Carry these two beach snook flies to get the bite
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Uni Products Fly Tiers Corner
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Saltwater Edition
June 2024
Article and photos by Mike Conner
As the July 4th holiday approaches, I am ready for some of the most exciting sight fishing Florida has to offer. Best part is that it’s on-foot, walking barefoot on sandy beaches. No boat needed. Just a fly rod, some spare leaders and a small box of flies. And a water bottle, sun protection and the willingness to deal with the heat during those midday hours when it’s easier to spot hungry snook coming off the spawn.
I started fly fishing the surf when I moved to Stuart on Florida’s Treasure Coast over 20 years ago. It was an elixir for missing my beloved wade-fishing for Biscayne Bay bonefish as a Miami resident. Lots of similarities— beach snook, like bones, travel singly, or in pairs or small schools. Snook swim super shallow at times, like bonefish. Unlike bonefish, snook rarely “tail,” though I have hooked snook in less than two feet that “tailed” the second they pinned my fly to the bottom. Bonefish do run farther and faster pound-for-pound than a snook, but snook jump impressively, especially toward the end of a battle.
Let’s talk about tackle. Small snook and smaller flies call for rods in the 7- to 8-weight class. Anything lighter is folly—summer afternoon breezes come up (which feed those building thunderstorms inland that you need to be aware of) and can make casting ultralight fly rods a challenge. Stick with a 9-weight—that school of 5-pounders might be followed up five minutes later by a big single female in the 15- to 25-pound class. The bigger rod takes the fight to such fish and they stand a better chance to recover.
This is a fly-tying column, so let’s delve into that. Plenty of baitfish patterns work for these fish. But no single fly does it all. Reason being the fish typically come close to the sand, normally swimming parallel to the beach in the so-called trough—but the depth there can vary depending on tide stage and the terrain of the beach you fish. You might encounter fish in 1 foot, or 3 feet or more once the tide rises.
I depend on two basic patterns, “two for the trough” that keep me in the game. One is the venerable Clouser Deep Minnow and the other is a fly of my design, the Midnight Mullet, which is trademarked by Umpqua Feather Merchants for commercial sale as Conner’s Midnight Mullet. (Incidentally it is also a deadly streamer for the big bridge snook I targeted for years at night).
The Clouser Minnow I favor is a tan-and-white version, which nicely resembles the juvenile croakers and whiting that are commonplace in the summer surf. You’ll scatter them in the trough when you step into the water. I tie in either ex-small or small size lead dumbbell eyes to ensure the fly dips down and bumps bottom on the retrieve. The snook might take it on the swim, as it sinks, or may pin it to the bottom—just as bonefish do with a crab pattern.
I’ve noticed that the little whiting (and most baitfish for that matter) have a pinkish, iridescent strip at their lateral line, so I also tie in a few strands of pink flash between the white belly and tan back. I prefer a No. 2 or 1 hook, and on days when the fish are swimming out beyond the trough, I switch to a slightly bigger Clouser with medium size lead eyes. Or, I break out a Midnight Mullet. I always fish the Mullet for the bigger single or paired-up snook that come out of the inlets post-spawn. Many of these are over-slot and up to 25 pounds. If the big girls are swimming slowly just under the surface, an unweighted version (tied on a 1/0 or 2/0 hook) will suffice. Should the fish be swimming at a brisk pace and a bit deeper, I switch to a weighted version—I use lead wire on the hook shank under the palmered chenille head. It gets down quicker. Be warned that these fast-moving snook can be the hardest to feed. This streamer also works well for the occasional tarpon that comes along, or the hordes of ‘poons that come into the red minnow (juvie bay anchovies) that come into the surf late summer.
