Size: 18" - 45"
St. Croix might not seem like it, but the island is home to some of the largest Snook in the Caribbean due to its sandy coastlines and rocky points! The most common size here are snook in the 27" - 34" range, with several fish pushing into that legendary 40" category
Top Speed: 20-25mph
Snook might have the lowest peak speed of the Big 4, but their fan tails produce some of the greatest torque leading to strong sustained runs. Snook are also underrated acrobats capable of high jumps, 180s, and insane head shakes. Once you hit the 35" class these fish have the weight, speed, and torque to break line, spool reels, and head shake hooks!
School Size: 1 - 5+
Snook typically cruise the wave line Solo, but when baitfish are plentiful it is common to find multiple snook (often alongside Tarpon) in an area. Instead of Mangroves, Snook on St. Croix prefer sandy beaches, grass flats with pot holes, and rocky points/structure that helps them ambush prey
Snook By The Numbers
Snook: The Underrated Trophy Fish
While Tarpon get most of the attention, seasoned anglers understand the allure of Snook Fishing. Snook are best thought of as the final evolution of the Largemouth Bass. Their mannerisms, feeding tactics, and overall body and mouth shape are near identical to that of Bass making them incredibly fun to catch on lures, flies, and live baits.
What makes St. Croix's snook fishing so unique is not only the size of the Snook but where we find them. Snook typically thrive in brackish backwaters, canals, and beaches with inlets. On St. Croix Snook thrive along high energy beaches, submerged tree lines, rock structures, and seasonal salt pond deltas where bait & sand create the perfect low visibility conditions for Snook to ambush fish from below.
Seasonality:
Snook Fishing is a tricky one to pinpoint seasonality on as they can be caught throughout the year on any given day. The two main factors that come into play are Rainfall levels and Baitfish levels. After big rains, the Snook fishing can get incredible as big schools of Mullet will congregate where wetlands overflow back into the sea giving snook an easy, big calorie meal. The second factor is Baitfish levels. The more bait around the more Snook, with one big exception: Sargassum. As snook grow, they become less able to coax with poor oxygen levels meaning that Tarpon become the leading Predator around when Sargassum is heavy. As the Sargassum disappears and clearer more oxygenated water edges back in, Snook (and even Bonefish) start to show up again. If there is a "slow season" for Snook it'd be June-September, but that's more because the Tarpon take over so dominantly than it is the Snook disappear entirely.
