It’s hard to believe that in just seven short months robalo season will once again be open … barring any crazy winter weather phenomena, of course. We will finally be able to savor the succulent, sweet flavor of the Centropomus undecimalis once again. The last time I was able to excite my taste buds with the highly prized sergeant fish was in December of 2009. You may all remember (God knows I do) the cold snap the state of Florida had to endure back in January of 2010. Most of us came out of that freeze unscathed, but the hard-fighting striped speedsters suffered a massive casualty count. Some of the estimates I read back then reported that upwards of 60 percent of Florida’s stock of this subtropical gamefish had been killed. The west coast of Florida has had a moratorium on their harvest ever since. Man, do I miss you, Mr. Snook!

As a fishing guide that spends more than 250 days a year on the water (and the rest of them wishing I was on the water) I am here to tell you that our snook population has rebounded quite nicely. My advice to you would be to pull out all the snook-catching equipment you stored away in 2010 and knock the cobwebs off of it. If your reels have been sitting around with the drags tightened, even just a little, taking them to your closest tackle shop would not be a bad idea. Most places will change your drags and oil up that reel for around $20. If you lose a nice keeper snook this September (after almost 3 years of waiting) due to reel failure, you will be kicking yourself for being such a cheapskate.