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Snook Moving Out

Posted Sep 14, 2007 by Frank Sargeant

Updated Sep 14, 2007 at 08:24 PM

Frank, I’ve been fishing the gulf beaches (Anna Maria and Longboat) quite a bit this summer. In June/July, I saw many snook wading in the surf and throwing a little white flat tailed jig. Caught 10-15 each weekend. In August, I’ve barely seen any schools (2-5 fish) cruising along the beach. Where have they all gone? The numbers are noticably lower. Any idea why? Thanks. Rod Crawford, Tampa

A: Natural cycle—the fish are in the passes and along the beaches during the spawn, typically May through mid August, then they move out of that area and back into the bays, winding up in the Intracoastal Waterway and in the coastal rivers for the winter. They’ll be back where you found them this summer starting next May. Tight lines. FS