The following are excerpts from a Sept. 11, 2007, article, “Catch it, clean it, eat it: The story of the snook” by Doris Reynolds in the Naples Daily News.
If Naples and Marco Island were to select the Greatest Fish of the Century, it surely would be the snook. Since the 1950s the snook has been protected from over-fishing by being designated a game fish.
Early settlers considered the snook to be a trash fish and they were set free when they were caught. And then some enterprising cook began skinning the fish and found the meat to be tender and delicious.
My favorite Naples legend is the story about Colonel Henry “Marse” Watterson rising each morning and walking down to the Gulf in his nightshirt and, within minutes, scooping up a good-sized snook to take back to his cottage (now Palm Cottage) for breakfast.
During the 1950s, I recall that catching a snook was an almost daily occurrence for those of us who walked down to Doctor’s Pass when the tide was just right. Plenty of snook were also caught from the Naples Pier. And down in Marco, snook were caught in abundance.
Catching a snook provided me with a lifetime memory. It’s been several years since I went fishing out of Goodland with Marjorie Tastetano’s son, Don. A huge snook took my bait and those aboard refused to help me boat the monster. After a long and exhausting battle, I finally brought in the 18-pounder.
We took the fish to the Marco Lodge, then owned by Marjorie and Alex Tasetano. The fish was gutted, filleted and cooked in the lodge’s kitchen. We feasted on snook, hush puppies and Marj’s famous cornbread slathered with her guava jelly. The remaining fillets were stored in my freezer and provided many a memorable dinner.
FWC on Snook (Centropomus undecimalis)
Snook orient themselves to face moving water and wait for prey to be carried down the current. They jump clear of the water and burst into long runs. Use live pinfish, small mullet, shrimp, or sardines free-lined or fished off the bottom with a fish finder rig. They take a large variety of lures based on water conditions. Beware of the snook’s razor-sharp gill covers! Snook make excellent table fare.
This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Archives: Catch it, clean it, eat it – Snook in Naples, Marco Island
Reporting by Naples Daily News / Naples Daily News
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