Bottoms up: A lot of folks hate low tides, but they can be incredibly useful for anglers who take the time to study the secrets they leave exposed. Very low tides can unveil deep channels and shallow sections for safer navigation, potholes on flats where fish might hide at lower stages of the tide, and fish-holding structure that other anglers pass right by. Use low tides to study your favorite fishing haunts.

slide rule : Most folks check their fly or lure as a matter of course after catching a fish, but also remember to run your hand down the last two feet or so of your leader to check for frays or cuts. Snook are notorious for beating up leader material. A marked up leader is highly visible to snook, and more prone to breaking if you hang into a nice fish.

bird on the bank: When fishing near shorelines, bars, flats, etc., keep an eye open for wading birds lined up along the water's edge. These birds are often after baitfish, and their keen eyesight usually puts them in good position to find a meal. By extension: if bait is present, you can bet that snook are close by. It also helps to know which types of birds you're seeing. Species such as the ibis or spoonbill are generally after small crustaceans, whereas herons, though they eat crustaceans as well, tend to target baitfish such as mullet, menhedden, thread herring, and the like - all popular menu items for Mr. Snook. Note that the ibis has a long, thin, curved beak, and the spoonbill's beak is - as the name implies - more or less spoon-shaped at the end. A heron's beak is thicker and straighter (see photo) - they use it to stab baitfish with quick jabs. Find a group of herons actively feeding, and odds are high that snook are nearby.

big ones beyond: Walking beaches to sight-fish for snook can be productive, especially early and late in the day. In the summer months, snook are often seen cruising the "wash" in large schools. When you see a group of cruising snook, peer into the deeper water behind them. Larger snook tend to cruise farther from the beach, where they're harder to spot. In fact, the largest snook you'll see are usually alone or with one other large fish, and they often cruise just out of your line of sight. Pull down that hat brim, use a good set of polarized glasses, walk slowly and do a lot of squinting. These big fish are wary, but they're often overlooked and can be fooled with the subtle presentation of a smaller lure or fly.

rod reversal: If you hook a large snook that takes you right into the mangrove roots, you're going to need some luck to get him out. To increase your odds, point your rod tip toward the water and stick it as far down as you can without submerging the reel. Be sure to keep pressure on the fish the entire time. This gives you an extra 4-5 feet of leverage, and often buys you enough time to pull the fish back into open water.

bird on the bank: When fishing near shorelines, bars, flats, etc., keep an eye open for wading birds lined up in a row along the water's edge. These birds are after baitfish, and their keen eyesight generally puts them in good position to find a meal. By extension: if bait is present, you can bet that snook are close by

flipper knows: Dolphin are notorious snook lovers, and these powerful, efficient hunters can quickly decimate your chances of catching fish in a normally productive spot. Instead of cursing their presence, however, use it to your advantage. If you see dolphin actively feeding on a shoreline, flat, or other area you usually ignore, make a mental note of the tide and temperature and fish it the next time out.

know the blow: Remember that wind can severely influence tide heights. A strong wind moving in the same direction as the tidal flow can literally "blow out" a low tide, exposing shallow areas and leaving boaters stranded in the shallows for hours. Conversely, a wind blowing with an incoming tide can increase tidal flow - and water height - considerably. Be sure to check weather reports along with tide charts.

too hot to handle: When it's been hot for a prolonged period, snook shy away from very shallow water. The reason: flats and other shallow water areas heat up more quickly than deeper cuts and channels. Fish these areas early/late in the day or even after dark, but switch to deeper cuts and channels in the heat of afternoon.

cool water, hot action: After a hot day, an afternoon rain can lower water temperatures, making snook - especially those in skinny water - more active and aggressive. Try to be on the water after a late afternoon thunderstorm.

get the lowdown: Use low tides to learn more about the bottom structure of the areas you fish. When you're fishing unfamiliar waters, it's a good idea to show up during a low tide, making mental notes about the bottom structure that's exposed. This will not only help you navigate the area safely on a return trip, it will also help you discover pockets of water that are most likely to hold fish on different stages of the tide.

in and out: As a rule of thumb, fish deeper water (passes/inlets) on an outgoing tide, and fish shallow water (flats/shorelines) on an incoming tide. Snook tend to gravitate toward passes on an outgoing tide, facing the current to gobble up any morsels washed out of the backcountry by the tidal flow. On an incoming tide, they like to follow baitfish as they "push" further and further into the shallows.

hide and seek: Remember to fish eddies where structure breaks the flow of the current. Snook are notorious ambushers who prefer to lay in wait and surprise their prey. Look for spots where water flow is impeded, be it an oyster bar, submerged tree or other structure. Snook will hide behind structure in the eddying water and shoot into the current to nab a meal.

go flat: If you prefer to keep the stock hooks on your plugs, flatten the barbs. You'll lose a fish occasionally, but not as many as you may think. (Most fish throw the hook due the angler letting slack form in the line, not due to the lack of a barb). The advantages: you won't kill or hurt another fish by trying to wrestle out a stubborn hook, and you won't have to worry about a trip to the emergency room if you hook yourself or a fishing partner.

high and low: When fishing shorelines from a boat, have the angler in the bow throw a topwater lure, and the angler in the stern throw a jig or other sub-surface lure. Snook are well known for "buzzing" lures, but not hitting them. A subsurface lure will often get smacked once a topwater lure has gotten their attention.

