Fly Fish Everglades Snook

Snook don’t get the attention in the fly fishing world that they deserve. Maybe that is a good thing. Anglers in the know understand the appeal of the snook, especially a big Everglades snook.

The snook that are targeted in the Everglades by fly fishermen and women spend a good amount of their time in relatively shallow water, never venturing out too far into the Gulf of Mexico. They feed on a variety of things; baitfish, shrimp, and crabs, and have the ability to survive in freshwater. Snook are ambush predators and opportunistic feeders that use mangrove habitat to effectively hunt for a living.

Snook sneak around almost everywhere there is water in Southwest Florida, and have a tendency to hide and ambush their prey. Sometimes snook can be found in the mangroves at high tide where they are virtually uncatchable to fly rodders, but once the tide drops, those fish are forced to leave and can be found sliding down a shoreline, laying in a muddy cove, or floating off of the bank in search of an easy meal.

Fly fishing for snook involves slowly poling down a calm shoreline looking for the subtle signs that a snook is there. You may only see a bit of green on their back, the yellow tip of a fin, a ripple in the water, or a grey shape that looks out of place. Snook are masters of hiding in plain sight, and just seeing them is a big part of the game. When a snook is spotted, there usually isn’t time to do much more than take the shot that is provided. Fly fishing for Everglades snook is arguably the finest in saltwater fly shot making. Casts may be short or may be long. There might be mangroves that the fly has to navigate to get the fly in the right spot where the snook can see it. No two shots are the same, and fly fishing for snook is truly a test of casting creativity. A big Everglades snook is a wary critter, but will bite a fly if it has no idea that you are there and the fly presents itself as an easy meal that the fish can’t resist.

Sometimes, snook are in places where sight fishing isn’t possible. There might be too much water, or perhaps a shadow that won’t give away the fish’s presence visually. These areas can be productive areas to blind cast and really pick apart a shoreline and catch fish in the process.

Experienced saltwater flyrodders have a tendency to gravitate to snook, but snook are a great fish to get started saltwater fly fishing for. If tarpon are the superstars of the Everglades, then snook are the working man that day in and day out provide some of the finest most consistent fly fishing in the Everglades for anglers of all abilities.