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Fish guide

Common Snook

Centropomus undecimalis. Also called Snook.

A common snook with its black lateral line near mangrove roots

Showing the fish for Southeast Florida, Fort Pierce to Miami.

Season in Southeast Florida

Peak months: May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct.

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FWC: Jupiter and Lake Worth inlets are major snook spawning sites, used from late spring through summer; snook turn lethargic below 65 F, and Lake Worth Pier water stays above 74 F (NCEI). FWC Where to Saltwater Fish: snook spring to mid summer (Palm Beach), summer (Martin), mid to late summer (Broward, Miami-Dade). Juno Bait reports: Loxahatchee snook in March, pier snook not yet aggressive in April, inlets and pier in August, beach snook in the October mullet run. (Our inference)

Season by region

Northeast Florida
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Space Coast
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Southeast Florida
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Florida Keys
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Southwest Florida
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Tampa Bay
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Big Bend
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Lower Texas
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Where to find them

Seawalls and boat docks in the Loxahatchee River and Intracoastal on live mullet by day, bridges and dock lights at night on the outgoing tide, the inlets in summer, Juno Beach Pier in the morning and late afternoon, and the beach in the fall mullet run (Juno Bait, FWC).

Ambush predator that does not chase prey far (FWC); holds tight to jetty tips, seawalls, docks and bridge shadows, and under mullet schools close to the beach during the fall run (Sport Fishing).

What to look for

Mullet schools pushed along the beach with fish popping underneath them, bait under dock lights at night, the shadow line of a bridge on a falling tide.

What to throw

Bucktail or jighead with a 4 to 5 in paddle tail1/2 to 1 oz, 4 to 5 in tail. Slow hops along the bottom: lift, drop, let it touch, repeat.
Topwater popper or walk-the-dog plug1 to 2 oz, 4 to 6 in. Popper: sharp pops with pauses. Walker: rhythmic side-to-side twitches.
Swimming minnow plug (Yo-Zuri Crystal Minnow style)3/4 to 1 oz, 4 to 5 in. Steady medium retrieve with occasional twitches and pauses.
Jighead with a scented soft-plastic shrimp or mullet (Gulp style)1/4 to 1/2 oz, 3 to 4 in. Slow drag and hop on the bottom with pauses; scent does the work.

Bait

Live finger mullet, Live pilchards (sardines), Live shrimp, Live pinfish or pigfish, Mojarras. Free-lined or with about a half-ounce weight on an 18 in leader (Sebastian Inlet catwalk); a 3/0 circle hook on 40 lb fluorocarbon for mullet-run snook (Sport Fishing)..

Leader

About 40 lb fluorocarbon, lighter for small snook (Sport Fishing).

Common mistakes

  • Fishing slack water; snook feed best on a moving tide (FWC)
  • Fishing cold water; snook turn lethargic below 65 F (FWC)
  • Fishing dirty water when a clean tide is coming (Sebastian Inlet reports)

Landing

Net it or lead it to a low landing spot; keep any fish you will release in the water.

Handling

No snook-specific handling guide was found. FWC's general practice for big fish (keep them in the water, support the body horizontally with wet hands) is the safe default.

Keep or release

Florida requires a snook permit along with a saltwater license, allows hook and line only, and closes snook harvest for part of the year on each coast; see the regulations file.

Recipes for common snook

Typical: unknown. Large: Up to 48 in and 38 lb in Florida waters (FWC FWRI). Florida record 45 lb 12 oz (near Sebastian).

Limits

FishOS has not checked the FL limits yet. Check the size, bag and season rules with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission before you keep a fish.

Sources

All the fish of Southeast Florida

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Common Snook: season, lures and limits | FishOS