snook fishing

Jean-Michele with one of his many jungle snook. All fish were caught on either Super Spook Jr plugs or Z-Man four inch Diezel Minnowz pinned to Chinlockz hooks.

The snook bite in the backwater, mangrove jungles of Fort Pierce has finally turned on. Top-water walking and popping plugs are getting blasted by linesiders, trout, jack crevalle and small barracuda (yes, barracuda). Look for lots-o-finger mullet in sheltered coves on an incoming tide for a starting point.

Toss or skip Z-Man five inch Jerk Shadz or four inch Diezel Minnowz rigged on Z-Man Chinlockz hooks under overhanging tree limbs once the sun comes up and shadows form along the east shorelines.

Use a twitch, twitch, pause retrieve and vary the cadence until the fish respond in a positive manner. If you can manage a high tide changing to falling water around sun-up the bite can be magical.

Spoil islands and windswept or current-swept points are also producing well. Live bait like pilchards, finger mullet and small pinfish may have the advantage here over lures. Nose-hook your livies with a circle hook appropriate to the size of the baitfish and cast up-current and let the bait drift down-current with the tidal flow!

PHOTO: Jean-Michele with one of his many jungle snook. All fish were caught on either Super Spook Jr plugs or Z-Man four inch Diezel Minnowz pinned to Chinlockz hooks.