Went snook fishing a few days ago on the beach around 230 in the morning. With winds around 20mph and dirty water I did not have much confidence we would catch something till it calmed down a little bit but what the hell you never know. Tide was incoming at a slow pace but did eventually pick up. My buddy Matt(mdx15) and I were tossing the Rapala X-Rap in Green back color. Making sure you hit the bottom to make a little bit more noise and to put that puff of smoke up as a bait fish getting away. Around 245 is when I got my first big thump..... and that's when my Daiwa Ballistic 3000 started signing. Fish pulled about 50-60 yards of 10lb Spiderwire off my reel as I start following him down the beach. After a 10-15 min fight I had a nice upper 30"s Snook!!! Released and un-hooked in the water. Only taking out for a quick picture. About 40 minutes later I get another thump... this thump was HEAVY!!! My drag went into speed mode and I thought it was going to explode the drag was getting pulled so fast. This snook burned about 100 yards of line out before I was able to turn her. As I get the fish turned and coming back to me it was only 20ft away till it decided to go visit some little structure we did have. Sure enough I could not see in the dark and did not know where this fish was. I had my rod to my side trying to pull it out but I'm sure she turned on her side and cut me with her gills. My mistake, I should of had my rod tip high. Fish was every bit of 40"s but it happened for a reason moving on. Went to tie on another lure but not sure what since I was out of X-Raps. Not more then 5 minutes later my buddy Matt gets nailed. Zzzzzzzzzzzzz splash the damn thing jumped like 6 times before making a long run. His Daiwa Advantage was smookiinnnggg. After a few coaching tips to help my buddy out he had a snook almost landed. Till the fish got him around structure. Somehow the fish cut the braid but had the 3' leader and X-Rap in its mouth. The fish was just sitting on the top of the water right up against the structure. I told Matt "grab his tail and don't let go at all" he grabbed that fish and we had a nice upper 30"s Snook. That made the night he was shaking like a leaf in a Hurricane!! Best feeling I have been in a long time. Also Matts first Snook for 2012 I think! All in all it was a great night. Fished from 230-6 went 2-3 on snook and caught some ladyfish for shark bait in the future. Tackle Daiwa reels/Spiderwire Braid 10lb/Yo-Zuri HD 30lb pink/ Wright's Custom rods!

Wow Jess, you guys caught some logs. How is that leader material working for you, that is all I use, but I was getting tore up last winter, I had to go up to 40lbs.

I used to use the 25lb and fished that for about a year with no problems till I lost a big snook on tournament day. Thats when I switched to 30lb. Only leader I will use. HD Carbon is I think the best out there. But really not any real problems

Freakin sweet! Nice pictures.

Love that story about the fish sitting on top of the water caught up on the structure. That's nuts. I can feel the feeling you said your friend had. I had my biggest snook I ever hooked into break me off, but after a few nice runs that had my heart POUNDING! That is the best 'high' you'll ever get...I don't care what kind of drug you ever tried, there ain't no high like that...

That's also a lesson that if you ever get broken off on structure and the structure isn't too deep, you should go inspect the area to make sure the fish isn't stuck cause if it is it could die if you don't release it. Great report man, thanks!

Awesome pics! I'm jealous!

I just picked up a few x-raps yesterday...looking forward to trying them out.

ahhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!! damn I wanna go beach snookin. Some nice snook there! DavidT I bet you know what i'm thinking....

Wow! Absolutely beautiful fish. Excellent snook report Redfish.

Beautiful snook! Great job! What beach were you fishing?

Yeah the high you get just from a fish burning that much line off your reel just cant match to anything else. The beach I was fishing was in the dark ;) B)

Hey Redfish........fishing the beach at night.......Is this something you do frequently? I have always done well at the beach that I frequent but for some reason had assumed that its not as good at night. Was this a freak thing or what? Full moon better you think?

Thanks

Snook are night time feeders. Yeah you can catch them during the day but most the time they feed at night. I like it when the water is moving. Full moon is prime time since you will have the light from the moon and pretty much it's a dinner bell for most fish. I've been fishing the beaches for the last 4 years and have learned a lot on my own and how the fish move and feed. During the summer snook will be there night and day

I cant wait.....Ill be slaying em in a few weeks. Back to back weekends in Boca Grande will get my beach snook fix thumping. Glad to see I have more Daiwa Compadres here. I have the old Tierra, Advantage-A, and the ballastic. The ballistic is one sexy reel!

I love snook on the beach - just hate bridge fishing, will usually fish up near Anclote or Honeymoon - my new baitwell light just came today

I will share the most secret tip for full moon snook you will ever get - when the moon rises to 9:30 get ready for an hour or so, not sure why it just does - pay attention it has worked for 30yrs. At that time I pay no attention to solunars which I normally do

That's interesting...you mean when the moon is at 9:30 or when the clock is at 9:30?

DavidT wrote:
actually it kinda close to both - the full moon night is usually kinda dead? - the days leading up are the best - looking at the moon as it rises to about 9:30 in the sky - after an hour or so it seems you can go home? I have stayed many a night and NADA after it is well up - don't ask me just know it works