South Texas’ Lower Laguna Madre is known for many things. One of only a handful of hyper-saline ecosystems in the world, the Lower Laguna Madre sits scant miles north of the Texas/Mexico border and has gained acclaim for super-sized speckled trout and redfish in shallow, clear flats. Texas’ southernmost body of saltwater also is home to the only fishable population of snook in the United States outside Florida. However, Texas’ snook population is as overlooked as Florida’s is sought after.

Although the “discovery” of snook in Texas may be news to some anglers, historically, linesiders have had a presence in South Texas. In fact, the Texas state record of 57.5 pounds was taken on New Year’s Day 1937, and the Rio Grande Valley region once had a prosperous commercial snook fishery.

Like any fishery, the South Texas snook fishery has had peaks and valleys. Killer freezes in the late 1970s and early 1980s resulted in some of the deepest valleys the fishery has known. The fish began staging an impressive comeback through the 1990s, however. Today, 2-foot fish are common catches, and 3-foot snook aren’t unusual. And, even more impressive, these fish can be caught year-round.

Winter Through Early Spring

The Brownsville Ship Channel offers quality snook fishing much of the year, especially in the cool weather.

Snook are extremely sensitive to cold water. Therefore, when the water temperature begins to dip, they quickly scurry to the protective insulation of deep water. At the south end of the Texas coast, deep water is relatively scarce. The lack of deep water takes the guesswork out of locating snook during the cold-water period. During this time, snook fishermen need look in only one place: the Brownsville Ship Channel.

Although there is a smattering of other deep-water channels and pockets, the densest concentration of snook is in the ship channel when the water temperature dips. When the fish move into the ship channel, they remain there until late spring.

For the most part, the Brownsville Ship Channel is a textbook deep-water fishery. Docks and pilings provide plenty of vertical structure stretching from the bottom to the surface. During periods of cold weather, snook will hang tight to this structure, usually suspending just off the bottom. To reach them, anglers should employ quick-sinking lures such as D.O.A. TerrorEyz, Yum Sweet Cheeks swimbaits or half-ounce Blakemore Road Runners.

Because extreme South Texas is a subtropical region, warm weather is the dominant characteristic, even in winter. Typically, a few days after a front passes, the air temperature bounces back up into the 80s and stays there until the next front pushes through. During these warm, between-front periods, snook take advantage of the shallow water fringes of the Brownsville Ship Channel to feed actively.

Riprap shorelines will draw snook on warm-water days.

Much of the channel is lined with rocky riprap. The warmth radiated from these rocks quickly attracts snook on warm winter days. Under these conditions, snook will cruise the shallow shelf between the riprap shore and the dredged portion of the channel, feeding on mullet, pinfish and other baitfish. Anglers can take advantage of this aggressive feeding activity by throwing topwater plugs such as a Heddon Super Spook, Smithwick Devil’s Horse or XCalibur Jimmy.

If the weather stays above 80 degrees for more than a few days, snook become increasingly comfortable in the shallow-water haunts along the ship channel, which actually features a handful of small, half-moon-shaped flats, as well as numerous shallow bayous. When snook are in these areas during winter, they can be taken on topwater plugs, as well as soft-plastic baits like Yum Samurai Shad.

Snook don’t eat constantly, of course. One of the most frustrating situations occurs on cold, sunny days when snook laze just below the surface, warming in the midday sun. In this situation, snook are more easily seen than caught. The best way to finesse these finicky fish into biting is by free-lining either a live finger mullet, jumbo shrimp or a natural-looking artificial such as a D.O.A. Shrimp.

Although most anglers here use conventional tackle, fly-fishermen also can do quite well. When snook are holding deep, intermediate lines and heavily weighted flies such as Clouser minnows are the ticket. When snook move up shallower, floating lines tethered to poppers or slow-sinking flies such as seaducers produce good results.

Late Spring Through Fall

This 2-foot fish is on the lower end of the Texas slot limit of 24-28 inches.

Even when found in shallow water, snook remain structure-oriented fish. Flats lined with mangrove trees or covered with oyster beds are most attractive to snook. Pilings, marker posts and bayou mouths also attract linesiders.

Snook are fairly predictable when found on the flats this time of year. They typically will take topwater baits during lowlight periods in morning and evening. The rest of the day they are most susceptible to subsurface lures such as soft-plastic jigs, artificial shrimp and shallow-running crankbaits.

Fly-fishermen also can target flats-dwelling snook. Poppers, lightly weighted flies such as bead-eye Clousers and slow-sinking attractors such as seaducers all will convince snook to strike.

When snook inhabit the flats, they are much more accessible to a variety of anglers. Unlike the Brownsville Ship Channel, which has boat-only access, the flats of the Lower Laguna Madre and South Bay are easy to reach for boaters, canoeists, kayakers and wade fishermen. In fact, when snook are feeding on shallow flats, paddlers and waders often can approach them much more quietly than anglers drifting in boats or poling flats skiffs.

Summer is another time when South Texas fishermen encounter snook in deep water. A number of snook remain on the flats during summer’s heat, but much of the snook population also stays around the jetties lining the Brazos Santiago Pass. These fish typically hang between 5 and 15 feet of water, tight against the rocks. The jetties can be worked effectively from a boat or by walking on the jetty rocks themselves.

Regardless of the season, snook can be found, and caught, in South Texas. Anglers looking to do something a little different should consider this border bay system for their next fishing vacation.

Suggested tackle

Snook are formidable fighters and require fairly stout tackle to subdue. Conventional-tackle anglers should arm themselves with 6½-  to 7-foot casting or spinning rods loaded with 14-pound-test monofilament. Fly-anglers should choose 8- to 10-weight sticks and 14- to 16-pound leaders. In both instances, a short 30-pound shock leader is necessary to protect against the snook’s sharp gill plates.

Getting There

Accessing South Texas’ snook-rich waters is a snap. The towns of Port Isabel and South Padre Island are perfect jumping-off points and offer a wide array of accommodations and dining options.

Anglers preferring air travel should fly into Valley International Airport (VIA) in Harlingen (www.flythevalley.com). Someguides will arrange for airport pickup. Visitors heading to South Padre Island also have the option of an airport shuttle or, depending on which hotel they are staying at, a hotel shuttle service. Several taxis also run between VIA and Port Isabel and South Padre Island. Car rentals also are available at VIA.