Some say that a fisherman is only as good as their lure. If you enjoy fishing for snook, you know how important it is to have the right equipment to make the catch of the day.
We’ve rounded up the best lures for snook. Our top choices of snook lures cover a wide range of brands and prices, and you’re sure to find one you enjoy.
Top 13 Fishing Lures for Snook
- DOA Cal Shad Tail
- Doa Shrimp
- Flair Hawk Jig
- Yo-Zuri Crystal 3D Shrimp
- Johnson Silver Minnow Gold
- LIVE TARGET Mullet Floating Twitchbait 4 ½”
- Mirrolure Mirrodine
- Rapala Skitter Walk
- DOA Terroreyz
- Spro Bucktail Jig
- Wind Cheater
- Yo Zuri Crystal Minnow
- Heddon Zara Spook
DOA Cal Shad Tail
The DOA Cal Shad Tail lure is a 3 ½” soft plastic bait. It resembles real shrimps in how it looks and how it swims.
The design mimics farm-raised shrimp, and DOA has other lures that also imitate small crabs.
They come in a pack of 50, making them affordable and common sights along brackish waters where fishing for snook is common.
It has a chartreuse coloring that some say looks like root beer, with bright flecks of gold and other colors to catch the eyes of curious and hungry fish like snook, bass, trout, and redfish.
Doa Shrimp
The DOA 3” Shrimp lure is a tried-and-true favorite for snook fishing and is a common sight in tackle boxes.
It has real shrimp at its core, making it hard to resist for hungry fish, and the clear plastic rig is reasonably sturdy.
They have a single, sufficiently large hook, so be sure to use caution when removing it from the lip of a hooked fish, or you’ll do damage to your throwbacks. They come in a three-pack.
This lure once had a reputation for saltwater fishing only, but that’s no longer the case, with many wildly successful days in fresh and brackish water in evidence.
Snook, bass, trout, and other fish tend to go for this bait quite aggressively, especially if you’re fishing in waters with a natural clear shrimp population.
Flair Hawk Jig
This jig is an alloy steel snook lure that comes in a three-pack. They’re about 1.5 ounces with an oversized white flair and blue tail, designed for fishing common snook.
When dragging this through the water, you’ll want to get some pop into the line to make the lure hesitate and display its full array of colors.
Once you master that, you’ll have more fish than you know what to do with. This is a flare hawk snook jig, so it’s ideal for going after snook but not so good for other fish.
Yo-Zuri Crystal 3D Shrimp
This Yo-Zuri Crystal 3D is a 2 ¾” lure that weighs about 7 grams, making it very lightweight.
This is among the most life-like shrimp lures you’ll find, with an oversized eye on each side and a reasonable price point. The downside is that you’ll only get one per package.
These come with treble hooks on both the front and the back, and are especially successful with trout.
The swimming action is tight and wiggling, making it perfect for inshore saltwater fishing, but brackish water fish will also enjoy it. It comes in a range of colors, each with a clear, crystal surround.
Johnson Silver Minnow Gold
The 2 ¾” Berkley Johnson Silver Minnow Gold lure is only ½ ounce, made of brass and other metal.
The metal serves as a weed guard, and the brass blade is ideal for long casts. It’s a tackle box standard and holds up well even in tough slop. It’s one of the most successful minnow-shaped lures ever made.
It has a 35-degree wobble that rocks back and forth, but the line won’t twist, and the lure won’t roll.
Its plating is in either silver or 24K gold, so it’s much shinier and more attractive than other competitors.
LIVE TARGET Mullet Floating Twitchbait 4 ½”
The Live Target Mullet Floating Twitchbait is large, at 4 ½”, and features a multi-layered paint application that brings the lure to life. It’s ⅝ ounce, and you’ll get one in a pack.
It comes with two small, tri-barbed hooks pre-attached, so you have to be a little bit careful about avoiding snags.
Its gray/black color has life-like iridescence, scales, and green and red markings that make this among the most realistic lures on the market.
This lure has done well catching many types of fish, with users saying it will end up in the mouth of almost any predator, including snook, trout, jacks, bluefish, lizardfish, ladyfish, and flounder, as well as inshore fish.
Mirrolure Mirrodine
The MirroLure Mirrodine XL is a twitch bait, named for its impressively mirror-like appearance that is sure to catch the light and attract plenty of attention for hungry fish. It’s 3 ⅛” and 9/16-ounce.
