Damn Good Snook Fishing Charters

The best snook fishing charters are:

• Punta Gorda Fly Charters guided by Michael M.
• Pole Dancer Fishin’ Charters guided by Jeff P.
• Captain GW Guide Service guided by Gw D. with 30 years of experience
• Com'N'Getit Fishing Charters guided by Billy P.
• Nick Hughes fishing guided by Nick H. with 8 years of experience

Our Damn Good Guides currently offer 95 snook trips, and the most popular trips are Everglades Action guided by Armando, Shallow Water Sightfishing guided by Tyson, and NSB Inshore Trip guided by Brian.

Our guides are rated a 4.96 out of 5 based on 8178 verified reviews on Captain Experiences.

All guides on Captain Experiences are vetted by our team. You can access their reviews, click through trip photos, read bios to get to know them, and preview trip details like species, techniques, group sizes, boat specs and more.

Looking for kid friendly snook guides / fishing lessons? Check out our beginner and family friendly snook guides.

Deep Sea fishing is the most popular type of fishing for snook as well as inshore fishing, flats fishing, and nearshore fishing.

The most common fishing techniques are light tackle fishing, live bait fishing, and artificial lure fishing but bottom fishing and sight casting are popular as well.

Prices for snook can range anywhere from about $511 to $1,800, but the average price for a half day trip for snook is $857. The average price for a full day trip for snook is $1,247.

Hiring a guide provides a number of benefits and many choose to book a fishing guide for a combination of experience, local knowledge, convenience, and cost-effectiveness.

Working with experienced fishing guides who know the best local spots and techniques can dramatically increase your odds of a great day. Having someone who is on the water every day and knows the area like the back of their hand is going to give you the best chances of success.

Booking a guide is also more cost effective, especially if you only get out a handful of times per year. When you consider all of the costs you would incur on your own such as the price of a boat, maintenance, insurance, gas, high-quality gear and tackle, repairs, and more, you’ll find that DIY is sometimes not worth the expense.

Even if you’ve got a great setup already in your home waters, booking a guide also provides a great opportunity to experience new techniques, new locations, or even a chance at a new target species to knock off the bucket list.

The most popular season for snook fishing is spring, and most anglers book their trips 15 days in advance.

See here for more information on snook fishing licenses, snook bag limits, and fishing season regulations for snook. When in doubt, your guide will always know all the relevant snook rules and regulations.

The common snook (Centropomus undecimalis) is a marine fish, also known as the sergeant fish or robalo. These nicknames actually come from outdated terminology from prior classification of the fish. The family of snook itself actually contains six species in the atlantic, and six in the Pacific.

They have a gray to golden coloration, with a distinctive black line running horizontally from their front to back, and bright yellow pelvic and caudal fins. Snook have a very sleek, slender body with a sloped forehead.

Common snook can grow to over four feet long, but on average are only about one and a half feet long. Snook on the Atlantic coast tend to be larger than those in the gulf. However, Pacific snook will outweigh Atlantic snook any day. Females of both sides also tend to be larger than males.

The IGFA all-tackle world record is a 53 pound, 10 ounce monster of a snook, caught by Gilbert Ponzi. It was caught in Parismina Ranch in Costa Rica, out of the Parismina River on October 18th, 1978.

Atlantic snook can be found both on the Atlantic coast and the Gulf of Mexico. On the Atlantic side, they can be found as far north as New York, and as far south as Rio. In the Gulf, they are mainly only seen along the coast of Florida and partially the coast of Texas, ranging from Corpus Christi to South Padre Island. Pacific snook can be caught as far north as Magdalena Bay in California, and as far south as Guatemala.

Florida is known as a hotspot for snook, as they are very abundant in that area. On the Gulf coast, some favorited spots are Cedar Key, Tampa Bay, and Charlotte Harbor, where as on the Atlantic side, Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and the Keys are the best places to go.

Snook are known to be able to tolerate a wide variety of salinity levels, so you can find them in environments like riverine estuaries, mangrove forests, salt marshes, sea grass meadows, and nearshore reefs. They prefer warmer temperature in these waters, at least over 50 degrees as adults, and 60 degrees as juveniles.

As the water gets warmer, the further inshore snook will venture. This means that May through September are the best months to target them. They are most active in the early mornings and evenings, so be sure to head out at dawn and dusk, especially during a rising tide.

Snook can be caught with both with natural and artificial bait. If using natural, shrimp and small baitfish such as pinfish, mullet, menhaden, goggle eyes, and pilchards. Feather jigs with plastic worm tails or trolling plugs will be best for artificial.

For either type of bait, cast in a way that allows it to drift down stream towards the fish, as snook eat by facing towards the current, waiting for the water flow to bring their meal to them. Once you get a bite, let the fish run for about four to five seconds if using a natural bait, or immediately if artificial.

Keep in mind that no slack should be given when fighting these fish, as it can easily get cut on their sharp gill covers.

Snook is well known to have a medium-firm, white, and flaky flesh, highly regarded for it’s taste in the states. In areas like the Caribbean and Puerto Rico, it is considered a trash fish due to the soapy taste that the skin gives off. Nicknamed the “soap fish,” their skin must be removed previous to cooking.

Snook are very easy to clean and to cook. After filleting and removing the skin, just add some seasonings and marinade, throw it in the fridge, and when you’re ready for dinner either pan fry or bake it.