skip your way to snook: Along shorelines, snook move farther back into the roots as the tide rises, where they can be hard to reach. With practice, you can learn to "skip" your baits under overhanging mangrove branches, much like you'd skip a stone across a pond. Though baitcasters are standard fare for fishing Florida's shorelines, a medium-heavy spinning rod (for pulling power) is actually the best bet when using this technique, as baitcasters have a tendency to backlash in this situation.

avoid the bright lights: When fishing lights at night, run your plugs along the dark edges of a lights perimeter, not directly under it. You want snook to instinctively strike your lure, not examine it.

humane hooks: Taking all but the back treble hooks off can give many plugs a much more lively action. That's a big advantage when your target is snook, since they often seem to respond to lively presentations. You'll miss some fish that a lure with a full set of treble hooks would snare, but not as many as you might imagine. And it's much safer on the fish you're going to release.

stay slick: If you remove hooks from your hollow topwater plugs to improve their action, be sure to fill the holes left by the removed hooks with epoxy. If you don't, they'll get waterlogged and lose their newfound action. Some anglers use fingernail polish to fill in smaller nicks and scratches.

less is more: Try substituting single hooks for treble hooks on your favorite topwater plugs. Though some plugs are designed to be perfectly balanced with their stock hooks in place, the action of others can be improved by the reduced friction of a single hook. Needless to say, single hooks make the process of releasing fish much easier.

little lures, big results: Many folks believe that big lures are needed to catch big fish, but that's not necessarily true. Some of my biggest snook have come on smaller lures and lighter line. Sure, it's harder to hook and catch a big fish on light line, but it's much more fun, and they're definitely more likely to fall for a more subtle presentation. This increase in hookups can make your trips more exciting than throwing an oversize lure all day with only a few strikes.

cold casting: When the barometer drops, snook flock inland, seeking refuge and warmth in residential canals, creeks, bays and the like. Depending on the duration of cold fronts and fluctuations in water temperature, they can often be found in deep, calm water that maintains warmer temperatures longer than the shallows. Try fishing residential docks later in the day when the sun is high, especially those which have been deeply dredged to accommodate a large boat. If you're fishing the backcountry, try deep, undercut banks. Fish a sub-surface offering such as a jig or weighted softbait, bumping it slowly across the bottom.

Grin and bear it: If you fly fish from a boat and have trouble controlling line that's on the deck, kick off those shoes and go barefoot. In your bare feet, you'll be able to feel the line, stepping on it to keep it on the deck if it's windy, and stepping off of it so you don't blow a cast.

and a side of flies: Practice sidearm casting until you can consistently shoot 40-45 feet of line or so. Sidearm casts are very useful when tracking fish in shallow water, as they allow the angler to maintain a lower profile on the bow of a boat or while wading. Sidearm casting is also very useful along shorelines, allowing you to flick flies back up under overhanging mangrove branches.

think ahead: When fishing shorelines from the bow of a boat, position the boat so that your casts are falling at an angle well ahead of the boat instead of perpendicular to the shore. Fish will spot the boat once it's even with them - or even before - so you want to lay as many casts as possible into the "virgin" water ahead.

quit flailing: When fly fishing, keep your false casts to a minimum. If you're fishing the correct distance of the shore, it shouldn't take you more than two false casts - and at the most three - to place the fly next to the shoreline structure. Too much flailing about will result in tired arms and spooked fish.

downsize at dark: Use small flies next to lights at night. Snook under lights are usually wary, even when they're stacked in numbers. Though snook will hit larger patterns under lights at times, a very small fly - anywhere from 3/4" to 1" long - is often the ticket to slurping takes. Little epoxy and shrimp flies are a great bet when snook are skittish under lights.

cheap thrill: Use Armor All to treat your fly line. That's right - Armor All. I've used it for a few years now, and it does just as good a job of conditioning your line as more expensive lubricants/cleaners. Simply spray it on a cloth and run your line through the moistened cloth. I usually clean my line before each trip. A clean, conditioned line will perform dramatically better.

stretch it out: To keep your fly line working well, you'll need to stretch it between trips. The best way to do so is to moisten a cloth with a fly line lubricant (or Armor All) and then, as you run the line through the cloth, squeeze the cloth tightly so that the line "squeaks" as it passes through. With your free hand, pull the line through the cloth in two to three feet increments, stretching it tight each time. A well-stretched line flies through your guides, making for longer casts and more accurate presentations.

get in the zone: To efficiently work a shoreline, establish a distance that's close enough that you can control the placement of the fly every time, but far enough that you can comfortably shoot line without feeling cramped. Try to maintain that distance as you move along the shore. You'll use the same amount of line on each cast, and your casts will consistently fall within the strike zone.

haul it: Learn to double-haul. It's an invaluable technique for longer casts, fighting wind and using bulkier flies like hair bugs and poppers.

go flat: Flatten the hooks on your flies for quick releases. An added advantage: next time you double-haul a popper into the back of your head, it'll slide right out and you can keep fishing.

simplify: Learning to tie descending leaders is great, and a well-crafted one will indeed turn over nicely. But if you're just concerned with catching fish - not setting records - skip the complicated knots and mathematical calculations. Use an eight to nine foot section of straight 20-25 lb. leader, and you'll catch plenty of fish.