Waterlands

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Common snookCatch & release

Bar · Florida

Sanibel Rocks

26.44°N · 82.13°W · Bar · Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound

LOADING MAP

Best score today · 9 AM · Common snook

80/100Great
Now
7310 AM EDT
Best window
8 PM-12 AMFlood tide
Tide now
Flooding2.2 ft ▲

Data from: NOAA CO-OPS + NDBC + ECMWF + Open-Meteo Marine · Waterlands engine

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14-day forecast

Best days to fish

Best: today · 80

24-hour conditions · rolling from now

Conditions · 10 AM · now

Time10ANOW
Score73Great
Tide2.2 ft ▲Flooding
CurrentFlood0.8 kn · toward WSW
Wind5 kn ESEgusts 10 · easing
Sea stateLight chop1.2 ft · 4 s
Air temp82°Warm
WeatherMostly cloudy61% chance of rain
Water83°FObserved

Current regulations

What you can keep here today

Gulf state waters (Escambia through Collier counties)

IN EFFECT NOW

Snook

Catch & release
Daily limit
No retention
Possession
Not published
Size
Not published
Season
May 1 to Sep 30, 2026
Annual quota
Not published
Changes
Retention open from Oct 1
Other
Harvest is closed, but snook may be caught and released with a snook permit and a saltwater fishing license. Closed December 1 through the end of February and May 1 through September 30. Open March 1 through April 30 and October 1 through November 30. Regional rules apply in inland, state and adjacent federal waters.

From FWC Recreational Regulations: Snook, read Sep 13

Other species here

  • Atlantic croaker Retention open
  • Black drum Retention open (5 per day)
  • Bluefish Retention open (10 per day)
  • Bonefish Catch & release (No retention)
  • Cobia Retention open (1 per day)
  • Crevalle jack Retention open
  • Florida pompano Retention open (6 per day)
  • Gag grouper Retention open (2 per day (4 Gulf grouper combined))
  • Gray snapper Retention open (5 per day (10 snapper combined))
  • Gray triggerfish Retention open (1 per day)
  • Greater amberjack Retention open (1 per day)
  • King mackerel Retention open (3 per day)
  • Mahi-mahi Retention open (10 per day)
  • Permit Retention open (2 per day)
  • Red drum Retention open (1 per day)
  • Red grouper Retention open (2 per day (4 Gulf grouper combined))
  • Red snapper Retention open (2 per day (10 snapper combined))
  • Sailfish Retention open (1 per day (1 billfish combined))
  • Sheepshead Retention open (8 per day)
  • Southern flounder Retention open (5 per day)
  • Spanish mackerel Retention open (15 per day)
  • Spot Retention open
  • Spotted seatrout Retention open (3 per day)
  • Summer flounder Retention open (5 per day)
  • Tarpon Catch & release (No retention)
  • Wahoo Retention open (2 per day)
Always check with FWC ↗Fishing license ↗

Source: FWC · synced yesterday

Seasonality · 52-week view · this week ringed

When Common snook is best here

Peak season for Common snook · 5 more weeks at peak

Common snook season by week of the year. Peak season for Common snook · 5 more weeks at peak.
  • Peak
  • Shoulder
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Common snook in Florida →

Spot profile

Sanibel Rocks

Depth
4-15 ftFlat bottom
Structure
Ledge · Outer · ExposedLedge · flat bottom
Season
Peak seasonCommon snook

NOAA NCEI DEM, sampled Sep 13 on a 3.4 m grid. Depths are feet below NAVD 88, not chart datum (MLLW), so they can differ from a chart by a few feet. Not for navigation.

About this spot

Fishing Sanibel Rocks

Sanibel Rocks is a bar in Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound, Florida. Depth is 4-15 ft, with a flat bottom. Its profile reads ledge, outer water and exposed.

Waterlands scores 20 species here; the best right now are gray snapper, common snook and Spanish mackerel. It is peak season now for gray snapper, common snook, red drum and Atlantic croaker, and shoulder season for Spanish mackerel, Florida pompano, king mackerel and gag grouper. Gray snapper peak from June through September. Common snook peak from April through May and from September through October. Spanish mackerel peak from April through May and from October through November.

Tackle & technique

Common snook
Snook ambush bait around mangrove shorelines, bridge and dock lights, jetties and the mouths of passes and inlets, generally in 2 to 15 feet of water. Fish moving water, especially the outgoing tide, with a live pilchard, pinfish or shrimp, or a jerkbait or soft plastic swum past the structure. In summer they spawn along beaches and inlets, and in winter they crowd into rivers, canals and deep backcountry creeks where the water stays warmer.
Gray snapper
Mangrove snapper hold tight to mangrove roots, bridge pilings, jetties and reef ledges, from a few feet deep inshore to 150 feet offshore. Chum to pull them out of cover, then freeline or lightly weight a live shrimp or pilchard on fluorocarbon leader, since they shy away from heavy line in clear water. The bite improves at dusk and after dark.
Spanish mackerel
Spanish mackerel school along beaches and around inlets, jetties, piers and bridge-tunnel structures, and along tide rips in 5 to 40 feet of water once the water climbs above about 68 degrees F. Troll small spoons or cast metal jigs and retrieve fast, or look for birds diving on bait and cast into the school. FWC calls for a 30 to 60 pound monofilament leader because their teeth cut light line.

Nearby spots

Other spots within an easy run

View all on map →
  • Tarpon Bay

    Bay · 3.4 mi

    79
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 79
    • Gray snapper 75
    • Atlantic croaker 74

    2 kt ENEH 11:42 AM · 2.5 ftL 6:37 PM · 0.5 ft

  • Coral Creek Inlet

    Bay · 2.6 mi

    75
    Top: Atlantic croakerPeak season
    • Atlantic croaker 75
    • Common snook 73
    • Florida pompano 70

    5 kt ESEH 10:26 AM · 2.7 ftL 5:10 PM · 0.7 ft

  • Long Point

    Cape · 2.7 mi

    74
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 74
    • Gray snapper 71
    • Red drum 71

    5 kt ESEH 12:04 PM · 2.3 ftL 7:50 PM · 0.5 ft

  • Saint James Point

    Cape · 3.7 mi

    73
    Top: Common snookPeak season
    • Common snook 73
    • Atlantic croaker 68
    • Gray snapper 68

    2 kt ENEH 11:23 AM · 2.8 ftL 6:19 PM · 0.6 ft

Open in the tide map

Scores and forecasts are for planning only and can be wrong. Conditions on the water change fast; check the marine forecast before you go. Regulations change during the season, so confirm limits and closures with FWC before you keep a fish.