Yes the month of February is here and that means snook season has begun. From February 1st until June 1st we are allowed to keep (harvest) one snook per person, per day, between 28" & 32".
It's no secret where the best place in our area is to catch snook, Sebastian Inlet. Sure enough opening day was a mad house out at the North Jetty. Opening week had some amazing weather, light waves, with a west wind made for a beautiful nearshore day. We got a late start for our morning trip on opening day and there had to be upwards of 25 boats fishing around the north tip of the jetty. It was unfortunate for us so we decided to go search for other species at the nearshore reefs. It hasn't been the most productive on the nearshore reefs lately, lots of bluefish and some lane snapper here and there. The next couple days we were able to get out a little earlier before the rush and secure our spot at the dinner table. We landed multiple snook as well as black drum, redfish, goliath grouper, tarpon, and endless amounts of jack crevalle. In that area it's all about positioning for the snook "The Angle of the Dangle".
The next couple weeks look to be a little rough and wavey but if you can handle the rocking and rough water you'll have some awesome fish fights and probably bring home the prize. Not all people can handle that rougher water so we added in a new boat to the arsenal, a 21' Maverick flats boat. The flats boat allows us to get into the shallower waters along the mangroves and flats of the Indian River Lagoon and still have our chance to catch some trophy fish.
In addition we've also added in some news things for our bowfishing trips. We have recently acquired some new bowfishing crossbows and let me just say these things are deadly and easy to use. For those of you that are not physically able to pull back a compound bow, not a problem now. The water levels in the St Johns River are lowering and starting to play in our favor making it easier to find the tilapia. The day trips are good, a little bit harder to see the fish depending on wind and sunlight, but night trips seem to be the most productive.