The snook is an ideal fish to target by casting artificials, although a number of large Florida brutes are taken annually on drifted baits. In estuarine environments, where mangroves have produced over-grown channels and undercut banks, snook will position themselves to intercept baitfish carried by the tide.
It's not easy dropping a plug next to such tangles. If you over-cast your mark, the fish are spooked when you move in to retrieve your plug from the vegetation. A well-placed darter can be danced back along the surface by lifting the rod-tip from side to side and reeling alternately. The effect is a crippled minnow, inviting attack.
Snook are also found along the edges of channels. Here sub-surface lures work best. Either anchor and cast, or troll parallel to the drop-offs with deep-diving swimmers. When a fish hits, don't strike too hard. Snook, for all their toughness, have rather delicate mouths. A lure can be ripped away from the fish it the hook-set is too heavy.
