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Snook Alley Fly Fishing for Snook Under Dock Lights of Venice Year-round Snook Fishing in Sarasota Co. Florida |
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| Many
self-professed fly fishing "purest" scoff at my antidotes of the pleasures
of fly fishing under dock lights. They want me to believe that this
type of "fishing" violates their sensibilities as true "sportsmen."
Granted, this does not require the angling skills necessary to stalk a
bone on the flats, or a redfish in Pine Island Sound. Would I rather
be staked out on a point anticipating the next shot at a 100 pound tarpon;
sure, but sometimes I just don't have the time to invest or the conditions
may not be conducive for such a prime angling adventure. And quite
frankly, there are times I just like to pull on fish. When I still lived in North Carolina, when I still suffered from mid-winter cabin fever and withdrawal pains from lack of fishing opportunities; my angling companions would load the truck, hitch up the skiff, and head south to Florida. Upon arrival, the dock lights were often our first stop. It was great to feel the warm air, and to pull on some fish that were seldom reluctant to eat a fly. We would get that quick fix, and with our withdrawal jones fixed; we were suddenly more relaxed and now ready for some more "challenging " fly fishing endeavors. Today I still find myself drawn to dock and bridge lights. They are a great place to "warm-up" a fly angler with limited saltwater experience. It's a good opportunity to get in the habit of keeping the rod tip down, and setting the hook with a good strip strike, it's a good place to let them practice keeping fish out of structure, and more importantly it's just plane fun fishing. I also find myself going to the dock lights just to relax a bit. I can leave my house at 9pm, catch a dozen or more snook, and be home in bed by eleven; way better to relax than plopping down in front of a TV. I enjoy the solitude of the water at night, it's cooler, quieter, and way less boat traffic than in the daylight. |
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If you hang a light over any body of water, whether its a trout stream, a bass pond, or open ocean water; fish will come to the light. The light attracts photo-plankton and other invertebrates, the plankton attracts minnows, and the minnows attract gamefish. Naturally, if the light is in a location where gamefish tend to hang out, then more likely the liht will be to attract multiple fish. And if the light is there night after night, the fish become accustomed to taking advantage of the baitfish. The best snook dock lights have a couple of things in common. Tidal current, and relatively deep water. Any artificial light that is bright enough to form a distinct shadow line around dock or bridge structure is bright enough to catch fish around. The best "snook lights" will brightly illuminate the water in a relatively confined area. Many dock owners install light specifically for attracting fish, these lights are generally mounted close to the water and emit an bright light. Good snook lights are easy to spot form hundreds of yards down the channel. Underwater lights are becoming increasingly popular as fish attracting luminaries. These are high intensity lights that are either anchored on the bottom a few feet from the end of a dock, or they are attached to a piling near the bottom. These lights definitely attract not only snook, but they also can have good numbers of redfish hanging about too. Bad Boys Back In The Shadows, 99% of the bigger fish I have caught fly fishing at night around dock lights have not been high up in the light, they have either been down too deep to be visible or they have been concealed back in the shadows.
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| Fly tackle for dock light snook fishing, the majority of the snook you will catch around the dock lights of Venice Florida's Snook Aley will be less than 20" long. For this size fish a six weight rod is more than enough. If you are going to cast the shadows in search of a bigger fish, a 9wt or 10wt will be more appropriate. Snook up in the lights will not tolerate many bad casts in a row, try to work the edges of the pack rather than casting into the middle. On docks with slower current and shallow water, one or two cast to take one or two fish may be all you get before the hunker down and refuse to chase your fly. Generally fish in faster current are easier to catch. Flies should be small, and translucent. Small EP fiber baitfish not longer than one inch are consistent producers for me. Bigger baitfish flies that are darker and more opaque will be better choices for casting back into the shadows. Poppers and sliders will work, but the snook generally catch on that the popper is not supper pretty fast. If you want to remain at one dock light and consistently catch snook, then small translucent baitfish flies, presented with a cast that does not "line" any fish in the pack, is my best recommendation. Twenty pound fluorocarbon shock tippets will consistently produce more strikes in bright dock lights, but you will loose some fish to chaffing and you will need to re-tie after every fish. Back in the shadows, 40 pound tippets are often needed, but even 40 pound will occasionally chafe-off. The City of Venice has several free public ramps which give you immediate access to "Snook Alley." Check the tide charts, snook action shuts down at slack tide, and is always best with strong tides. Several sections of Snook Alley are slow-speed zones, beware that they are enforced by patrol boats with radar guns. Some of the slow speed signs are not easily seen at night. Venice's Snook Alley is one of the more famous fly fishing locations for night fly fishing for snook, but it is not by any means the only place to find hords of snook bunched up under dock and bridge lights. There are productive lighted structures in Charlotte Harbor, Gasparilla, Marco Island, Jupiter, and Miami, just to name a few.
Harry Hall |
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