Inshore, bays and inlets

Snook

Centropomus undecimalis

Linesider. The mangrove ambusher of South Florida and the Gulf.

What they like

  • 0.6–3.5 musual depth (they tolerate 0.3–10 m)
  • 22–30 °Cwater temperature they feed in
  • clear or coloured waterwater clarity
  • the shoreline, sloping edges, channelsbottom they hunt, in order
  • the outgoing (falling) tidetide
  • nightlight

Mangrove edges and points on a falling tide; passes and bridges at night in summer; beaches at dawn in May to September.

Season by region

Peak months, shaded. Outside them the species may still be around, just less reliably.

Florida and the Gulf
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Caribbean and Bahamas
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec

Bait and technique

Methods: spinning / casting, fly, bait.

Bait and lures: Live pilchards, pinfish, shrimp; white bucktail jigs, topwater at dawn, Clouser flies.

Technique: Cast tight to the mangrove roots or into the shadow line of a bridge and work the lure with the current.

Rules

Florida: Florida: slot 28-32 in (Atlantic) or 28-33 in (Gulf), closed seasons Dec 15 - Jan 31 and Jun 1 - Aug 31 (Atlantic) / Dec 1 - end Feb and May 1 - Aug 31 (Gulf), snook permit. Verify with FWC.

Seasons, sizes and bag limits change every year and differ by zone. Check the current regulations before you keep anything.

Depth maps where snook live

Preferences are expert estimates from the fisheries literature and angling practice, not measurements at your spot. The likelihoods on the maps are a planning aid, not a catch prediction.