Walking the Dog to Fall Migrating Snook

9/11/09

By Capt. Chris O'Neill

Nothing beats the sheer exhilaration as you walk-the dog of Bomber Saltwater Grades newest topwater lure called the Badonk-A-Donk, in search of a prized Florida Snook. The lifelike features, floatability and durability make it the perfect lure to fool what I have titled "the smartest fish in SW Florida." Fall fishing is unique because snook are migrating in heavy numbers from their summertime spawning beaches into the backcountry estuaries where they will remain throughout the cooler months.

This seasonal transition translates into...FISH ON, FISH ON.

Snook will stage in predictable locations to maximize their feeding opportunities. Concentrated tidal areas offer the best shot at a keeper sized Snook. Creekmouths, troughs, mangrove shorelines is the first place to cast your lure. The aerodynamic design and weight distribution of the Badonk-A-Donk gives you longer casting distances and presentation, lessening the possibility of spooking these timid fish.

Now that we have figured out where they are feeding, how are we going to make them eat? The Badonk-A-Donk was designed to float breast/head up, making it the perfect lure to walk-the-dog in any water condition without porpoising. A slight chop offers the chance to be more aggressive with your retrieve, while flat calm water requires a more conservative/consistent walk-the-dog retrieve to achieve lifelike results. Typically, when I get my first strike and I can visually see the fish behind the lure I will twitch it twice, then pause……watch the explosion as he aggressively eats the bait...SET THE HOOK...then it's FISH ON, FISH ON.

Hooking a linesider is only the first part of the equation. Now we need to fight and land the fish. A few important tips I recommend is keeping the tip of the rod close to the waters surface, which helps keep its head down and prevent the snook from coming out of the water and spitting the hook…just as a bass or tarpon does. Secondly, and just as important is the initial run it's going to make toward structure heavy areas like mangrove shorelines, docks or anywhere else it can seek shelter. Keeping the fish in open water significantly increases your odds of landing the fish. Again, this is "the smartest fish in SW Florida", and its mission is to break you off and live another day.