A SNOOK PEEK AT A MASTER ANGLER OF ROBALO

By Juan Montoya

He is the envy of his fellow anglers at El Puente de los Lobos (County Boat Ramp off Highway 48).

Almost every time he goes out there in the morning hours (he times the tides, clarity of water, wind, etc.) he returns to terra firme with a prize. His specialty?

The elusive (and fighting) snook.

According to Wikipedia, The common snook (Centropomus undecimalis) is native to the coastal waters of the western Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea from southern Florida and Texas to Rio de Janeiro.They grow grows to a maximum overall length of 140 centimetres (4.6 ft) and a maximum recorded weight of 24 kilograms (53 lb; 3.8 st).The fish often enters fresh water. It is carnivorous, with a diet dominated by smaller fishes, and crustaceans and shrimp and occasionally crabs.

And that's where our master angler (he chooses to remain anonymous) comes in.

He prefers (let's call him Ishmael) an artificial lure resembling an orange worm that he works with dexterity where he knows the snook run. Often, there is a crowd assembled where he sneaks up on the snook and snags them. However, there is a size limit and he follows the rules religiously.

"Sometimes I catch huge fish and people try to buy them from me,' said Ishmael (that's what we agreed to call him, remember?). But I refuse because you never know where the pajarero (Texas Parks and Wildlife officers) might be watching with their binoculars. I just catch and release. They're beautiful fish."

Snook are excellent table fare and the state of Texas allows a single fish bag limit, with a 24– 28 inch slot. Anything smaller or bigger goes back in the bay.

According to About.com Texas Travel, "very few anglers realize that the Lower Laguna Madre, a bay sandwiched between Port Isabel and South Padre Island, is host to the only viable concentration of snook outside of Florida.

Overall the fish may not be as big or as numerous in South Texas as they are in South Florida, but they are definitely present in fishable numbers.
Although snook can be caught all year long, they are most consistently taken in late fall and winter. This has more to with the location of the fish during this time of year than any increase in feeding behavior. As fall turns to winter, snook begin funneling off the flats and leaving the jetties for the insulated comfort of deepwater structure in the Brownsville Ship Channel."

The writer's father has been the recipient of these magnificent fish and can attest to their deliciousness. A caldo from fresh snook head is to kill for.

In Spanish, the fish is known as robalo, but don't take the name to heart. It's best if you buy it or catch it yourself.