Snook fishing in Indian River Lagoon

In Indian River Lagoon, snook peak May–October and are around March–January, spawning in June–August, according to Fish Scouter's month-by-month season calendar. May: Sebastian Inlet and Port Canaveral.

1. JanuaryAroundCold-sensitive this far north: canals, creeks and deep holes in the southern lagoon.
2. FebruaryNot hereGator trout month; reds tail on the flats; snook opens in the south. The biggest trout of the year on the flats on warm afternoons — slow suspending plugs. Reds tailing in the shallows.
3. MarchAround
4. AprilArrivingSpring peak on the lagoon; cobia and kings off Canaveral. Trout and reds on the flats early; cobia on the nearshore rays and buoys; kings on the Canaveral reefs; the first tarpon at Ponce.
5. MayPeakSebastian Inlet and Port Canaveral.
6. JuneSpawningSpawning at the inlets.
7. JulySpawningHot and glassy: reds early, tarpon and jacks in the lagoon. Fish the flats before the sun is high; tarpon and jacks bust bait in the deeper lagoon all day; dock lights at night.
8. AugustSpawningReds start to school; tarpon at the inlets; the mullet gather. Schools of reds forming on the lagoon flats; tarpon at Canaveral and Ponce on the bait; first mullet on the beach late month.
9. SeptemberPeakMullet run fish on the beach and at the inlets.
10. OctoberPeakFall peak: reds, trout and snook everywhere; flounder at the inlets. The lagoon's best month — reds and trout all day on the flats as the water drops through the 70s; flounder on the inlet sand.
11. NovemberAround
12. DecemberAroundWinter sight fishing begins; snook closes mid-month. Cold clear water: reds and drum on the flats on sunny afternoons, trout in the troughs, sheepshead on the pilings.

Mosquito Lagoon, the Banana River and the northern Indian River Lagoon — shallow, clear, grass-and-sand flats famous for sight-fishing tailing redfish and giant trout — plus Port Canaveral and Ponce Inlet, the beaches, and the nearshore reefs.

Fish Scouter charts 380 mangrove shoreline, 225 dock / pilings, 48 bridge, 11 beach / surf, 3 pass / inlet spots in the The Space Coast Lagoons map area — the kinds snook hold on.

• Pilchards (whitebait)Free-lined or under a cork, hooked through the nose on a #1 to 2/0 circle hook. The one bait that catches everything inshore.
• PinfishHooked through the back ahead of the dorsal on a 2/0 to 4/0 circle hook; the small ones free-lined, the big ones on a fish-finder rig.
• Finger mulletLip-hooked on a 2/0 to 4/0 circle hook and free-lined, or on a fish-finder rig in the surf. Cut mullet on the bottom for redfish and drum.
• Live shrimpUnder a popping cork or free-lined, hooked under the horn on a #1 to 2/0 circle hook; on a jig head for the bottom. The universal inshore bait.
• CroakersHooked through the back on a 2/0 to 3/0 circle hook, free-lined or on a Carolina rig — big trout and redfish can't leave them alone.

• Leader30–50 lb fluorocarbon
• Hook1/0–5/0
• Jig head1/4–1/2 oz
• Braid15–30 lb

Feeds in 68–90°F water, best at 74–86°F.

All about snook · The Space Coast Lagoons, the whole year