The recreational snook harvest season in Florida is set to close on December 1 for the west coast regions, including Panhandle, Big Bend, Tampa Bay, Sarasota Bay, Charlotte Harbor, and Southwest. The closure for the east coast regions—Southeast, Indian River Lagoon, and Northeast—will follow on December 15. This applies to all state and inland waters within these management areas as well as adjacent federal waters.
The closures are part of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s (FWC) comprehensive management strategy for inshore fisheries. The FWC evaluates each region using seven metrics to address local concerns effectively. More information can be found at MyFWC.com/Snook.
For the Panhandle, Big Bend, Tampa Bay, and Sarasota Bay regions, the open season runs from March 1 to April 30 and September 1 to November 30. Charlotte Harbor and Southwest have a similar schedule but include October in their open season. On the east coast, Southeast, Indian River Lagoon, and Northeast allow fishing from February 1 to May 31 and September 1 to December 14.
Bag limits across all regions are set at one fish per person per day. Slot limits vary slightly between coasts: 28-33 inches total length on the west coast and 28-32 inches on the east coast.