Super SnookTM
The World's Most Sought After Game Fish.
The World's Most Sought After Game Fish.
"Get Your Mind Right"
Super Snook
"Get Your Mind Right"
Click here and buy a "Super Snook" T-Shirt
"Get Your Mind Right"
Click here and buy a "Super Snook" T-Shirt
Super Snook
"Hole Sweet Hole"
Some Florida fishermen think Super Snook's home is in the everglades in the Florida Keys, other offshore anglers think Super Snook lives just off the continental shelf close to world record Mahi Mahi and massive Blue Marlin.
"Hole Sweet Hole"
Some Florida fishermen think Super Snook's home is in the everglades in the Florida Keys, other offshore anglers think Super Snook lives just off the continental shelf close to world record Mahi Mahi and massive Blue Marlin.
Own the Original Super Snook drawing by Captain Joe Suroviec. Super Snook, in black and white, line arty. One of a Kind!
The face that crushed a thousand lures. Matted 14" x 20" $1,500.
"Super Snook" was last seen on the west side of Islamorada heading south to Key West for the winter.
Surf fishermen near in the Florida Keys should be made aware of the fact that this Snook is no ordinary Fish and Super Snook prefers live bait, but has been known to straighten out 6x treble hooks on lures that wander by too closely. He does not hit these lures from inexperience but out of sheer meanness as he knows that he is able to straighten out 6x trebles and the lures are a game to him....It will take a single hook and welded split rings if you want a shot at his title. A Super Angler will be needed to catch a Super Snook. We know he is in the Florida Keys and south of Islamorada, BUT WHERE? Be on the look out for the meanest, baddest, tackle shattering fish known to saltwater fisherman, Super Snook.
Super Snook is in the Keys and at his "Hole Sweet Hole" .........for now! Maybe Stoney will find where he calls Hole.....or is that Home?
Super Snook T-Shirts by Captain Joe Suroviec
Fishing The Florida Keys for Snook by Capt. Joe Suroviec
I was standing on the bank of the bridge abutment and waiting for the incoming tide and waiting for one of the top tarpon guides in the Florida Keys, Randy Rode. I met Randy earlier at a local watering hole and the conversation turned to fishing (like it usually did) and the subject of snook came up. I touted that I could have him hook a legal snook on his first five casts at a local spot if he chose to wager a 20 spot on it. We exchanged info and 20 minutes later I was standing in the dark with mosquitoes buzzing me flashing my pen light at the tide and watching the grass float by. I watched the grasses to determine the mood and direction of the tide. Tide is one of the largest factors I have determined in my pursuit of Florida Keys Snook and only after many years of trial and error was I able to correlate the facts involved in successful Keys snooking and fishing.
Back to the bridge abutment...Soon a set of lights appeared in the parking lot and Randy was ready to go with a beefy spinning rod and a stout no nonsense Penn 750 spinner loaded with fresh Berkley Big Game 25.lb line. A nice 3' foot 50 pound leader that was no named to a short bimini was all he was instructed to bring. He had done well. I noticed the tide had freshened and also tied on a solid black magnum Bomber fishing lure that was colored by me with a MARKS ALOT only minutes earlier in the car. Being an artist does have its perks I guess....I told him to cast about 10' to 12' feet ahead of the slight shadow line and reel the lure in a medium and steady cadence. His first cast was sent and landed exactly where I had instructed him to throw....Oooh, heck, I missed him', Second cast into the same spot and a 20.lb snook was soon splashing along the saltwater shore in less than 10 minutes after a brief but intense tug of war near the columns...I still had three casts left and a fish was hooked on each cast after that. Both Randy and I kept our limit that night and after a tasty meal the next day, he asked me the details of how I knew those fish were there and that they would hit.
I have fished the bridges in the Florida Keys for a number of years. When I first moved there in 1990 I had no funds for a boat but still wanted to tangle with big saltwater game fish. I soon noticed that big fish were usually in or near the pilings or abutments of all the bridges in the Florida Keys. There are over 70 bridges in the Florida Keys and Tarpon, Snook, Jack Crevalles, redfish, Tarpon, Sharks and a host of other big fish regularly set up shop at these current deflecting bridges. This is where the snook have made a home.
Snook are wary fish that are easily disturbed and quickly learn the plunk of a tourist sinker, the splash of a lure hitting the water, or a tide skittering ballyhoo. They are also good at knowing what section of the local bridges support the highest concentration of goodies and they usually station themselves there at the beginning of the tides to forage baitfish and then pull back as the real tide riders (the tarpon) move in and take over the feeding lanes as the saltwater tides start to really burn. Knowing this simple fact, an angler can time the first section of the tides to be there when the time is optimal for success and also any tried and true snooker is more than annoyed at a jumping and slashing 80 pound tarpon out there with his or her snook favorite lure in its maw, UGH! An added benefit for novice fisherman, but true pros turns their stomachs, when that familiar rattling jump happens after a hook up out here in the darkness.