It’s designed to float suspended in the water, so it takes some practice to get it at the right height, gauging the sinking time to attract the fish you want.
Once you’re dialed in, this ultra-shiny and strike-inducing lure will catch the eye of snook, striper, trout, tarpon, redfish, and other big game swimmers in your local waters. Keep in mind, though, that these are relatively slow to sink.
Rapala Skitter Walk
The Rapala Saltwater Skitter Walk is alloy steel, and 3 ⅛”-long. You can also find other lengths to suit whatever fish you’re aiming for. It’s very lightweight, but an exact specification is not apparent.
There are also other versions, like the v-shaped ones, that are tailor-made for use in rougher waters. These ones are ideal for calm seas.
The eyes are realistic, and the Rapala ‘walk-the-dog’ swimming action you’d expect is apparent on your first cast.
The weighted tail keeps the lure where you want it, and you can choose from a few different colors, including gold, chartreuse, blue mullet, redhead, or multi-colored. Be sure to test the sharpness of the hooks before casting.
You may need to practice the retrieve a few times, though, as it can be a little tricky to get the hang of with this lure.
DOA Terroreyz
The DOA Terroreyz lure is made from vinyl, and it’s the first of its kind. Using a specially-designed holographic eye, this lure will make ‘eye contact’ with fish, flashing out reflected light beams and making itself more appealing to predators.
The lead hook is hidden and snag-proof. The nose of the lure will usually bounce off of potential snags like rocks and roots.
This is an ideal lure for inshore fishing. You only get one hook with each package of three lures, so bring some extras along, especially if you’re in really tough conditions where replacement is more likely.
Snook particularly love this lure, and it’s impressively durable for such a light bait.
Spro Bucktail Jig
The Spro Bucktail Jig comes in a single pack, in this case as a one-ounce lure. But, you can also choose from other weights in half-ounce increments from .5-ounces to 3-ounces.
It has a unique shape, with an upturned mouth and dorsal eyelet, making this lure show a distinctive motion in the water. Combined with its bucktail shape, this is unique for this type of lure.
Unlike most other bucktails, this lure won’t hang straight down. It glides through the water like it’s swimming.
It’s ideal for fishing for snook, bass, and fluke, and you can choose from about a dozen colors to match your fishing environment.
Take note, though, that you may be slightly underwhelmed with the glow as compared to the advertising, and the hair is a little fragile.
Wind Cheater
The Bomber Lures Winder Cheater is a tough lure, ready for saltwater action. This is the 4 ½” version, but there is also a larger 6” option.
Its design is for throwing it hard and far, but it does take some effort to master the cast. It’s tough, with the ultra-high tensile strength to make it nearly indestructible.
You can choose from six colors, and the wounded action of its suspended swimming pattern often provokes violent attacks from hungry stripers, redfish, bluefish, and snook.
Yo Zuri Crystal Minnow
The Yo Zuri Crystal Minnow lure is available in a few different sizes, from 3 ½” to 5 ¼”, and it’s ideal for floating near the water’s surface.
The 3 ½” size is only ¼ ounce. This is the newest generation of Yo-Zuri’s Crystal Minnow line, with improved internals and an even more eye-catching and fish-attracting appearance.
It features a very durable ABS body and new hooks that are both sharper and stronger.
The lure comes in about a dozen different colors, each with a brilliant and iridescent prism finish.
Heddon Zara Spook
The Heddon Super Spook Topwater 5” fishing lure comes with three tri-barbed hooks and weighs ⅞-ounce. You have a variety of other sizes to choose from as well.
The Super Spook is ‘super-stout,’ standing out from even the other Zaras.
The line test, hooks, and the lure itself are made to stand up to hard hits from voracious fish.
That said, the hooks will likely wear out and need replacing a little faster than some competitors.
It is available in dozens of colors, so you can fine-tune your lure to the fishing you’re doing.
Regardless of the color, take note that this is a plastic product with a plastic rattle inside, so it mainly floats on top of the water, and is rather slow to sink.
Final Thoughts
Each of these lures excels in helping you catch snook. They each have their unique traits, so think about where you’ll be fishing and the baitfish and aquatic animals you’re looking to mimic to help you choose the best one.
Every one of these snook lures has a proven track record, so don’t be surprised if you are pretty successful and end up inviting a snook home for dinner!
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