Edited by: Kenneth Reaves
Reviewed by: Michael DarmontLast Update:
The Rundown
Best Overall: Mirrolure 17MR-21 Mirrodine Suspending Twitchbait
“The Mirrolure Mirrodine is honestly just a great lure. It catches all kinds of fish, comes in a variety of patterns, and can be fished in nearly any way you want it to.”
Best Premium Option: LiveTarget Mullet
“LiveTarget Lures are one of the best options you can find for perfectly mimicking real prey fish. It’s a great option for snook fishermen since snook loves to feed on small mullet.”
Best Budget Option: Spro Bucktail Jig
“Bucktail jigs are great lures that let you fish them in almost any way you want. They’re easy to find, easily replaceable, and very simple in design.”
There’s something special about getting a monster snook to take an artificial lure. They can be incredibly picky eaters, feeding in cycles that can frustrate you into giving up. The fight and feeling of accomplishment that comes with finally getting that big one to bite pays off all the frustration though, and choosing your lures is incredibly important in getting that bite.
You’ll want a good variety of lures to cover all your bases going for snook. Topwaters, jerk baits, and soft plastics can all be great options. In the end, the most important thing to have in your lure is that it mimics the food the snook are currently feeding on and the way to find that out is experimentation.
Every lure on the market promises to catch you more fish. Some lures are much more proven when it comes to getting snooks to bite though, and we’ve put this list together so you can rest assured you’re using the right ones to give you the best odds of success.
Featured Recommendations
Table of Contents
8 Best Lures for Snook 2021
Here are some of the best lures to use when you’re targeting snook:
- Best Overall: Mirrorlure Mirrodine
- Best Premium Option: Live Target Mullet
- Best Budget Option: Spro Bucktail Jig
- Best During Any Season: DOA Shrimp
- Best Beginner Topwater: Rapala Skitter Walk
- The Classic: Berkley Johnson Silver Minnow Gold
- Flashiest Lure: Yo-Zuri Crystal Minnow
- Most Durable Topwater: Heddon Super Spook
Mirrolure 17MR-21 Mirrodine Suspending Twitchbait
Best Overall: Hugely versatile hard bait that snook tend to love.
Check Price on Amazon
KEY FEATURES
- Fish anywhere in the water column at any speed
- Rattles and flashy inserts help attract fish
- Darting movement pattern in the water tempts strikes
The Mirrorlure Mirrodine is honestly just a great lure. It catches all kinds of fish, comes in a variety of patterns, and can be fished in nearly any way you want it to. It’s a great choice for any fishermen, and as an added bonus is a proven snook lure.
CLICK TO SEE MORE
Lure Details
The Mirrodine is made to mimic a baitfish. From the big lifelike eyes and flashy inserts to the color pattern and twitchy movement, it behaves and looks like a prey fish. Add in a rattle to help attract fish from further off and you’ve got a great snook lure.
How to Fish It
This lure takes the spot as best overall because you can fish it any way you want. One of the best styles is a slow retrieve that only twitches your rod tip, giving it time to sit still in between darting movements. The lure will sit anywhere in the water column as well, so you can fish it near the surface, mid water column, or near the bottom. The weight of the lure allows you a ton of freedom to make longer casts, and it performs well at any speed of retrieval so you get to really mix up your approaches to find what will work best for you.
Live Target Mullet
Best Premium Option: Realistic look and movement put fish on the boat.
Check Price on Amazon
KEY FEATURES
- The segmented body looks like a swimming fish
- Looks like a live mullet thanks to paint and movement
- Small mullet are a favorite prey of snook
LiveTarget Lures are one of the best options you can find for perfectly mimicking real prey fish. The bodies of the lures are segmented and move in the water like an actual swimming fish. It’s a great option for snook fishermen since snook loves to feed on small mullet like the Live Target Mullet.
