Species guide · Florida

Common snook fishing in Florida

Centropomus undecimalis, an inshore species also called snook, linesider and robalo. Listed for the South Florida and the Keys, Eastern Gulf and South Atlantic regions. Peak season, about 4 more weeks.

Right now it scores best in Florida Bay including Barnes Sound, Blackwater Sound, and Buttonwood Sound at 78, one of 21 Florida bay systems where the Waterlands engine is scoring it.

Season now

Peak season

Where it's scoring now All Florida waters

Season by month

From the Waterlands saltwater species research: when the fish are present and biting, not whether retention is open.

South Florida and the Keys

Peak season, about 4 more weeks

Jan: Shoulder season
Feb: Shoulder season
Mar: Shoulder season
Apr: Peak season
May: Peak season
Jun: Shoulder season
Jul: Shoulder season
Aug: Shoulder season
Sep: Peak season
Oct: Peak season
Nov: Peak season
Dec: Shoulder season

Peak: Apr to May, Sep to Nov. In season (shoulder or peak): all year.

Research notes, South Florida and the Keys region

Pre-spawn fish move to passes and beaches in spring, spawn April or May through September or October, and return to backcountry creeks, rivers and canals in fall and winter. FWC closes harvest Dec 1 to end of February and May 1 to Aug 31 on the Gulf side (Southwest region stays closed through Sep 30), and Dec 15 to Jan 31 and Jun 1 to Aug 31 on the Atlantic side. Catch and release stays legal.

Seasons and limits in these notes are background. The regulations below and the regulator’s own page govern.

Eastern Gulf

Shoulder season, about 4 more weeks

Jan: Off season
Feb: Off season
Mar: Shoulder season
Apr: Peak season
May: Peak season
Jun: Shoulder season
Jul: Shoulder season
Aug: Shoulder season
Sep: Peak season
Oct: Peak season
Nov: Shoulder season
Dec: Off season

Peak: Apr to May, Sep to Oct. In season (shoulder or peak): Mar to Nov.

Research notes, Eastern Gulf region

Cold-limited. Reliable from Naples north through Tampa Bay; the range has expanded to Cedar Key and the lower Suwannee River, where catches peak September and October and nearly vanish in January and February. Absent from Mississippi and Alabama. Same FWC Gulf closures as above.

Seasons and limits in these notes are background. The regulations below and the regulator’s own page govern.

South Atlantic

Shoulder season, about 4 more weeks

Jan: Off season
Feb: Off season
Mar: Shoulder season
Apr: Peak season
May: Peak season
Jun: Shoulder season
Jul: Shoulder season
Aug: Shoulder season
Sep: Peak season
Oct: Peak season
Nov: Shoulder season
Dec: Off season

Peak: Apr to May, Sep to Oct. In season (shoulder or peak): Mar to Nov.

Research notes, South Atlantic region

Only the Florida east coast from Jupiter Inlet north to about Cape Canaveral and Volusia County; the St. Lucie and Indian River Lagoon inlets are the center. The fall mullet run is peak. Essentially absent in Georgia and the Carolinas, so treat this region as zero north of about 29N.

Seasons and limits in these notes are background. The regulations below and the regulator’s own page govern.

Where it's scoring now · 21

Florida bay systems ranked by the Waterlands engine's common snook score this hour.

78Great

Florida Bay including Barnes Sound, Blackwater Sound, and Buttonwood Sound

Best window today 10 PM-12 AM (78) · Best day Tue, Nov 3 at 7 AM (84) · 109 named spots

77Great

Coastal waters from Jupiter Inlet to Deerfield Beach FL out 20 NM

Best window today 10 PM-12 AM (79) · Best day Mon, Nov 9 at 6 PM (90) · 6 named spots

75Great

Charlotte Harbor and Pine Island Sound

Best window today 10 PM-12 AM (75) · Best day Sat, Oct 31 at 6 PM (83) · 126 named spots

75Great

Coastal waters from Chokoloskee to Bonita Beach FL out 20 NM

Best window today 10 PM-12 AM (75) · Best day Sat, Oct 31 at 6 PM (82) · 81 named spots

75Great

Tampa Bay waters

Best window today 10 PM-12 AM (75) · Best day Sat, Oct 31 at 6 PM (81) · 195 named spots

74Great

Bayside and Gulfside from Craig Key to West End of Seven Mile Bridge

Best window today 10 PM-12 AM (74) · Best day Tue, Nov 3 at 8 AM (86) · 199 named spots

73Great

Biscayne Bay

Best window today 10 PM-12 AM (75) · Best day Tue, Nov 3 at 8 AM (87) · 82 named spots

