The Florida recreational harvest of snook in the Northeast, Indian River Lagoon and Southeast management regions opens February 1st and remains open through May 31st. This includes all Florida state and inland waters as well as adjacent federal waters within each management region.
These regions and regulations are part of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s (FWC) holistic management approach for Florida’s most popular inshore fisheries.
FWC said this approach takes a more holistic view of the fishery by evaluating multiple metrics, including human and environmental factors, at a smaller regional scale. It improves understanding of regional differences in environmental conditions and stakeholder experiences and provides greater flexibility to address localized concerns.
Northeast
- Open season: February 1st – May 31st and September 1st – December 14th
- Closed season: December 15th – January 31st and June 1st – August 31st
- Bag limit: One fish per person per day
- Slot limit: 28–32 inches total length
- Boundaries: The northern coastal boundary is the Florida-Georgia border, and the region extends south to the Lytle Avenue/South Causeway in New Smyrna Beach. The region includes all inland waters within the yellow shaded area on the map, covering Baker County, Nassau County, Duval County, Clay County, Putnam County, Marion County, Lake County, Orange County, Flagler County, Seminole County, and St. Johns County, most of Volusia County and the waters of the St. Johns River and its tributaries. The waters of the Withlacoochee and Kissimmee rivers, Cypress Lake, and lakes Hatchineha and Kissimmee are not included.
Indian River Lagoon
- Open season: February 1st – May 31st and September 1st – December 14th
- Closed season: December 15th – January 31st and June 1st – August 31st
- Bag limit: One fish per person per day
- Slot limit: 28–32 inches total length
- Boundaries: The northern coastal boundary is the Lytle Avenue/South Causeway in New Smyrna Beach, and the region extends south to the Martin-Palm Beach county line. It includes all inland waters within the yellow shaded area on the map covering Brevard County, Osceola County, Okeechobee County, Martin County, St. Lucie County, and Indian River County, a portion of Volusia County, and all waters of the Kissimmee River, Lake Okeechobee and other lakes identified on the map with blue hatch. The waters of Loxahatchee and St. Johns rivers and their tributaries are not included.
Southeast
Visit FWC to learn about the special regulations that apply to snook when fishing in Biscayne National Park.
- Open season: February 1st – May 31st and September 1st – December 14th
- Closed season: December 15th – January 31st and June 1st – August 31st
- Bag limit: One fish per person per day
- Slot limit: 28–32 inches total length
- Boundaries: The northern boundary is the Martin-Palm Beach county line and the region extends south to the Miami-Dade/Monroe county line. It includes all inland waters within the yellow shaded area on the map, including Palm Beach County, Broward County, and Miami-Dade County. Also included are all waters of Hillsboro Canal, Miami Canal, North New River Canal, West Palm Beach Canal, and the Loxahatchee River and its tributaries. Lake Okeechobee and Everglades National Park are not included.
Check out FWC for more information on recreational snook regulations, including the snook annual reviews, which provide summaries of key findings from the annual evaluation of management metrics for each region.