CLICK TO SEE MORE
Lure Details
Live Mullet are painted and shaped to look exactly like small mullet.Its segmented body flexes as you pull it through the water to mimic the way a fish swims and gives it plenty of tail movement. The realistic look is the most important detail of the lure, but it also comes with well-placed hooks to snag anything you get to bite.
How to Fish It
One of the best ways to fish this lure is to pull it incredibly slowly through the water. The small movements of the tail are hard for snook to resist. Let it float in open areas of water or pull it along shorelines to mimic mullets’ natural travel routes.
SPRO Bucktail Jig
Best Budget Option: The long-lasting and always effective lure.
Check Price on Amazon
KEY FEATURES
- Versatile retrieval options
- Simple but tried and true lure
- Feather skirt to mimic the movement of fish tails
Bucktail jigs are great lures that let you fish them in almost any way you want. They’re easy to find, easily replaceable, and very simple in design. Overall, they’re a solid choice for fishermen targeting snook in any water depth. Spro Bucktail Jigs are one of the more popular and effective options on the market.
CLICK TO SEE MORE
Lure Details
Bucktail jigs are simple designs. It’s just a jig head with a feathered skirt attached. These from Spro come with lifelike eyes, a glossy paint, and can come in a variety of sizes and weight to meet your needs.
How to Fish It
You can use any kind of retrieve you want with these. Try a jerking, medium speed retrieve on snook. If you tend to fish bridges or passes where the water gets deep you can drop it down near the bottom and play it up and down to tempt a bite.
DOA Shrimp
Best During Any Season: Perfect lure for year-round fishing, since shrimp are always on the menu.
Check Price on Amazon
KEY FEATURES
- Great mimicry of shrimp in the water
- Impossible to retrieve improperly
- Works in any environment
DOA Shrimp are an inshore fishermen’s dream lure. They produce fish any time of year and work for all kinds of species including snook. The lure is a great choice around docks, on grass flats, and along the beaches.
CLICK TO SEE MORE
Lure Details
DOA Shrimp are the best lure you can find to mimic real shrimp. They’re semi-translucent with reflective flakes to help catch fish’s attention. The legs vibrate in the water, and it falls evenly just like a real shrimp in the water.
How to Fish It
The best way to work the lure is to slowly crawl it across the bottom. Throw in a twitch every now and then and you’ll usually catch fish. You can also throw it underneath a popping cork near the surface to help attract fish if the usual action isn’t working.
Rapala Skitter Walk
Best Beginner Topwater: Breathtaking topwater strikes by snook drawn in by the great action and sound of the Skitter Walk
Check Price on Amazon
KEY FEATURES
- Internal rattle gives feedback for how well you’re working it
- Walk-the-dog action is easy to do and effective
- No leader necessary
Rapala Skitter Walks are one of the easiest top water lures to use, you just need a little practice. With the internal rattle and some practice, you can get into a great rhythm of perfect action to snag some huge snook. It’s a great choice for fishermen at the end of the day to get some splashy strikes.
CLICK TO SEE MORE
Lure Details
The Skitter Walk features dual treble hooks with one at the tail section of the lure. Most of the weight is shifted to the back to get the best action out of it. You can get them in a variety of paints to try to match local prey fish, and the internal rattle helps attract fish and tell you when you’ve got the proper action.
How to Fish It
Don’t bother with a leader and tie on directly with braid for the best control. You’ll want to have just enough slack in the line that ech small jerk makes the lure bounce back and forth while setting you up for the next jerk. Slow retrieves work the best, but you can speed it up a little when you notice you’ve gotten a fish’s attention.
Berkley Johnson Silver Minnow Gold
The Classic: A common lure for decades, spoons work just as well on snook as they do other species.
Check Price on Amazon
KEY FEATURES
- The weedless hook makes it great for fishing grass flats
- Wobble in water but won’t twist your line
- Works in any environment on almost any fish
Berkley Johnson spoons have been one of the most consistent lures you can find for a very long time. Something about how easily you can get a fish to bite them always brings fishermen back. The gold color tends to work best for snook, and they’re a great inexpensive and easy-to-use option that gives you a ton of ways to fish them.
