What size bite tippet to use for snook

The snook experience

Trying to keep snook out of mangrove roots or from wrapping pilings is an experience that walks the thin line between anxiety and excitement.

But when you pull it off and the fish is in hand you’ll always remember it as exhilarating.

Getting it right

The right leader/bite tippet combo is extremely important in snook fishing.

You need a good taper to unroll the fly under mangrove branches or docks, you need to be stealthy enough to get the bite and thick enough to hold up to abrasion from the fish itself (snook mouths are like sandpaper on tippet material) and obstacles.

Situational & fluoro vs mono

In the section and Instagram reel below we go over our favorite leader and bite tippet setups for snook in different situations.

All the bite tippets listed below are fluorocarbon which is our preference for its strength to diameter ratio. But if you’re using topwater flies you’ll want mono bite tippet instead.

The leader - 20lb class

The leader - 20lb class

20lb class offers a good combination of sporty and strong. You can break the fish off if you need to and you also have better insurance against mangrove roots with 20lb than with 16lb.

We find that the RIO Redfish/Seatrout Leader has the perfect taper to turn over large snook flies as well as present small ones.

25lb Bite Tippet

25lb Bite Tippet

25lb is the smallest bite tippet to choose from for snook.

We use 25lb for your average docklight fish, your average snook hanging around with baby tarpon in mangroves and only for bigger fish on the beach or flats if the water is super clear and fish are leader shy.

30lb Bite Tippet

30lb Bite Tippet

30lb is your baseline. It's our go-to size when we're not sure what to expect.

It's strong enough for big fish, it can hold up to a decent amount of abrasion and it's thin enough to get the bite most of the time.

35lb Bite Tippet

35lb Bite Tippet

35lb adds a bit more abrasion resistance and durability than 30lb while sacrificing a little stealth.

It can be used when the water is cloudy or off-color and you're expecting slot and bigger fish.

40lb Bite Tippet

40lb Bite Tippet

40lb is for big fish in low visibility situations.

Dredging big flies in deep, dark water in the Everglades and fishing faint shadow lines around bridges are 40lb situations.

The perfect taper

Our all-around favorite leader is the RIO Redfish/Seatrout Leader!

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