Top 5 snook fishing spots in florida
The Fort Pierce Jetties and Fort Pierce Inlet State Park are also great places to catch a great sunset while taking a snorkel.
September 07, 2023
Snook is one of the most sought after types of beach game in Florida, and for good reason. They fight fiercely, eat hard, are excellent table food in season, and can present a challenge to even the most experienced hunter. They are acrobatic fighters and are often experts at evading landings.
Florida offers some of the best snook fishing in the world, so if you’re just visiting Florida or a Florida native, we want to help you hone your snook skills with some invaluable information. Here are some of the best snook fishing spots in our wonderful Sunshine State!
1. Sebastian Inlet State Park, Sebastian, Florida
Sebastian Inlet State Park is one of the most visited fishing destinations in Florida. Why? It is one of, if not the greatest place to catch snook from Earth. On the north side of Sebastian Inlet is a giant wharf that is part of a state park. This dock provides a great habitat for some of Florida’s largest snooks. Rip currents, tons of structures and endless bait make this a year-round home for breeder-sized snook.
During June and July, “breeding” Snook often spawn around this inlet and dock and make your best shot at the precious 40′ long Snook. When you visit Sebastian Inlet State Park, you’ll need a sidewalk net and massive setup. The pier is placed at a height and landing fish can be difficult. There are a lot of submerged rock structures which can make it very difficult to get these fish down. I recommend a rod that is at least 8 feet long, heavy and capable of casting 1 to 4 ounce baits. You will need some backbone to set you up. There are a lot of lures that can work from synthetics such as swimbaits, live mullet, shrimp, and pinfish.
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2. Juno Beach Pier, Jupiter, Florida
Heading a little south, Juno Beach Pier has long been home to some of the largest schools of snooker. With beautiful scenery and water, this could be a great family destination to enjoy some snorkeling! Juno has offshore pier nets and provides anglers with a great vantage point to locate fishing in the beautiful clear waters! Juno’s Snook accumulates throughout the year due to its constant forage, structure, and current. These are the factors that play a role in helping snooks eat and hunt. One of the best ways to catch snooks here is the ancient method, the buckle dances. We have a full article on how to catch a snook with a jig here. Again, you’ll need a heavy setup to keep those tough snakes out of the hull. Something about 7’6″ tall and pretty heavy.
3. Fort Pierce Inlet State Park, Fort Pierce, Florida
Back north, you’ll find Fort Pierce Inlet State Park, an often-forgotten gold mine for hunters everywhere. Like Sebastian, this is a park with a huge rocky outcropping located on the north side of Fort Pierce Inlet, one of Florida’s deepest inlets. This park has particularly good snooker fishing. You can catch it with your toes in the sand while enjoying a beautiful summer day. The pier is not for the faint of heart and, in my opinion, is one of the most difficult piers to traverse, which is why I recommend the beach. If you’re up for a challenge, there’s always plenty of snook at the jetty. One of the best ways to catch them from shore is with small swimbaits and shrimp. Just jump to the bottom and you are likely to find a hungry predator. If you are a fan of live bait, you can always fish the bait from shore. Simply get a cast net and read our article on cast net casting.
4. Fort DeSoto State Park, St. Petersburg, Florida
Heading to Florida’s beautiful Gulf Coast, our next destination is Fort DeSoto State Park in St. Petersburg, Florida. Fort DeSoto is a totally great place to get a “super sized” meal. The waters here are usually nice and calm and it is an excellent place to take the family. You can fish from the shore here or you can fish from multiple jetties. Live shrimp do an amazing job here as well as small baits such as the Rapala X-rap. Jerk baits are one of my favorite baits because you can cast them and retrieve them or you can just jerk them up. If you’re handy with a cast net, there are schools of whitebait and mojara on the beach that can make excellent snooker baits when they’re free.
5. Blind Pass Beach, Captiva, Florida
Heading south on the Gulf Coast, Sanibel Island is one of Florida’s hidden gems. One of the most beautiful places in our state also has some of the best snook fishing. Blind Pass Beach is a public beach that separates Sanibel from Captiva. There is a small boardwalk accessed from the beach and there are arguably more snooks here than anywhere else in the state. Growing up as a Sanibel native, I have fished here nearly every minute of my life for over a decade. The best way to catch them here is with artificial shrimp. If you’d rather use a rod holder and enjoy the beach, just pick up some mullet or fish with a heavy tackle and wait patiently for it to arrive!
Bonus: Anna Maria Island, Florida
A video that may interest you
This last place is Bonus Place, Anna Maria Island, Florida. Anna Maria is one of the most amazing places in Florida to visit and fish, and any entrance to the bay or ocean on this island can have plenty of snook. Tucked away on Florida’s North Central Coast, this resort is a laid-back, lively destination. Snooks come here often during the summer months and come in their thousands. Anna Maria beaches can produce some of the best surf fishing for big catfish and you can catch them in a number of ways. One of the best ways is to go out early in the morning on an exceptionally calm day and use the surface water bogey. Topwater ghosts can be one of the most exhilarating ways to catch a big snook, not only do they keep you engaged, but you get a pretty show right before you set the hook!
Florida has so much to offer the aspiring snook angler, with an abundance of fish and fishing destinations, you’ll almost certainly catch one if you know where to go! These spots are just scratching the surface, there is so much more to explore in our beautiful state and we hope these help you break the ice and get your foot in the snooker door! Very close lines!
