A Somewhat Surprising First

I've shared in a couple of places that I caught the first snook of my life last week. Actually, I caught of a couple of snook while fishing with Chris Holleman, and I believe he caught three during the same afternoon. Both that I caught were brutally strong and a load of fun, matching everything I've always heard.

The fact that I had never caught a snook before seems at least a little odd because I grew up in the Tampa Bay area, which is in the heart of snook country, and I've traveled to Florida to fish many times over the years. I'd hooked a couple of other snook that I know about and maybe a coupe of others, but for whatever reason, I really haven't been in situations where I've seriously fished for them very often over the years. Other folks used to fish for snook and occasionally catch one off Big Pier 60 on Clearwater Beach while I was growing up, but I normally was locked in on the trout that I could catch all night instead of thinking about the one or two big snook that lurked in just a couple of pier lights.

If I've remembered to tally all, the snook brings me to 38 species for 2016, and it's seeming unlikely at this point that I'll add more before the year is over. That's the highest number since I began counting, definitely aided by the fact that I did more saltwater fishing this year than I had done in many years.