71Great

Coastal waters from Tarpon Springs to Suwannee River FL out 20 NM

Best window today 10 PM-12 AM (71) · Best day Sat, Oct 31 at 6 PM (79) · 131 named spots

69Great

Straits of Florida from Craig Key to west end of Seven Mile Bridge out 20 NM

Best window today 10 PM-12 AM (69) · Best day Wed, Nov 4 at 8 AM (87)

67Great

Mona Passage Southward to 17N

Best window today 10 PM-12 AM (67) · Best day Fri, Nov 13 at 4 PM (77)

67Great

Straits of Florida from Ocean Reef to Craig Key out 20 NM

Best window today 10 PM-12 AM (67) · Best day Wed, Nov 4 at 8 AM (88)

66Great

Caribbean Waters of Puerto Rico from 10 NM to 17N, including the Coastal Waters of Saint Croix

Best window today 10 PM-12 AM (66) · Best day Sat, Nov 7 at 6 AM (77)

65Great

Gulf of America including Dry Tortugas and Rebecca Shoal Channel

Best window today 10 PM-12 AM (67) · Best day Mon, Nov 2 at 7 AM (81) · 16 named spots

64Good

Lake Okeechobee

Best window today 10 PM-12 AM (64) · Best day Tue, Nov 3 at 7 AM (70) · 11 named spots

63Good

Volusia-Brevard County Line to Sebastian Inlet 0-20 nm

Best window today 10 PM-12 AM (63) · Best day Thu, Nov 5 at 8 AM (71) · 92 named spots

58Good

Coastal Waters from Cabo San Juan to the waters between Anegada Island and Virgin Gorda and North 10 NM

Best window today 10 PM-12 AM (58) · Best day Fri, Nov 13 at 4 PM (78)

57Good

Coastal Waters east of Puerto Rico, around Vieques, and around and just north of Culebra and Saint John

Best window today 10 PM-12 AM (57) · Best day Sun, Nov 8 at 5 PM (77)

54Good

Atlantic Waters of Puerto Rico AND USVI from 10 NM to 19.5N

Best window today 10 PM-12 AM (55) · Best day Thu, Nov 12 at 4 PM (76)

51Good

Anegada Passage east of Virgin Gorda and Saint Croix south to 17N

Best window today 10 PM-12 AM (51) · Best day Fri, Nov 13 at 4 PM (66)

30Fair

Flagler Beach to Volusia-Brevard County Line 0-20 nm

Best window today 10 PM-12 AM (30) · Best day Tue, Nov 10 at 7 AM (71) · 21 named spots

30Fair

Sebastian Inlet to Jupiter Inlet 0-20 nm

Best window today 10 PM-12 AM (30) · Best day Mon, Nov 9 at 12 AM (76) · 88 named spots

Not scored in this forecast: Apalachee Bay or Coastal Waters From Keaton Beach to Ochlockonee River Fl out to 20 Nm, Coastal Waters From Ochlockonee River to Apalachicola FL out to 20 Nm, Coastal waters from Suwannee River to Keaton Beach out 20 NM, Coastal waters from Fernandina Beach to St. Augustine FL out 20 NM, Coastal Waters from Mexico Beach to Apalachicola out 20 NM, Coastal waters from St. Augustine to Flagler Beach FL out 20 NM, Eastern Choctawhatchee Bay, Pensacola Bay Area including Santa Rosa Sound, St. Andrews Bay Waterways and Western Choctawhatchee Bay.

How and where it feeds

Water temperature: Feeds from 60°F to 92°F, best between 70°F and 84°F.
Water depth: 1 to 25 ft of water.
Structure: Mangrove, pass, inlet, bridge, beach, jetty and channel, in that order of preference.
Tide and current: Prefers outgoing tide and incoming tide, with strong current.FWC describes snook as ambush predators that fish best when there is current, preferably the outgoing tide. Work the down-current side of bridge pilings, dock lights, mangrove points and pass shorelines. Slack water is usually dead.
Light: Bites best around dawn and dusk; feeds at night too.
Pressure: Prefers steady pressure.
Wind and sea limits: 18 kt of wind and 3 ft of sea. The Waterlands engine scores hours down as conditions pass them.

Tackle and technique

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.

Methods: live bait drifting, casting, sight casting on beaches, night fishing lights, fly fishing
Lures: soft plastic jerkbait, paddle tail on jighead, suspending twitchbait, topwater plug, bucktail jig, baitfish fly
Bait: live pilchard (whitebait), pinfish, live shrimp, finger mullet, threadfin herring

Regulations

FWC saltwater regulations Buy a Florida fishing license License types

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Synced with FWC Oct 31, 2026. Rules shown verified Sep 13, 2026.

Panhandle (snook)Retention open