It's Snook season on Sanibel!

If you have ever tasted Snook, you know it is fish worth catching.

It is made all the more desirable by the fact that you can not walk into your grocery outlet or fish market and buy Snook. No commercial harvest or sale of Snook is permitted.
 
Snook are proportionately very thick through the shoulders, and their fillets represent a higher portion of total weight than most other fish. The fillets are mild yet flavorful and are ranked at the top of nearly everyone’s list of favorite fish.

Making this beautiful creature even more allusive is the fact that there is a limit on not only how many Snook you can catch, but when and where you can catch them. 

A great many kinds of fish are protected by conservation laws that may include licenses, daily bag limits, possession limits, minimum and maximum size limits, permitting and other legal requirements. Many different jurisdictions and agencies are involved in managing the fisheries—at least a half-dozen in Florida alone, to say nothing of other countries—and their regulations sometimes conflict.

At the June 2013 Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) meeting, Commissioners voted to let the recreational harvest of Snook in Gulf of Mexico waters reopen to harvest September 1 after being closed since January  2010. Gulf waters were closed to harvest due to a 2010 cold kill that negatively impacted Snook. But it is Snook season on Sanibel Island right now.   

Snook is managed by two regions in Florida: Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico. Regulations apply in state and adjacent federal waters.  Snook can be found in the warm, tropical waters of the Atlantic and Gulf Coast of the Southern Peninsula of Florida. In Southwest Florida, Snook can be found around mangrove pockets, piers, passes, inlets and sandbars. Our favorite local Snook fishing spots include the Sanibel Fishing Pier and the causeway.

Snook are one of the best for all-around fighting ability.The fight is usually featured by several long runs and a few jumps. Small Snook leap high in the manner of Ladyfish, while the really big females manage to clear only about half their bodies. Snook also are past masters at utilizing shoreline roots or any other obstructions to their advantage.

So if you are thinking of Sanibel and thinking of Snook, why wait?  The game is on!