Fishing Docks For Redfish And Snook [Best Lure & Tactics]

Fishing Docks For Redfish & Snook

One of the most overlooked types of fishing for anglers seeking redfish and snook is dock fishing.

It’s talked about all of the time for bass anglers, but it seems to not get nearly as much attention in the saltwater fishing community.

I’m not sure exactly why that is, but it’s certainly not due to it being ineffective.

I personally find it to be one of the most dependable types of fishing for consistently catching redfish and snook because docks provide great habitat for small baitfish (aka – food) and great protection from larger predators like dolphin and sharks.

But there absolutely are some adjustments that need to be made for it to be successful, so I put this video together to show some dock fishing tactics in action as well as a lure that I really like using for this type of fishing.

Fishing Docks Video

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Tactics For Dock Fishing

Here’s a quick list of the top things to consider when fishing docks for redfish, snook, seatrout, etc.:

• Use a good lure for skipping up under the docks
• Get comfortable skip casting from both sides (right and left)
• Try various depths until you hone in on where the most fish are holding
• After pulling a fish out, be sure to try some more casts under that same dock because there will often be more
• Don’t forget fish the shorelines in between the docks too because there will often be fish traveling down the shoreline (like the nice flounder in the video)
• When a fish wraps you around a piling, be sure to NOT pull back hard because that’ll most often break the line… instead, lessen the tension on the line and try to keep the line from rubbing back and forth along the piling.

Best Lure For Fishing Docks

My personal favorite lure for fishing docks is a soft plastic rigged on a small jig head.

I like them because they are less likely to get snagged on underwater structure than a lure with treble hooks, and they are less costly if there are any breakoffs.

The soft plastics that I rely on most are ones like Gulp shrimp that have good scent to help increase strike percentages.

The con on Gulp Shrimp is that they are often quick to get torn up given that the new formula is weak enough to allow for small fish like pinfish to tear them apart.

So another option is to use a stronger bait like those made from Zman and add some scent to them.

Regardless of the exact soft plastic lure that you decide to use, be sure to rig them properly because a mistake in the rigging will often cause a fish to not strike the lure.

Joe & I were both using 3″ Gulp Shrimp the day this video was made. Click here to see a detailed post showing exactly how to rig them properly.

Note: I was using their “Natural” color pattern and Joe was using “New Penny”.

Angler “Network” Advantage

The benefits of having a network of likeminded anglers who share tips and trends with one another are priceless.

This trip was a great example of that because the best fish of the trip was totally due to a member of the Salt Strong Fishing Club sharing a tip about big redfish being in the nearby Sebastian Inlet.

So we were able to land this one and have several others on in a very short opening we had to fish that day.

As the Fishing Club continues to grow (almost 5,000 members right now), this shared knowledge benefit is continually growing.

It’s “Anglers Helping Anglers” at its finest.

And it’s especially helpful now that we have to Fishing Reports app that filters all of the catches by region.

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Conclusion

Fishing docks is something that all of us anglers who target redfish, snook, and seatrout need to keep in mind when creating our fishing plans.

Because so many fish use docks for safety and the feed making docks a type of structure that will consistently hold fish.

The key is to get comfortable with your skip casts and to continually practice because results will improve every inch of added strike zone that you can cover under the dock.

And for maximized results even when traveling to new areas, make sure you have a group of like-minded anglers that you can rely on for sharing tips.

If you’re an inshore angler who likes to target redfish, snook, seatrout, etc., then I highly recommend giving our Fishing Club a try.

Becuase you’ll get access to our best tips/reviews, and you’ll absolutely love the new localized fishing reports section that we just launched… over 400 detailed fishing reports were posted in it last month that can be filtered by region, species, lures, etc.

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