The Secret To Snook Fishing At Night

Growing up on the east coast of central Florida, snook fishing is a right of passage…

I’ve spent countless hours in pursuit of snook, and the majority of that time was after sunset.

In this article, I’m going to share everything I learned after years of snook fishing at night, so you can find success and catch that elusive 40-incher!

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How to Catch Snook at Night

The best places to catch big snook at night are at bridges, inlets, beaches, and dock lights. Summer is the best time to night fish for snook, but snook will feed at night throughout the entire year.

Popular snook lures like flair hawk jigs, swimbaits, jerkbaits, and artificial shrimps work well at night, but live baits, like mullet and shrimp, are hard to beat. 

When fishing for snook, some anglers put emphasis on fishing the sunrise and sunset, but many anglers still don’t realize that snook will also feed all night long!

The truth is, many of the biggest snook are caught at night. Under the cover of night, those big smart female snook are also less picky.

The darkness also helps anglers conceal some imperfections in their lures and bait rigs, and gives you a better chance to hook a fish of a lifetime. 

Where Can You Catch Snook at Night?

You can find snook at night in all of the same places you find them during the day. Some of the best places to fish for snook at night include inlets, docks, bridges, beaches, and flats. 

For the biggest snook, you want to look for places with lots of baitfish and current. Yes, strong current!

Man-made structures, especially bridges and inlets, are usually where the biggest snook are consistently caught at night. 

Snook will also feed at night up in freshwater rivers, below spillways, and in brackish water lagoons. If there are snook there during the day, you can bet there will be snook there at night.

Even juvenile snook will feed at night!

Best Baits For Snook Fishing At Night

The same lures and baits used during the day will work well at night. Flair hawks, swimbaits, artificial shrimp, jerkbaits, and jigs are a few of the best lures for snook at night. 

Even in the dark, snook can feel and see a baitfish moving through the water. Snook have great big eyes for feeding at night. They also have a sensitive lateral line to feel things moving through the water. 

Snook are well adapted to hunting in the dark and the helpless baitfish can’t see them coming!

That being said, you really don’t have to change your approach very much in the day vs the night, but you can use things like lights, shadows and structure to your advantage.

How to Fish Dock Lights For Snook

However, there is one unique opportunity that presents itself only for night fishing, and that is dock lights.

Dock lights, or any other large stationary artificial lights for that matter, will attract bait fish and shrimp.

At night, snook will hunt on these lights, and this presents a perfect opportunity for snook fishing that only works at night.

In the lights, snook have good vision and feed mostly by sight. That’s why a natural presentation and light leader will help your chances of fishing for snook in dock lights.

The best way to catch snook in dock lights is with a live shrimp. Use light tackle; 10lb braid and 20lb fluorocarbon leader is a good choice. Rig your shrimp using a small circle hook or lightweight jighead, cast it into the light, and get ready for a thump on the end of your line! 

You can also use artificial lures with great success in dock lights.

Snook in dock lights are usually very smart and pressured, so keep your presentation looking natural and finesse for the best results.

For this reason, fly fishermen tend to do quite well on dock lights too. You will probably see snook in the lights, and you can sight cast to them!

Sight fishing in this way is extremely fun. You might have to alter your retrieve to tease a following snook and trigger a bite!

However, the biggest snook around dock lights often hide in the shadows, just outside the light, and strike their prey in the dark areas.

Cast your lures and baits just outside the edge of the light for a better chance at a big snook!

How to Fish Bridges and Inlets for Snook

Flair hawk jigs and big paddle tail swimbaits are the best lures to catch big snook at bridges and inlets. Live mullet, mojarra, and shrimp are great live baits too! 

Fish your lures close to the bottom. Cast upstream and let your jig sweep downstream in the current. When it hits bottom give the jig a pop with your rod, and let it drift again.

Snook face into the current and feed on bait moving downstream. That’s why it’s best to cast upstream and let your jig drift in the current along the bottom. 

Flair hawk jigs, like the R&R Flair hawk jig, are easy to find and are quite affordable. Large paddle tail swimbaits, from 5 to 8 inches, rigged on a heavy jig head are also great for bridges and inlets. 

Big heavy lures and live baits require powerful rods, strong line, and leader. Without the right setup, you’ll struggle to cast, retrieve, and hook a big snook.

Once hooked, a big snook will fight hard and try to cut your line on the bridge piling, so heavy tackle is essential.

