Boatless Fishing Forum, Reports, Info

Ok guys people need to learn this.
I've been seeing way to many dead snook this year.
We need to either not fish for them at piers or learn to release them.
If you have to net your fish you better put them back down with the net.
If they start to float out of the net without swiming make sure to lift the net when only 2/3 of the fish is out. This pushes the fishes head in the water and forces it to swim down.
Dropping these snook needs to stop especially the big females. When they hit hard even if the snook swims away the thousands of eggs in the fish are smacked against the water.If you net it the fish goes back in the net. Make sure on the small ones you drop they go in head first.

Even if they swim away many still die after you think they are fine.
This was new news to me until a few days ago when a kid belly flopped a 20lb snook this one I noticed had a particularly scarred up face. It swam away and I figured It was in ok shape. That night my friend who had also seen the fish dropped poorly was jogging on the beach north of the pier( current was moving north) he found that same snook dead about 3/4 of a mile up the beach. he sent me a picture and that fish looked exactly like the one we had both previously seen smacked against the water.

Baiscally we need to be more careful withe the fish or not fish for them. We also need to educate others on their releasing of snook they caught.

Ok this somehow ended up in the wrong area sorry.
If someone can move it I will greatly appreciate it.

I agree, whenever i'm fishing from a bridge I never try to bring a big fish up like that. I always fight it down the bridge and try and get it to atleast the sea wall or shore. I am however guilty of dropping catfish off bridges.

Very well said Ryan!! I never purposely fish for snook out of season, however, I do occasionally catch one by accident. That happened to me yesterday on JP....had a guy help me net it.....then once I had removed the hook, I put it back in the net and the guy asked me what I was doing and gave me a crazy look. I lowered it back to the water, let it revive a bit and then dropped the net out from under it. That one wasn't even a large female, but I just do it to all of them.

You guys are soo dead on! The release is such as overlooked aspect of catch and release! This is a point that really needs to be reinforced whenever we are around other people, just use a little tact when reinforcing the point to get it across. A little tact goes a long way when trying to get a point across. We are the stewards of the waters we fish. There are alot of knuckleheads out there who just dont know any better. Once again great point!!!!!!!

You people want to help the Snook, stop worrying about a picture or two and put them back in the water immediately. Bring the net to the rail, unhook, and lower it right back down. Too many people worry about a picture. See it all of the time.

back when i fished snook on piers 3-4 years ago i always netted them then dropped them head first the only time ive seen a dead snook was from the god d**m poachers.

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Ryan, I see it all the time people slamming the snook back into the water and snook limping or floating away. Frustrating for sure, but I use my big mouth all the time when they get hooked up and not much more I can do. Most of the people on this forum are not the ones you would see out on the piers throwing snook over for a belly slam, but we would be the ones trying to walk a snook back into the water for a safe release. Keep up the comments on safe release to those around you, best we can do. See abuses and abusers be sure to report them.