Catching My First-Ever Pacific Snook!

The snook is called robalo, and they are one of the most sought after fish. Not only do they leap from the water and put up a good fight, but snook are also very good eating.

I have had some good chances at catching Pacific snook over the past 6 years of coming to Costa Rica. For example, three years ago in Playa Zancudo I hooked a snook while fishing in the surf, but after making a tremendous leap straight clear of the water, the snook was able to shake the hook free.

I have also been in the presence of snook.

For example, once I had several snook swirling on the surface while I was fishing a brackish inlet that empties into the Golfo Dulce. I did not hook up on this occasion, but a man who was fishing next to me managed to catch one on a Daiwa SP Minnow.

The most glaring example of "you should have been there" occurred one trip after leaving Costa Rica. I had left behind a white Magic Swimmer for a Gringo friend of mine, who ended up landing a massive 45 inch snook fishing the same spot I had been fishing.

Nevertheless my spirits were high going into the 2022 trip to Costa Rica which I am currently on right now, and I am happy to report that I can now finally cross the elusive snook off my bucket list.

Read on to learn more!

Snook Fishing A Brackish Lagoon

The villa where Lauren and I are currently staying overlooks a beautiful brackish water lagoon. During the rainy season the lagoon is connected to the Pacific Ocean, which allows snook from the sea to enter the lagoon. 

I can only imagine what the lagoon must look like during the rainy season when big ocean waves rolling off the Pacific tear through the beach and wash into the lagoon. The majority of the lagoon is lined with trees and plants, but it is very evident where the ocean tears through, as this section is all sand with no plant life. 

You can see the sandy section that I'm talking about in the right hand side of the image below.

There are plenty of turtle nests in this section of shoreline, and in fact the entire beach is loaded with turtles. At night the adult turtles crawl up the sand, dig a hole and lay their eggs. It is very easy to find older nests with dozens of hatched baby turtle egg shells. 

During the dry season (which is occurring right now) the snook, and an abundance of bait fish, are trapped in the lagoon, which makes the fishing experience similar to fishing a pond. The only difference is that this pond contains saltwater crocodiles! 

There was also a fer-da-lance snake hanging around the property (one of the world's deadliest snakes) which has since been caught and relocated. Needless to say Lauren and I have been closely watching where we step, which is a smart thing to do in the jungle.

The lagoon itself is not very deep and the water is brown and murky. There is the equivalent of what I would call lily pads scattered throughout the pond, and the jungle forest comes down the surrounding hills right to the pond's edge. 

Aside from crocodiles, fish and snakes, the lagoon is also home to an amazing variety of birds.

So far we have seen toucans, scarlett macaws, frigate birds, and even ospreys!

Yes you heard me correct, the same ospreys we have on Cape Cod during the spring and summer are here in Costa Rica. Hearing the chirps of the ospreys almost makes me feel like I am back home.

Fishing In The Lagoon

When we first arrived, Lauren and I hiked down to the beach and walked to the lagoon. I tried fishing the small stretch of sandy shoreline which is really the only shore fishing location, because I am definitely not going to try wade fishing in this area. 

Surprisingly I had a solid hit from a fish on my fifth or sixth cast. I did not get any more action that evening but it was a promising start to the fishing. I knew that shore fishing would be difficult, but fortunately the villas where we are staying have a fishing kayak which I've been able to use.

So with all that in mind I figured I would get an early start and launch the kayak at sunrise this past Wednesday morning. Yet things did not go as planned (which happens a lot in Costa Rica) and I found myself launching the kayak at 8:30am, which meant I would be fishing in the heat of the morning. 

Nearly every day in Costa Rica during the dry season is the same. From sunrise until about 10AM there is absolutely no wind, and no clouds, and the sun just cooks you. Later in the afternoon the breeze picks up and the scattered clouds provide some occasional moments of shade, but from mid-morning until early afternoon it is downright sweltering hot. 

To help prevent myself from getting roasted by the sun I wore a wide brimmed hat, lightweight pants, and loaded up on sun block. I carefully and slowly walked down the jungle path keeping an eye out for snakes. While launching the kayak I made sure to avoid stepping on fallen palm spines. 

A few years ago I stepped barefoot onto a palm spine and the spine broke off in my foot, which resulted in an infection, which forced me to visit the hospital to have it removed. Fun stuff!

Fortunately this time there were no incidents and I was soon happily paddling and casting into the lagoon. 

Kayak Fishing For Snook

For this trip I was casting a Strategic Angler Bullet which is a long casting, slow sinking lure of about 4-5 inches in length. I figured it would be an effective lure for fishing the shallow lagoon, and a good imitation of the bait which I had so far observed. 

I began paddling and exploring all sections of the lagoon and casting and retrieving at a slow pace. I figured a slower retrieve might work better since it was hot and sunny, and not exactly prime time (I've been told sunrise and sunset is best for snook). However, I would soon learn that I was dead wrong in my thinking.

By 10:30AM I had fished a large section of the lagoon with nothing to show for my efforts. I did not see any swirls or get any bites. I was starting to think that the stories I'd been told about this lagoon containing "muchos robalos" may have been exaggerated. I was getting hot and thinking about heading back for a cold beer and a dip in the pool.

Before quitting for the morning I figured why not paddle a little more and explore an enticing looking cove which is located on the northern side of the lagoon. Due to the lack of aquatic vegetation I figured that maybe this section of the lagoon was a little deeper than the rest. Perhaps there would be some bait and snook nearby. I began casting and drifting in the ever so slight sea breeze which was finally beginning to blow off the Pacific Ocean.

Fast Retrieve Is The Ticket

Suddenly about 50 yards away from my kayak some sort of fish rose to the surface and made a big commotion. I had already made my cast so I decided to reel the Strategic Angler Bullet back in as fast as I could so I could fire a quick cast towards the activity. 

Little did I know that the snook wanted the fast retrieve. About 25 feet off the blow of my kayak, just as I was thinking about getting ready to make my next cast, a solid snook of about 5-8 pounds struck the lure and catapulted into midair.

I was shocked that the snook hit the lure considering I was reeling it so quickly!

This was my bucket list fish and really wanted to successfully land the snook. The fish leapt several times and pulled a little line from my Tsunami Saltx 4000 reel.

It dove beneath my paddle and around the bow before leaping again.