Spring
The spring offers some of the best fishing for snook. As water temperatures warm up, snook move out of the rivers and tidal creeks and congregate near the mouths of these creeks and rivers, on flats and in the deeper water near the flats. After the cold winter, these fish are hungry and it’s not uncommon for experienced anglers to catch 20 to 30 snook in a day during the spring. The bridges and passes will also hold some snook. During late spring, you can expect to find large numbers of snook moving into the passes as they get ready to spawn.
Summer
The summer is one of the most fun times to fish for snook. Spawning snook will be in the passes during parts of the summer and at times, you can find huge schools of snook in these passes. This may be the best time of the year to catch good numbers of big fish. In the summer, snook can also be found roaming the beaches. Sight fishing is very popular on the beaches in Southwest Florida. You can often find snook just off the beach in only a foot or two of water. If you can present your live bait or artificial lure to these fish without spooking them, you are going to have a lot of fun. Walking up and down the beaches can be tiring, but sight fishing for snook on the beach is one of the most exciting ways to target them.
Fall
Snook will move back towards the mouths of rivers and tidal creeks, on the flats and in the bays during the fall. Snook can be found in most of the same areas that you found them during the spring. These fish will feed actively throughout the fall as they are fattening up before winter arrives. Towards the end of fall, passing cold fronts can push good numbers of fish into the rivers and tidal creeks. As water temperatures fall, snook are going to seek out the warmest water they can find.
Winter
The winter is the toughest time of the year to fish for snook. As water temperatures fall into the low 60s, the bite becomes very tough. If water temperatures drop into the upper 50s, the bite becomes almost impossible and if it reaches the mid-50s, there is a good chance there will be a fish kill. Snook do not do well in colder water temperatures. The key to catching them during the winter is finding the warmer water back in canals, tidal creeks and rivers. Warm water discharges will congregate snook and the spring-fed rivers can also be good because they maintain a constant temperature of 72 degrees near the springs.
