Tide: 3.2ft High at 3:30pm, -0.2ft Low Tide at 12am
I've been out 3 of the last 5 days trying to get something to bite other than bugs. Started off July on the flats with an afternoon low tide. Saw a few tailers but had trouble presenting a bait with the thick grass. Got a ray for shark bait at least.
Two days later I put the ray to use down south for the full moon. I had one very intriguing run but missed the hookset. There were teeth marks on the hook so it was close. Nevertheless, I left at 3am after a slooooww night.
I signed up for SWFKAA's 321fish online tournament and wanted to get on the board early so I fished Thursday morning and was reminded why snook fishing can be frustrating. I lost two mid to upper 30's snook right off the bat, I guess due to bad hook placement. Not to be outdone I went back out at 5pm after the storms passed to an area a few miles away from where I was earlier. Aside from almost losing my hand to a bull shark, the fishing was excellent. Everything slicked off and the full moon produced a strong outgoing tide that flushed all sorts of baitfish from the flats and creeks. Around 7pm I hooked a big snook about 20 feet off the mangroves and gave a few extra hard jerks to make sure the hook was in good. The snook was confused for the first 10 seconds and just sort of sat in the current, not knowing where to go. When she woke up she made a hard run to the mangroves and for the life of me I couldn't stop her. She made it in between the roots so I had no choice but to open the bail and follow. I dunked the stradic twice trying to maneuver under the branches but it all worked out in the end as I landed a perfect 33.3" snook.