For bridge and inlet fishing you need a heavy combo. A 5000-size spinning reel, on an 8ft or longer heavy power rod, and 40+ pound braid is a good start. Depending on the structure, I would use 60 to 100lb mono or fluorocarbon leader tied with an FG knot.

If you use smaller baits and lures, you can get away with lighter tackle at bridges and inlets. Light tackle and a downsized presentation is a great way to catch them when the bite is tough.

Free Lining Shrimp

During the winter for example, snook are usually keyed in on smaller baitfish and shrimp.

In fact, a live shrimp free lined or with a small weight is hard to beat for snook fishing.

This will allow the shrimp to swim naturally along, and this also helps you avoid getting snagged at rocky inlets and bridges.

Live shrimp works well all year round, day or night, but for me they do best during the winter when larger bait fish aren’t as abundant. 

A drop net is an important and often overlooked piece of gear necessary for fishing from some bridges and inlets.

These nets can be lowered down to land and release a big fish from a high place. Without a drop net, it’s really irresponsible to fish from tall bridges and inlets.

Fishing for Snook From the Beach at Night

Snook feed at night along the beach too! The same techniques and patterns that work in the day also work at night.

For the best results, you should fish the higher part of the tide when the trough fills up close to the beach.

Fish artificial lures or live bait through the deeper troughs and channels. The snook move through these channels at high tide and feed on all sorts of baitfish and shrimp. 

One of the best and most famous lures for fishing the beach is the SpoolTek. It is a paddle tail swimbait with a unique wire leader contraption built right into the bait. The wire is concealed within the bait and deploys on the hookset.

The wire leader is great for snook and other strong saltwater predators, because it protects your mainline and leader from getting torn up.

This is great for big snook, tarpon, jack crevalle, and bluefish that will fray through your leader. 

I prefer to fish these SpoolTeks along the beach, because beaches are relatively free of snags. These lures are quite expensive, and rocky inlets and bridges are full of snags.

What Is the Best Time to Fish for Snook at Night

Night fishing for snook is productive all year round, but it is best during the summer months. Snook tend to feed a lot during the cool summer nights, so that they can save their energy during the heat of the day.

In fact, in the summer, the bite is often much during the night than it is during the middle of the day.

You can catch snook at night on any tide. It’s generally best when the tide is moving, so incoming or outgoing is a good place to start. Each spot might differ slightly, and only by fishing more frequently will you dial in specific tide patterns. 

The Moon phase is said to play a larger role at night than it does during the day. The tide is strongest on a full moon and new moon, so snook activity increases around these moon phases. This is true day and night.

The moon also changes the lighting at night. The increased lighting from the full moon contributes to a brightly lit night and fish can see better.

This can help the predatory fish hunt and turn them on, but it also may cause them to be a little pickier if they can see too clearly.

The opposite is true for the new moon. The darker nights of a new moon can help nocturnal predators, like snook, feed on helpless baitfish. 

See Also: The Complete Guide To The Florida Mullet Run

Frequently Asked Questions

Are Snook Active At Night?

Snook are very active at night, especially during the hottest months of the year. Many of the largest snook feed primarily at night and save their energy during the heat of the day.

Snook and many other predatory fish, like tarpon, redfish, and trout, can let their guard down during the night. Fishing at night is one of the best ways to get out there and catch a giant snook.

Are Snook Attracted to Light?

Baitfish and shrimp are attracted to big stationary lights, like dock lights and bridge lights, and snook come to these lights to feed. Moving lights will scare snook away and cause them to stop biting, so keep your flashlights away from the water.

What Do Snook Eat at Night?

Snook eat many of the same prey they would eat during the day. Baitfish like mullet, pinfish, mojarra, moonfish, and sardines are eaten by snook in the day and night. Crustaceans like shrimp and even crabs are also on the menu for snook. 

Do Topwater Lures Work For Snook at Night?

Snook frequently feed on the surface at night, especially during the summer and fall, when great schools of mullet move through Central and South Florida.

A noisy topwater, like the Heddon Super Spook, is a great way to capitalize on a surface feeding bite.

Listen closely and you might just hear a loud pop or clap sound. That is the sound of snook blowing up bait on the surface and a sign that you should consider tying on a topwater.

Final Thoughts

Snook fishing at night is one of the best ways to get a competitive edge over these tricky fish, and reeling in a monster snook under the light of a headlamp is something special!

You’ll still need to experiment with live bait, cut bait or lures…but if you learn the tides in your area and find a lighted structure that holds fish… you’re in business!

Thanks for reading, and good luck!

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