What size hooks are best for catching snook?
The best all around hook size for catching keeper size snook is a 4/0 circle or j hook. A 4/0 hook size is stout enough to bring in a slot sized snook without straightening out but is small enough to catch the smaller snook too.
In this article, we will cover a lot of different scenarios using different baits for different sized snook in this article. The hooks that you will need to catch a few dozen snook with live shrimp or a small white bait are very different from huge over slot snook. We will cover the different hook sizes you will need for all baits for snook.
The author of this article is a FISHING CHARTER CAPTAIN. He has been fishing for snook on the grass flats, oyster bars and mangroves all over Florida for more than 40 years.
In the article below, we will talk about the best sizes of hooks to use for different snook fishing scenarios such as live baits, dead baits and lures.
Let's get started.
Watch the video below to learn more about how hook sizes work and the best size for snook.
The best all around hook size for catching keeper size snook is a 4/0 circle or j hook. A 4/0 hook size is stout enough to bring in a slot sized snook without straightening out but is small enough to catch the smaller snook too.
In this article, we will cover a lot of different scenarios using different baits for different sized snook in this article. The hooks that you will need to catch a few dozen snook with live shrimp or a small white bait are very different from huge over slot snook. We will cover the different hook sizes you will need for all baits for snook.
The author of this article is a FISHING CHARTER CAPTAIN. He has been fishing for snook on the grass flats, oyster bars and mangroves all over Florida for more than 40 years.
In the article below, we will talk about the best sizes of hooks to use for different snook fishing scenarios such as live baits, dead baits and lures.
Let's get started.
Watch the video below to learn more about how hook sizes work and the best size for snook.
What is the best hook size for snook using live baits?
Pin Fish:
Pin fish are a great bait for catching snook. Pin fish are snook candy so if you can get your hands on some pin fish. Do it. You can use the little ones that are 3 inches long to the huge ones that are bigger than your open hand.
Those delicious little fish will catch you a ton of snook. Snook have an extremely evolved lateral line that helps them feel the low frequency vibrations that pin fish make as the move through the grass and water.
Snook also have a very evolved sense of smell and sight so you have to get your hook size right when you fish with pin fish.
Those 3 inch pin fish will require a 2/0 circle or J hook. This is small enough so that the pin fish can move around and still big enough to hook a slot sized snook.
Those big open hand sized pin fish will require you to use a 4/0 or even a 5/0 hook size. Those big baits will lead to bigger snook so you will need to beef up your tackle too.
To learn more about the best tackle for snook fishing you can visit another page on this website that I created that cover in great detail all of the tackle that you will need.
The best technique for fishing with live pin fish is under a popping cork. The pin fish will try to swim straight down to the bottom because that is where they live.
You will want to have you line reach just above the grass flat or sand bar or wherever you are fishing. That will put your pin fish directly in the snook strike zone.
You can use them with a sinker or free lined only if you are fishing around sand or some place that there are no snags or cover for them. Then the pin fish cannot hide anywhere and the snook can find them easily.
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Mullet:
Mullet are larger than pin fish so you will often have to use a larger hook to maximize your snook catch numbers. I like to use a 5/0 circle hook when I am fishing with larger live mullet. The best way to fish with a live mullet against the mangroves or around a dock is to tail hook them.
A tail hooked mullet will pull against your line and stay right on top of the water sending out a ton of vibrations to attract snook. You have to make sure that your hook is not too big or the mullet will just sink to the bottom.
When you are drifting a grass flat or trolling a live mullet then you will want to hook the mullet in the lips so that it will move naturally in the water. If you tail hook them, then they will die when you are drifting or trolling.
Finger mullet are immature mullet that are usually 6 or 7 inches or less in length. These are great sizes because the smaller snook can eat them and the monster 40 inch plus snook will eat them too.
Finger mullet will require you to use a 3/0 or a 4/0 circle or J hook will be necessary to have the bait act more naturally.
Snook have excellent eyesight so you want to use as small of a hook as possible to catch them. This can be tricky but you have to do it when the water is clear. When the water is stained it is not as big of a deal. Water clarity is another factor that you will have to consider when you are choosing your hook size.
Watch the video below to see some snook action using a live finger mullet.
Live Shrimp:
Snook love live shrimp. In the winter months, most of the bait fish have moved on so snook will focus their feeding on live shrimp. That is why live shrimp works so well in the winter months.
