Wednesday, November 26, 2025

Florida Winter Closures for Snook Harvest

The recreational harvest season for snook closes Dec. 1 in all west coast snook management regions (Panhandle, Big Bend, Tampa Bay, Sarasota Bay, Charlotte Harbor and Southwest) and on Dec. 15 in all east coast snook management regions (Southeast, Indian River Lagoon and Northeast). This includes all Florida state and inland waters within each management region as well as adjacent federal waters.

The regional management regions are part of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s (FWC) holistic management approach for Florida’s most popular inshore fisheries. This approach uses seven metrics to evaluate the fishery by region, allowing the FWC to be more responsive to local concerns. To learn more, visit MyFWC.com/Snook. This page includes the snook annual reviews, which provide summaries of key findings from the annual evaluation of management metrics for each region.

Panhandle Open Season: March 1–April 30 and Sept. 1–Nov. 30.
Closed Season: Dec. 1–end of February and May 1–Aug. 31.
Bag Limit: One fish per day per person.
Slot Limit: 28-33 inches total length.

Big Bend Open Season: March 1–April 30 and Sept. 1–Nov. 30.
Closed Season: Dec. 1–end of February and May 1–Aug. 31.
Bag Limit: One fish per day per person.
Slot Limit: 28-33 inches total length.

Tampa Bay Open Season: March 1–April 30 and Sept. 1–Nov. 30.
Closed Season: Dec. 1–end of February and May 1–Aug. 31.
Bag Limit: One fish per day per person.
Slot Limit: 28-33 inches total length.

Sarasota Bay Open Season: March 1–April 30 and Sept. 1–Nov. 30.
Closed Season: Dec. 1–end of February and May 1–Aug. 31.
Bag Limit: One fish per day per person.
Slot Limit: 28-33 inches total length.

Charlotte Harbor Open Season: March 1–April 30 and Oct. 1–Nov. 30.
Closed Season: Dec. 1–end of February and May 1–Sept. 30.
Bag Limit: One fish per day per person.
Slot Limit: 28-33 inches total length.

Southwest Open Season: March 1–April 30 and Oct. 1–Nov. 30.
Closed Season: Dec. 1–end of February and May 1–Sept. 30.
Bag Limit: One fish per day per person.
Slot Limit: 28-33 inches total length.

Southeast Open Season: Feb. 1–May 31 and Sept. 1–Dec. 14.
Closed Season: Dec. 15 – Jan. 31 and June 1–Aug. 31.
Bag Limit: One fish per day per person.
Slot Limit: 28-32 inches total length.

Indian River Lagoon Open Season: Feb. 1–May 31 and Sept. 1–Dec. 14.
Closed Season: Dec. 15–Jan. 31 and June 1–Aug. 31.
Bag Limit: One fish per day per person.
Slot Limit: 28-32 inches total length.

Northeast Open Season: Feb. 1–May 31 and Sept. 1–Dec. 14.
Closed Season: Dec. 15–Jan. 31 and June 1–Aug. 31.
Bag Limit: One fish per day per person.
Slot Limit: 28-32 inches total length.