![]() Florida is the only mainland state that has a snook population. It's a major contributor to the fishing guide and charter industry, and you typically only find them in big numbers from the Tampa area south to the Keys. Like buffalo on the prairie plains over a century, they'd just about disappear from overharvest.įishery managers at the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWCC) are protective of the snook and they should be. Left unmanaged ? without a slot limit, both a minimum and maximum length requirement and a one-fish-a-day rule ? snook would surely be a rare sight. It's also one of Florida's most regulated fish. Some anglers pronounce it "snuke." Rumor has it that's the way old-timers said it back in the day. They're called linesiders, soap fish and robalo. Those more financially sound folks in the condos? Probably not, unless they're out working hard to find a keeper themselves. ![]() I really cherish days when I've caught keeper snook in Estero Bay in my little solo canoe, and look up at the multimillion-dollar condos at gated communities like Bonita Bay and realize that no amount of money can buy one, legally. For me, it's an economic equalizer of sorts. If you want to eat one, legally, you have to go out and catch it yourself. ![]() Although stone crabs are eaten in large numbers thanks, in part, to commercial fisheries that support restaurants and fish markets, there are few foods more coveted in Southwest Florida than snook. ![]()
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