You probably expected to see a lot more than five flies, but these are my go-to snook patterns. I use the mangrove muddler most of the time when fishing the edges of the mangroves, though I also throw the white muddler (a version of Lou Tabory's Snake Fly) when I think large snook are present. Both patterns are good for sight fishing for snook. The seaducer is also a good fly for the mangroves, and is a favorite for casting into deeper, dark holes of backwater mangrove creeks. My favorite is the Phat Phoam Gurgler. There is nothing quite like topwater action with snook. On a recent evening, I landed four nice snook (all approximately 26") using a gurgler. The snook were resting in potholes on the edge of a flat at the end of an outgoing tide. The water was only near 5" deep. I cast across the current and retrieved the gurgler at a medium speed. The wakes chasing the fly were enough to make me hold my breath. The strikes and runs in the shallow water were fantastic. The baitfish pattern is my go-to fly for sight fishing for snook along the beaches in summer.

Upper Left: White Muddler

Lower Left: Seaducer

Hook - Mustad 34007, size 1 or 1/0
Tail - girzzly hackle outside of white hackle, splayed out
Collar - red grizzly hackle, palmered
Eyes - silver beadchain, medium or large
Thread - Danville flat waxed nylon, red

Upper Right: Phat Phoam Gurgler

Hook - Mustad 34007, size 1
Tail - white Slinky Fiber
Underbody - grizzly hackle, tied in at the hook bend, palmered to hook eye
Body - white foam (1/4"). Cut the rear end to a taper so it is easier to tie to the hook shank.

Lower Right: Mangrove Muddler

Hook - Mustand 34007, size 1
Tail - brown bucktail (from back side of natural white bucktail), over which is gold holographic flashabou
Body - gold body braid
Head - brown bucktail (from the back side of a natural white bucktail, from the butt end), trimmed to shape
Thread - Danville flat waxed nylon, brown

Bottom Center: Beach Fly

Hook - Mustad 34007, size 1
Upper and lower body - white Slinky Fiber (with flash embedded)
Eyes - stick-on
Thread - Danville flat waxed nylon, white

All material copyright Aaron Adams 2009 and beyond, unless noted.