Fishing Dock Lights – The Cure For Cold Fronts

by | Feb 10, 2021

During winter months, fishing dock lights at night in Sarasota, FL provides some of the best opportunities to catch snook with a fly rod or on artificial baits with light tackle.  The series of cold fronts that came through our area over the last few weeks really dropped water temperatures, making daytime fishing slow at times.

 
A few anglers joined me on night trips during that stretch and we enjoyed some fun night fishing. The water had all day to warm up and the snook were active on warmer outgoing tides. We’re now in the time of year when bait becomes scarce and snook key in on tiny glass minnows, fry, and shrimp.  Size 6 and size 8 flies that mimicked glass minnows were the ticket for fly anglers. Light tackle anglers did well using lipped plugs and small shrimp imitations.
Snook were most active in areas where tidal current was greatest. We had our best numbers on nights with a strong and lengthy outgoing tide. On a few of those nights we lost track of the number of fish we were catching. We still found steady action on nights with less tidal influence. We are still seeing redfish mixed in with the snook and some of them are fairly hefty.

Dock light fishing should continue to shine throughout the month of February. It will always be one of the best ways to specifically target snook. The recent warm weather should improve daytime fishing for those using artificial baits and flies. If you have questions about dock light or daytime fishing trips, feel free to text, call, or email.

Capt. Brian Boehm
Quiet Waters Fishing
941-400-6218
email: brian@quietwatersfishing.com
Guide at CB’s Saltwater Outfitters
Sarasota, FL