Happy New Year to all.
New Years Eve we ran another snook trip as the great weather continues. The bite was unreal! Professional Captains and Guides get into zones very much like athletes. And for on the mark Charters the last month has been incredible. Many times during the day every bait cast within 2 feet of the shoreline resulted in an explosive hit. The day started stopping for bait which had been very simple to catch, a couple tosses of the net was all that was needed. The bait was very skittish and where gone in a flash once they saw the net headed their way. Plan B was needed, open a can of Jack Mackerel and start chumming. That did the trick, remember quality bait and make or break the day so it's a wise investment of your time.
Water temperatures on Tampa Bay's eastern shore was right at the magical 70 degrees. We repeated the trips we ran last Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. Snook are stacked up against the mangrove shorelines with deep cuts. These areas drop from 1' to 8' rapidly. The bite today was outstanding; I stopped counting snook at 30. We had just one angler on board, Dave from Chicago who could cast and cast exactly to every spot I asked of him. Dave's skilled casting played a role on scoring snook after snook. No monster snook today with the largest being 28". Dave also scored 2 redfish with the largest 28.5" that was a great battle. Dave completed the Slam with a feisty trout from the grass flats. I had a first for On the Mark Charters as one of the many snook Dave hooked jumped into the boat!
Our technique was simple, 3' of 25 pound fluorocarbon with a 1/0 hook backed with 15 pound Power Pro. Cast up current and have your bait swim through the target zone. Be ready as frequently snook will pounce on you bait within seconds of hitting the water.