Shrimp are small so you will definitely have to downsize your hook size if you want to catch them. You will have to use a 1/0 or a 2/0 circle hook when you are using live shrimp for snook.
These hooks are definitely on the small side for catching snook but it is more important to match your hook size to the size of the bait.
My favorite way to catch snook with shrimp is with a popping cork. Cast your shrimp and cork rig under docks or near underwater structure of some sort. The cork will keep the shrimp in the snook's strike zone.
White Baits:
White baits are scaled sardines, threadfin herring and menhaden. These three fish species have many different nicknames like pilchards, greenies, pogies, bunkers....... it just depends upon where you are in the state.
Scaled sardines and threadfin herring are usually 3 inches long or so. Those sized baits will require you to use a 1/0 or 2/0 hook size. If you go any bigger than that the fish won't be able to swim and will just float in the water or sink to the bottom.
In my part of Florida, the menhaden (a.k.a. pogies, bunker) come through in March. Those bunkers are usually 5 or 6 inches long when they show up in my area. A live bait that size will require you to use a 4/0 hook size.
I created an entire online snook fishing course that you can see right on this website. It is FREE and covers the best baits, lures, hooks, tips and techniques. You can find that by clicking right here.
What is the best hook size for snook using dead baits?
Dead bait is hands down the best way to catch a monster snook. All of my biggest snook, redfish, tarpon and speckled trout have all been caught using dead bait.
Larger, older and wiser snook do everything that they can to not waste any energy acquiring their food needs. It is all about calories spent versus calories gained.
Snook have an excellent sense of smell and will find a fresh dead bait offering up against the mangroves, under a dock or in a sandy spot in the grass flats.
They will come from as much as 100 yards away to eat a fresh dead chunk of fish.
Lady Fish:
A chunk of lady fish is a great choice for catching snook. Ladyfish are an oily and stinky fish that puts out a lot of odor molecules out into the water column.
Lady fish are harder to catch than mullet or whitebaits because you have to use a lure or a live bait set up to catch them. BUT if you can catch them they are some of the best baits that you can get for catching snook, tarpon, redfish and speckled trout.
You will want to use a nice big chunk of lady fish so that the catfish cannot swallow it. This is usually a chunk that is 5 or 6 inches long.
BIG BAITS CATCH BIG FISH!!!!
The lady fish heads don't seem to work as well as the heads of a mullet for bait but you can use the entire fish to catch snook. You can use the tail portion with the tail cut off or the middle part of the body. Just make sure that the size is too big for a catfish to eat or you will be catching sail cats all day.
Mullet:
A 12 inch mullet is a great choice for a dead bait fishing scenario. The head is the best part of the mullet for tarpon and snook. Some fish like redfish and speckled trout prefer the middle parts of the mullet for food.
You can get 3 nice pieces of mullet out of a 12 inch mullet. Cut the tail off and use the back piece; the middle piece and then the head. If you try and get 4 pieces out of a 12 inch mullet then you will be using baits small enough for catfish to eat and you don't want that.
The best hook size for this scenario will range from a 3/0 to a 5/0 depending upon the size of the baits that you are using. Just about all of my dead bait fishing scenarios call for a 5/0 sized hook.
You will want to use it the same way that you use the lady fish. Just pitch it up to where you think a snook might be now or soon and wait. Any structure will do. It might be a dock piling, an old tire, a log, mangrove roots, tidal creek mouths....... just think to yourself, "where would a snook be?"
The snook in the video below was caught with a huge mullet chunk placed on the edge of a sandbar where the deeper water starts. Those drop offs are great places to look for snook, tarpon, redfish and speckled trout.
Watch the video below to see some dead bait snook action and tips.
Conclusion:
Choosing the correct hook size for snook fishing could mean the difference between catching a ton of snook or not catching a ton of snook. The key is matching the hook size with the bait size that you are using.
Snook are one of those fish that stays near the bottom most of the time. The key to catching them is to keep your dead bait or live bait near the bottom too. You will need to figure out where the snook are most likely to be and then present the proper bait or lure to the hungry snook in the area.
Snook are one of those bucket list fish that anglers from all over the world come to catch. These fish make the state of Florida many hundreds of thousands of dollars from visiting anglers.
That is why the (FWC) Florida Wildlife Committee regulates this fish species so intensely. There are seasons that come and go during the year and a very strict size limit for keeping a snook.
Snook are one of my favorite fish to target because they have amazing first runs. They will rip the line right off of your reels and make the gears smoke if you get a big one.
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