Been trying for years to catch this fish. I was like a kid on Christmas when I saw him.

Nicely done.

I was hoping to get out this weekend but our house is a biohazard zone. One kid with a fever who got me sick and another with a stomach virus. Mrs. Finn has wisely left the contamination zone.

Very well done Sir.

Congrats! Packery?

Yes sir, Packery North.

I've caught 3 snook total right there. I lost a huge one right in that same area as I was trying to get it up past the rocks. Always a treat to catch!! Congrats!

Today was exceptional there. 14 Mangrove Snapper 4 Spec's and a Pomp in the cooler. I didn't expect to catch a keeper Snook but he was the highlight of a good day at the jetty.

How do you guys recommend fishing Packery? I was on the south jetty this morning casting into the channel with live shrimp and mullet. Only got one bite

Jarz if you can meet me at the north jetty at 6am tomorrow I can show you. Basically take what the jetty gives you and fish tight to the rocks. We free lined shrimp on channel side today.

Lonestar, unfortunately today was my only chance to fish. I will remember this next time. Thanks for the offer!

Apparently TPWD recently netted some Snook pretty far North.
Forgot where but you I-net warriors can find it!
Very exciting!!!

What if we started a group/thread of folks interested in fishing Packery/Corpus area? I don't know jack about fishing but enjoy it.

I'm in. I've been coming down here for the last 6 years and if I can help take some of the aggravation out of the learning curve and help newer to fishing people catch fish I'm all for it.

awesome! Great job on the snook! Always wanted to snag one in TX

Caught many of them there. There was even a slot sized one that was delicious dining.

28 Mangrove's 4 Specks and a pomp in two days. Not too bad. Lost a huge Red at the rocks that I was pretty bumped about but all in all a great trip.

Now I know where the town's name came from. Learn something new every day.

How common are snook at Packery? Is this seriously a thing or just random? PM if you don;t want to give away secrets. I'm genuinely interested because in-laws have a new place in Port A and once it's put back together me and the FIL will hit Packery at some point.

Fairly uncommon I would say. Every five years the star align and they run through. I ran into Shorebound Angler while there this weekend and he said he has caught several. Saw Threasher from YouTube the same day and he hasn't caught one. I believe I'm in rare company as far as catching a Texas Snook.

I caught a 33" snook in Baffin Bay 17 years ago. Been fishing CC, ULM and Baffin since I was a kid and that's the only one I've ever seen. They're pretty rare this far north.

I have fished the Texas coast my whole life, and I haven't caught one.

I know they are a resident species down near South Padre and further South into tropical latitudes. Some folks and guides specifically target them in South Texas. I think the packery area is probably around the North end of their range, but I believe they are a warm water fish also, so the hotter years we have had lately has probably allowed their range to expand some.

I am not a biologist...but can tell you what my years on the water with a rod say....

Guides terget snook in the Brownsville Ship Channel where they are common.

Lonestar06 said:

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Fairly uncommon I would say. Every five to years the star align and they run through. I ran into Shorebound Angler while there this weekend and he said he has caught several. Saw Threasher from YouTube the same day and he hasn't caught one. I believe I'm in rare company as far as catching a Texas Snook.

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Its a rare year that I don't catch several at Packery - usually this time of year and with the water slightly off color. Live shrimp on a lemon rig is the trick.

Good to know. Im by no means a expert, just someone that goes down to fish 6 or 7 times a year. We need to fish sometime.

NW80 said:

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Apparently TPWD recently netted some Snook pretty far North.
Forgot where but you I-net warriors can find it!
Very exciting!!!

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Fat snook are netted and caught fairly regularly as far north as West Galveston Bay. These subspecies don't get as big, I think ~20" is about max.

Common snook are, for lack of a better word, more common down south and you can catch them fairly regularly as far north as the Port A jetties, but they become more prevalent the further south you get. Brownsville ship channel, south bay and Boca Chica are popular spots for them. If you ever want to see just how many snook are out there grab a snorkel and some fins and go snorkel around the Port A or Packery Jetties on a really calm summer day when there's good visibility. You'll be extremely surprised at how many there are and how huge some of them are.

The key to snook is cover and current. Almost like a large mouth bass, snook really like to hunker down in some rip rap and wait to ambush bait as it drifts by. If you're trying to catch snook at the jetties you better be fishing really close to the rocks. If you're not getting hung up occasionally, you're probably not fishing close enough. If the current isn't moving, they usually won't be eating either so target something else. Another reason why people may not catch snook often at the jetties is something that OP mentioned. There's another fish that loves cover, is extremely aggressive and is found in high numbers at the jetties, mangrove snapper. Mangroves will hide in a lot of the nooks and crannies that snook like and probably snatch a lot of bait from the snook before they can get to it. Try bouncing a plastic on a light jighead off the rocks and you'll probably catch less mangroves and more snook. Live shrimp free-lined with a split shot or two or a lemon rig can be deadly but you're basically drifting the cheese puff of the ocean down there, everything will eat that.

I catch and release 90% of the time when it comes to redfish and trout, but mangroves I keep 100% of the time as long as they're big enough to be worth cleaning. I figured out how to catch them pretty easily around Port A and Rockport and will usually go load up on them after chasing reds and trout all day. They're a lot of fun on light tackle and delicious, really underrated fish IMO.

Pompano are also great table fair. I've never really targeted them but I always thought they ran the beachfront during the colder months. I caught this one in Rockport a couple summers ago. There was a group of them tailing on a grass flat. They're bulldog fighters too. It would turn sideways and rest while I tried to drag him in then take off on a burning run when I got it close.