Florida targeted fish

Snook

Centropomus undecimalis · linesider

Mangrove shorelines, passes, docks, and beach troughs. A temperature-sensitive ambush fish that slides to the warmest water on cold fronts.

Season on this coast

Year-round on the gulf, with a spring spawn push and a fall mullet-run bite. Cold snaps shut them down.

Slow
Fair
Good
Prime

How to fish them

Cast tight to shade and current seams. Free-line whitebait on a light fluorocarbon leader around docks and mangrove points. On the beach, walk the trough at first light during the mullet run.

Typical size. Most keepers 28–33 in; gulf slots apply. Trophy fish over 40 in live in the biggest passes.

Bait

Whitebait / pilchards
Live shrimp
Pinfish
Soft-plastic jerkbaits

Regulations

Slot and season close on a cycle — confirm the current FWC gulf snook rules on MyFWC before you keep a fish. Most serious anglers treat snook as catch-and-release.

Captain’s brief

What’s biting, and where to start

Sign in and ask for a one-page briefing for a city, a month, and a target fish. Written for this coast — not a generic chatbot.