As the weather cools & the wind comes the Rivers stay consistent. At least along the nature coast that is, our vast estuaries are full of natural aquifers releasing warm spring water attracting temperature sensitive fish. One of my favorites being the Snook. As the temperatures drop in the gulf the brown & brackish water tends to stay warmer than the surrounding areas. As well as the shallow mud along the banks tend to warm up much quicker when the suns high & bright. This makes for an ideal environment for snook not to mention most rivers have contingent depth which these fish use to their advantage to maintain their preferred depth as we loose water to these drastic winter tides.
The way these fish are staged makes for an easy approach as when you find one you tend to find a many. The best way to approach these fish & how we do on my charters is with live finger mullet, needles fish, small ladyfish or big mud minnows as this becomes to common forage before these fish are spring bound & almost exclusively feeding on needle fish & lady fish. this time of year can produce some big snook as they get foolish when grouped up heading to warmer water. Don’t be afraid to snack on some waders & get up close & personal with these bruisers as they’re moving into their winter pattern