The fishing lures that work best for me are the bomber lures in the magnum style and the bigger soft pull baits from Berkley, BUT they have to be the big ones as you are only interested in the snook out here that would consider bigger bait anyway. Smaller snook are usually not mixed in with the bigger ones near the bridges and you should target the larger fish, especially with the strict limits and slot sizes that are the regulations now. The larger magnum bomber lures have the good hooks that do not straighten out in a fight with a tide slugger and also are easier to take out of the fish does not measure, or if the fish measures too large. The three hooked models are usually best used on smaller fish in shallower and less tide influenced waters. The added pressure of a hard running tide and a hard charging fish straighten out the three treble hooked lures so it’s best to avoid them when bridge fishing for snook. Once you have the correct lure on then comes where to place it.
The fish are most always slightly ahead of or nose on the shadow line created by the bridges structure. Even on moonless nights there is a shadow and fish sense even the slightest change and select that as their ambush point. Your cast should start well above the area that is holding the fish and then silently and smoothly come through the strike zone. Too far away and you do not present your fishing lure where the fish are, too close and you risk spooking the fish with a head banger cast or snag the pilings and that leads to a snapped leader or line.
Get to where you can FEEL where the correct cast is and when that strike happens make a fast sweep the up current side to momentarily disorient the fish and then be sure to maximize pressure to steer them away from the pilings that are loaded with line parting obstructions....
I like the bomber lures best because they run just under the surface and don’t snag the bottom where there is usually coral and lost leaders form bridge pylons. The leaders are usually snagged on the bottom with a hook and a sinker so it is usually a lost jig once the hook finds a snagged line. Most bridge plunkers use heavy line as well and that fact alone has cost snook anglers plenty in deeper running lures, jigs and buck tails. The lures are dark on dark nights and clear and shiny on bright nights. Bombers, Wind Cheaters, Mirro lures are all good plugs to use but be sure they run shallow. I prefer a stout stand up type spinning rod of medium heavy to heavy action and use a big spool spinner that holds at least 200 yards of line. I fooled around with braid and mono on the reel and in the end decided that mono was the best application here as the flex helped keep the plug hooks from pulling on the mono once a fish is hooked. The braid had no forgiveness and I ended up pulling far more hooks with the braid. I use 25lb. Trilene Big Game with a no name knot tied to a 3' foot leader of 50lb. test. That short bimini is easily felt in the dark when casting and it tells me to open the bail and cast again without looking for the lure each time to see how much line is out before casting the lure again...It is a good idea to have that tell tale no name bump there in the night, especially if you are casting several hundred times in the first few hours of the tide. Most times you will simply limit out and take your limit or you will run out of lures if the tarpon are there and feeling frisky. Keep the drags heavy as the bridge and the tide will easily part any line that slips under the bridge or around a piling. Pull hard and fast and THEN relax a bit once the fish has steered clear of the bridge structure. I use a long handled net as bridge hooks and gaffs are not the thing to be suing if the fish is too big or too small to land or keep. Netting the fish will allow you to release them unharmed. Bridge gaffs do not belong on shore fishing for slot size regulated fish of any kind. What do you do after gaffing a fish that falls 1 inch short of being legal? I know, it's ugly! But keep a cooler handy with a large plastic bag. I take the large plastic bag with me when fishing so when I catch a keeper I can put it in the bag to keep fire ants and dirt off the fish while I keep fishing in the dark.
Once I had to deal with over 20 ant bites that happened while walking up the bank to the truck carrying a fish that was on the bank for 15 minutes....The bag solves all that. Also, be sure that you do not wear sandals or crocs when night fishing. Many times there are fire ant hills near these bridges and also broken glass from those that choose to break glass instead of disposing of it properly. Most saltwater bridges have rip rap rocks that are usually stacked and require a bit of mountain goating to get to the water’s edge. Crocs and sandals are not what you want when it comes to serious nighttime rock negotiating...Wear a good set of boat shoes with socks and tuck the pants into the socks to keep the ants off your ankles.
Be aware that rats are a staple of all the bridges so do not go trying to take plastic bags out of the trash receptacles there as it usually has a rat or two down inside the bag looking for snack food. Rats are usually best left alone as they carry all kinds of disease and fleas and are generally a bad deal all around. I carry a small wooden bat for protection from bridge transients and to dispatch any keeper snook I get. I do not want the fish flopping into the water when it is left on the bank behind me. And a bat will usually deter any unwanted encounter with the local "bridge trolls" Be aware as it is nighttime. Be sure to lock your vehicle in the lot and check for strange cars when going back to the car when finished fishing. Parking lots are a notorious spot for nighttime illegal activities...Rods and reels and a box full of lures are easily pawned or sold in a state known for its fishing...
