Captain’s Corner
March 31, 2019
 
Capt. Brent Gaskill
 
 
 

        When we’ve traveled out of our way to cast net live baitfish our reward has been snook action.  Scaled sardines have been available, but not consistently easy to obtain.  The effort has been worth it however when seeking one of our top game fish.  The frisky baits have readily earned the attention of numerous snook lying just under the overhanging branches of mangrove shorelines.  We were recently schooled though with a lesson on the importance of water movement and tidal flow when it comes to snook’s feeding habits.  Sitting in an area that had been very productive just days prior, we couldn’t find an interested fish during a slack morning tide.  Even with the perfectly lively sardines, no takers.  As soon as the tide began to trickle in, the snook began to feed and even became very competitive chasing down the same baits that had been sitting in front of them for an hour. They came out of the bushes and into the sandy holes of the grassy flat chewing on every bait cast into their vicinity.  The only difference in zero activity and a hot bite was the tidal flow of water.