Snook Season and Size Limits

Snook are primarily inshore fish, and can be found in estuaries and among mangroves and sometimes in fresh water. They prefer to hold around overhanging mangroves, dock pilings, and any submerged structure. Snook don't travel the vast distance that other species are noted for so they can be found near the same locations time after time.

Fat Snook	Swordspine Snook	Tarpon Snook

While there are there are four species of the snook with slight differences. Three of these species, the fat snook, the swordspine snook, and the tarpon snook, never get larger than 18 inches so if caught, would have to be immediately released due to their size.

The Common Snook

Anglers are after the common snook, a fish that can grow to the size of a small log and can weigh over 30 pounds They spawn from April to October in the offshore waters near passes and inlets.

The juvenile fish that survive those first few weeks of life in the open water eventually move into the estuaries where the fish most their lives. The fish can tolerate fresh water for extended periods of time and it is not unheard of for anglers fishing in fresh water areas that eventually connect to the coastal waters to catch snook when fishing for largemouth bass.

Florida Regulations require that a Snook must be no less than 28" or more than 33" on the Gulf Coast, CLOSED SEASONS are December – February and May thru August of each year on West Coast;, (or less than 28” or more than 32” on the Atlantic side, with a CLOSED SEASON Dec. 15–Jan. 31, June–Aug. Atlantic ) ; All measurements are with a pinched tail. Anglers are limited to 1 fish per harvester per day; A snook permit is required in addition to saltwater fishing license;