Tampa Bay Snook
Snook, aka Line-Siders, are the inshore bruisers here in Tampa Bay. This is an ambush predator who can be found primarily along the mangrove root systems, but plenty are regularly caught chasing prey in the open flats and intercoastal waterways here in Tampa.
When snook are hungry, they are voracious eaters. Even when the temps cool, they can still be found when the midday sun comes up, or in warm water runoffs. Their ambush predator status comes from a few different reasons, all of which can tell you how to target them. The main one being where they will stage in a small channel (feet wide) where a tidal flow is happening. They will sit on the back side, off to a side, and wait for baitfish to get swept through the current. Here, they vigorously attack. This is also why they love hanging out in the mangrove root systems. They blend right in just behind the root clusters and attack unsuspecting prey swimming by the other side. That’s why “banging the mangrove line” is a popular practice for locating snook.
