Placencia, Belize – The wind was blowing hard and the Caribbean was pure chop. Pow Cabral would not take his small panga out to the flats. I had spent the afternoon walking around the dusty dirt roads of this small fishing village in southern Belize trying to find someone with a boat who would take me out to hunt bonefish and permit the following day.
My prospects did not look good – black thunderheads were rolling in on the horizon, and I was heading back to the States in two short days. That’s when I finally ran into Cabral.
“You wanna try for snook?” Cabral asked in his staccato Creole accent.
“Why not?” I thought to myself. At that point, I was ready to fish for anything.
For some reason snook seem to be the red-headed stepchild of saltwater fly-fishing. Often overlooked or fished only when the weather is not prime on the flats, the snook is an admirable adversary for a fly angler.
For starters, snook are abundant. They can be found south from the mid-Atlantic states in the U.S. and as far south as Brazil. Snook also are prevalent in the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean, cohabiting much of the same water as other, more popular, game fish.
As our boat pushed off the dock the next day, my expectations were low to nonexistent. That was my fault. I never had spent any time learning about snook. The weather had calmed, and we headed into the mangrove-fringed back channels on the lee side of the peninsula.
Snook reside in a wide variety of habitats. We fished for them on the edges of the mangroves, a style not very different than fishing streamers from a drift boat. After winding through the brackish tributaries, it didn’t take long to find out how much fun snook can be on a fly rod. Trust me – you’ll never forget seeing a snook pounce from under the shade of a mangrove root to hammer your fly.
While fishing with Cabral, a professional guide operating out of Placencia, I picked up important things to think about when fishing for snook. He is a man of few words, but he always got his point across.
1. “They are in there, man. Way back in the root. Get it in dere close.” You need to be able to cast tightly into the mangroves. Many times this calls for a sidearm slide to get it under the overhanging branches. The snook can be back in the root structure, so you need to deliver a tight cast to get their attention.
2. “You can hear dem. Dat’s a big snook going after somethin’.” The sound of a large snook eating is unmistakable. It sounds like someone breaking a 2-by-4 in half over their knee. Snook have a hard sandpaper mouth, and when they eat back in the mangroves out of sight, you will know it. If you can hear the snook, it’s a good sign.
3. “Rip dat bug out of there; you’re not going to break it.” Snook are not leader-shy, and you need to fish them with a stout line. We fished with bimini knots and 45-pound test – you’re bound to get caught up in the mangrove branches. With strong test you can save yourself timely trips to the roots to unhook yourself. Snook come in all sizes and run up to 35 pounds in Belize, so a heavy set-up is needed if you run into a big boy. The IGFA record snook was caught in Costa Rica. It was 53 pounds, and 54 inches in length.
4. “Don’t worry about it, smash it in there.” You do not need a delicate presentation when fishing for snook if they are buried deep. The majority of these fish are far back in the mangroves. A big splash on the water will get the fish’s attention and draw him out of the roots to your bug.
5. “Slow it down.” After your cast, let your fly sink a bit. Give it time. Make your initial retrieve a slow strip. Snook will race out from the mangroves and want to see the commotion. Give them time so they can see what your bug is all about.
6. “Keep your strips short, man, you’re going to miss some feesh with those big strips.” When a snook nails your bug, it is like a freight train. If you have your stripping arm fully extended, you have nowhere to go.
7. “You’ve got to stick ’em hard and keep your tip down.” Under no circumstances can you raise your tip when a snook goes after your bug. Strip strike the snook, or you are done. Review No. 7. Review it again.
8. “Let him run. He’s gonna jump! You got him.” Snook are aggressive and explosive in the air. Once you’ve got one hooked, hold on and enjoy the ride.
Will Rice is a freelance writer from Denver.