CLICK TO SEE MORE
Lure Details
The golden spoon has a weedless metal hook, making it perfect for fishing thick grass flats and mangroves snook like to hang around. They’ll flash in the water and mimic the baitfish that snook are feeding on, making it harder for them to ignore because it doesn’t mimic any prey species in particular.
How to Fish It
You can fish a spoon any number of ways. In deeper water you can use it like a jig, but the possibilities are really endless. Slow or fast retrieves, jerking or straight retrieves, everything works with a spoon and you just need a little experimentation to see which one is most effective that day.
Yo-Zuri Crystal Minnow
Flashiest Lure: The 3D Prism design of Crystal Minnows reflects like unlike any other lure on the list.
Check Price on Amazon
KEY FEATURES
- Erratic movement on all retrieves
- Floating lure that dives on jerks
- Extra flashy inserts and rattle to attract bites
Yo-Zuri Crystal Minnows come in a huge variety of styles. They look great in the water and have all the features you can ask for in a saltwater lure. They’re a great choice for more experienced fishermen who are looking for a ton of action out of their lures.
CLICK TO SEE MORE
Lure Details
Crystal minnows come with a wide variety of colored inserts. Each of them have an internal rattle and a lip which causes them to dive when pulled through the water. The prism style of Yo-Zuri lures reflect light incredibly well and the lifelike eyes add to the realism of the lure.
How to Fish It
It takes a little practice to get the most out of these lures. They work on multiple retrieve speeds, and are one of the best floating lures you can use for snook. On each jerk they’ll dive a little bit into the water, giving it an erratic movement that is hard to resist.
Heddon Super Spook Topwater
Most Durable Topwater: Designed to stand up to massive strikes by the biggest snook.
Check Price on Amazon
KEY FEATURES
- Super stout design for durability
- A huge number of patterns
- Simulates a wounded baitfish
As another topwater that’s perfect for a walk-the-dog retrieve, the Heddon Super Spook stands out for its durable construction. Made to withstand strikes from huge fish, it’s a great topwater for fishermen looking for a long-lasting and durable snook topwater.
CLICK TO SEE MORE
Lure Details
The lure has extra-durable connections and body construction that can hold up to large fish repeatedly striking it. It’s got dual treble hooks, and a fantastic action for bringing big fish up to attack it.
How to Fish It
Like the Skitter Walk, you want a slow jerking retrieval. It’s meant to mimic a wounded baitfish and does best on grass flats and near mangroves. Walk the dog will get the best action you can out of the lure.
Criteria Used For Evaluation
Proven Track Record:
Do a little research when shopping for snook lures. For example, reading this article is a great option. Snook can be picky eaters and refuse to bite a lot of baits for seemingly no reason, but they do feed in habitual cycles and if a lure has worked before it’s more likely to work again at some point.
Action:
Try to find lures that are either incredibly realistic, hard to resist, or flounder like an easy meal. For example, a spoon can be worked in a lot of different ways and its shine does well to attract fish. The top waters on the list mimic the movement of a wounded baitfish, while the others have realistic movement and features that are sure to attract a bite.
Versatility:
Perhaps the most important criteria in an effective snook lure are versatility. Yes, changing lures can help you figure out what snook are feeding on, but the presentation is just as if not more important. Lures that can be worked in a variety of ways and depths usually catch more snook than lures that are one-dimensional. Try all kinds of retrievals. From fast and straight pulls to jerks and slow retrieves.
Questions & Answers
What other baits work well for snook?
One of the most popular ways to fish for snook is using live baits. Tossing pilchards and other small baitfish is one of the best ways to get a snook to bite. It’s common to sight fish for them in clearer waters as well, making it incredibly fun to try and find them.
Where do snook tend to spend their time?
Snook prefer shallow water, and you can find them in a variety of environments. The best places to look are around mangroves, grass flats, along calmer beaches, and near river mouths.