use jigs. Any sort of jig will work just fine in these areas. A flair hawk jig or a jig with a plastic paddle tail will also work very well in these areas. Just remember to cast your lure up current because the snook will usually be facing into the incoming or outgoing current.
Docks
Docks are an excellent place to fish for snook regardless of the tidal flow. All that you need is the moving water and current to get those big snook to bite your hook around docks. The outgoing tide is probably a little better but not by much. I wouldn't not fish the docks based on the direction of the tide. Snook will cruise the shoreline under the docks during the higher parts of the tide.
I wrote another article on this website that covers in great detail how to catch a snook around docks. You can see that article by clicking right here.
Quite often they will be within a foot or two of the shoreline. The best cast that you can make with a lure is parallel to the shoreline during the higher parts of the tide. Snook like to pin their prey against the shoreline to take away one escape root for their food.
When the tide is towards the lower end, then you will want to fish the deeper parts of the docks around the pilings or any pot holes that are near the docks. I like to target docks that have large boats tied to them.
The reason that I like docks with big boats is because they need deeper water to launch. This means that there will be a deeper channel near those docks and snook love deep channels to wait and ambush unwary prey items that are washed over them during the incoming and outgoing tides.
Channels
The channels through sandbars, mudflats and grass flats are great places to fish for snook with the incoming and outgoing tides. You just need moving water to catch snook. The stronger tides will be better but any moving water and current will work.
Snook love to hunt in deep channels and let the tide bring the fish, shrimp and crabs that they like so much right to them. They will be hiding in some deep hole or behind a rock or something waiting for the current to bring them some lunch.
The key to catching the snook is to get your bait down to the deep parts of the channel or to any points that are adjacent to deeper channels. Snook love to ambush prey around points.
PRO TIP: If you are on the grass flats looking for a channel to fish make sure that you don't forget to fish the sandy potholes in the grass flats too. Snook will wait in those sandy pothole depressions waiting for the tide to bring them prey items too.
What tide is best for snook fishing in the Winter?
The best tide for snook fishing in the Winter months is often the incoming tide. Why? It is not because the tide brings them food if that is what you are thinking. That is usually the outgoing tides.
Snook cannot handle cold water. They are a very tropical fish and water temperatures around 60 degrees will kill them if it lasts more than a day or two.
They will often feed better when the warmer Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico waters flow into the colder inshore waters. The warmer temperatures make these cold blooded fish more energetic and more able to chase after prey items in the winter.
A good place to find these winter snook is around bridges that are directly adjacent to the Gulf of Mexico or the Atlantic Ocean. They will be in the deepest part of the water column near the bridge pilings.
Inlets are obviously another good fishing spot for snook when the warm incoming tides heat everything up. Again the snook will probably be down in the deeper holes and rocks depending on the inlets that you are fishing.
Watch the video below to see snook fishing off of the beach at high tide.
What is the best tide for snook fishing off the beach?
The best tide for snook fishing off of the beach is high tide. The last two hours of the incoming high tide and the first two hours of the outgoing high tide are the best time for surf fishing in general.
The snook and the other larger predators can move closest to the beach when the water volume is at its highest level. The prey items know this and will be right in the trough within a few feet of shore.
The snook, tarpon, sharks and every other predator know this and will move right next to the beach when the high tide raises the water volume enough for them to safely approach the shore. A great lure for snook off of the beach is a paddle tail from 3 inches to 8 inches in length.
Another great lure for snook off of the beach is a top water walk the dog type of lure that mimics as mullet. This is a great lure for snook and tarpon when you are surf fishing.
Conclusion:
Snook are one of the most popular game fish in Florida. Fishermen come from all over the world to get a shot at these amazing fish. You really don't need to just focus on the incoming tides when the water is cold and the outgoing tides when the waters are warm to catch snook.
You just need to find moving waters. Just a little bit of current is enough to get the snook biting most of the time. They will often just cruise with the tide hoping to find some unwary prey items or they might just lie and wait for a delicious morsel to swim to them. You just never know. That is why snook are such a fun fish to target when you are fishing inshore.
The week of the full moon and the new moon is usually the best tides for snook fishing because those tides are more powerful. They are more powerful because the gravity of the moon is more powerful. Snook feed very well during these times of strong tides.
I hope this article helps you catch more snook or at least have more fun trying. Thanks for reading this article.
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