ATLANTIC COAST
Snook along the Atlantic coast grow faster and live longer than do Gulf coast snook, so the rules protecting them are a little less strict. However, the regulations for the Atlantic coast also changed.

Atlantic snook fishermen will be happy to hear that the Atlantic closed season remains unchanged, from Dec. 15 through Jan. 31, and closes again in June until the end of August.

The slot limit did change, however. The old slot was from 27 to 34 inches total; the new slot length limit is from 28 to 32 inches.

“These rule changes are to provide additional protection for Florida’s valuable snook populations, which are considered to be fairly healthy on the state’s Atlantic and Gulf coasts,” explained FWCC spokesman Lee Schlesinger. “The reduction in harvest is necessary to help achieve the commission’s management goal for snook and sustain and improve the fishery for the future.

“Licensed saltwater anglers must purchase a $2 permit to harvest snook. Snatch-hooking and spearing snook are prohibited, and it is illegal to buy or sell snook. These snook regulations also apply in federal waters.”

MEASURING THE FISH
The new regulations also change the way you are supposed to measure the legal length of your fish.

From the FWCC’s Web site, here’s the definition:

“Total length” means the straight-line distance from the most forward point of the head, with the mouth closed, to the farthest tip of the tail with the tail compressed or squeezed, while the fish is lying on its side.

Stated plainly, the fish should be lying on top of your yardstick. The tip of its bottom jaw should be at zero. You need to pinch the tail to make the fish as long as possible. If the fish falls within the slot -- and the season is open, of course -- you may keep it. Otherwise, it must be released.

CATCH-AND-RELEASE
MORTALITY
For a variety of reasons, released fish sometimes die. They can be played too long and can’t recover. They’ll swallow the hook, or while being unhooked and released, they can be dropped or otherwise mishandled. After being released, tired fish sometimes get eaten by sharks or barracudas.

Biologists estimate that 35 percent of the total statewide snook mortality is attributable to deaths that occurred after the fish were released. On the Atlantic coast, that means almost 44,000 released fish die annually. On the Gulf coast, it’s more than 10,000. As anglers, we clearly need to do a better job with our catch-and-release techniques.

So there’s the background. Now, let’s go fishing!

WHERE TO FIND SNOOK
At the FWCC, Ron Taylor is Mr. Snook. If anyone knows where to catch a snook in the March to May timeframe, he’s the one to ask.

“Where you find snook from March until the middle of April is entirely different than from where they’ll be in the middle of April through May,” Taylor pointed out.