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 10 more weeks.
Right now it scores best in Coastal waters from Tarpon Springs to Suwannee River FL out 20 NM at 74, one of 21 Florida bay systems where the Waterlands engine is scoring it.
Season now
Peak seasonSeason 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 10 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
Peak season, about 6 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
Peak season, about 6 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.
Best window today 8 PM-12 AM (74) · Best day Fri, Sep 18 at 7 AM (80) · 131 named spots
Best window today 8-11 PM (72) · Best day Fri, Sep 25 at 9 AM (83) · 81 named spots
Best window today 8 PM-12 AM (73) · Best day Thu, Sep 24 at 12 PM (85) · 6 named spots
Best window today 8-11 PM (71) · Best day Sun, Sep 20 at 8 AM (78) · 92 named spots
Best window today 8 PM-12 AM (70) · Best day Mon, Sep 28 at 7 AM (84) · 126 named spots
Best window today 8 PM-12 AM (68) · Best day Thu, Sep 24 at 7 PM (80) · 109 named spots
Best window today 8 PM-12 AM (68) · Best day Wed, Sep 23 at 11 AM (82) · 88 named spots
Best window today 8 PM-12 AM (67) · Best day Thu, Sep 24 at 12 PM (82) · 199 named spots
Best window today 10 PM-12 AM (71) · Best day Thu, Sep 24 at 12 PM (84) · 82 named spots
Best window today 8 PM-12 AM (71) · Best day Fri, Sep 25 at 9 AM (83) · 195 named spots
Best window today 8 PM-12 AM (65) · Best day Fri, Sep 18 at 7 AM (70) · 11 named spots
Best window today 8 PM-12 AM (65) · Best day Thu, Sep 24 at 12 PM (82)
Best window today 8 PM-12 AM (61) · Best day Sat, Sep 19 at 8 AM (80)
Best window today 9 PM-12 AM (64) · Best day Sat, Sep 26 at 6 AM (74)
Best window today 10 PM-12 AM (60) · Best day Fri, Sep 25 at 7 PM (77) · 16 named spots
Best window today 8 PM-12 AM (30) · Best day Mon, Sep 21 at 8 AM (68)
Best window today 8 PM-12 AM (30) · Best day Tue, Sep 22 at 8 AM (76)
Best window today 8 PM-12 AM (30) · Best day Mon, Sep 21 at 6 AM (75)
Best window today 8 PM-12 AM (30) · Best day Tue, Sep 22 at 8 AM (77)
Best window today 8 PM-12 AM (30) · Best day Sat, Sep 26 at 5 PM (75)
Best window today 8 PM-12 AM (30) · Best day Wed, Sep 23 at 6 PM (81) · 21 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
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Synced with FWC Sep 16, 2026.
No reviewed common snook rule for Florida is on file yet. Check with FWC before you keep one.
Other Florida species
- Atlantic croaker
- Atlantic tarpon
- Crevalle jack
- Gray snapper
- King mackerel
- Red drum
- Southern flounder
- Spot
- Spotted seatrout
- Summer flounder
- Black drum
- Black sea bass
- Bonefish
- Cobia
- Florida pompano
- Gag grouper
- Gray triggerfish
- Greater amberjack
- Little tunny
- Mahi-mahi
- Permit
- Red grouper
- Red snapper
- Sailfish
- Sheepshead
- Spanish mackerel
- Wahoo
- Weakfish
- Yellowfin tuna
- Bluefish
- Striped bass