How To Catch Snook On The Beach (When Fishing From A Boat)
- By: Joseph Simonds
- on
It’s snook time!!
In the summer, snook come out to the passes and inlets to spawn.
But when they’re not busy doing their business, they’re usually patrolling the beaches looking for an easy meal.
This is a great opportunity for you to pitch a lure in front of them as they’re typically hungry from all of that procreating.
Luke and I recently took a trip down to the Keys where Capt. Mark “Hollywood” Johnson from FloridaKeysFunFishing.com took us to hit the beaches in Everglades National Park.
He put us on a ton of fish and in this video, he’s sharing five tips to help you have an awesome day of beach fishing from your boat.
These tips include:
- How to sneak up on the fish (so you don’t spook them off)
- The best lures to use when beach fishing for snook
- Where to place your lure to catch hungry snook
- And much more
Check it out below!
How To Catch Snook On The Beach From A Boat [VIDEO]
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One of my favorite things to do in the summer is walk along the beaches and catch snook.
We go down to Southwest Florida a few times each summer with the family and it’s a great opportunity to do some fishing with my kids.
However, when you’re fishing the beach from a boat, things are a little bit different.
One disadvantage is that you’re not as stealthy as you are when you’re quietly walking along the shoreline.
But one advantage is that you can cover a lot more ground and find where the feeding zones are much faster.
Another advantage is that you’re not limited to just one beach and if you find a remote area, like in the Everglades, or some of the parks up and down the Florida coast, you don’t need to worry about other people getting in the way or spooking off your fish.
That’s exactly what we did with Capt. Hollywood, and here are five tips to help you catch a ton of fish off the beach from your boat, too.
Tip #1: Stay as far away from the beach as you can (while still being able to reach the sand with your lure)
Fish can feel your boat in the water so you want to keep your distance.
Tip #2: Toss your lure up onto the sand
Yes, you want to toss your lure onto the beach.
Not because fish are tanning in the sand waiting for a baitfish to flop up on the beach, but because sometimes they’re just two feet from shore in the trough that runs along it.
When you twitch your lure off of the beach and it drops into the trough, you’ll put your lure right where the snook are looking for a meal.
Tip #3: Use your trolling motor to quietly slide parallel to the beach
In tip #1, I mentioned staying far away from the beach because you want to be quiet, and using your trolling motor is another way of being stealthy here.
Keep your loud outboard off and you’ll be much less likely to spook fish.
Tip #4: Fish in front of the boat
Cast ahead of where you’re going because those fish are less likely to be spooked than fish in the areas you’ve already passed with your boat.
Tip #5: Use proven lures
Waves are lapping up on the shore, so there’s a lot of commotion going on in the water — it’s not flat calm.
Because of this, you want a lure that will make some vibration and catch the fish’s attention.
The Slam Shady does that really well, plus the white with gold and silver flecks flashes just like the baitfish snook are looking for.
In the late summer and fall, the baitfish are big, so you want to go with a larger profile lure, like the 5″ Slam Shady PaddlerZ we used in this video.
You can get these lures here.
As far as rigging, we rigged them on a 1/4 oz Trout Eye jig head.
Conservation & Safety When Snook Fishing
In the summer, snook are out on the beaches breeding, so you want to be really careful when handling them.
Handle them as little as possible, grab them by the lip like a bass, get them back in the water, and revive them by getting water flowing through their gills before letting them go.
And, like Hollywood said, watch out for hungry sharks that aren’t scared to take the fish right from your hands.
Conclusion
If you want some fun snook action in the summer, hit the beaches!
Stay as far away from the beach as possible, use your trolling motor to stay quiet, cast right up to the shore with the Slam Shady and hang on.
Have any questions about catching snook on the beach from your boat?
Let us know in the comments below!
And if you’re down in the Keys, be sure to book a trip with Capt. Hollywood and his fleet at FloridaKeysFunFishing.com.
P.S. Want access to our best fishing spots and tips, plus discounts to our online tackle store? Click here to join us in the Insider Club!
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Silver or white are my favorites for beach fishing, but the color of the jig head isn’t typically a very big factor.
Did Hollywood offer any suggestions for optimal tides to fish the beach? For example, does he find the beach fishing for snook to be better as the tide falls?
Just that it’s best to fish it when it’s not a slack tide period… ideally have the current moving during a twilight period (early morning or late evening).
Great video with lots of good information.
Thanks Bob!
Great video, I got to try the area around the Everglades and 1000 Islands. One thought or suggestion, you mentioned the size of the bait. Could you do a video explaining about the “size cycle” of bait. When are baitfish small when are the big?
For many baitfish species, they are smallest during the winter and then get progressively bigger during the spring, summer, and fall. So it’s smart to adjust your lure sizes accordingly in many cases.
At the end of the video you showed the slim S lure with a jig head and I noticed slice marks on the sides of the lure. Is this the way the lure comes or did you do that to add different action?
That’s the way the the 5 inch slam shady Paddlerz comes… helps give it some nice motion in the water.
Looks like a lot of fun. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks Stan!