# Are Snook slowly moving north?



## Flardaboy (Sep 6, 2021)

This is just an observation of what I've seen these past few years but go me or seems like snook are making their way further north and that very much excites and frightens me. A few years ago catching a snook around Jacksonville was unheard of but these last few years with the weather getting warmer and warmer I've seen quite a few caught, no size but still snook in north east Florida. As someone who typically at least once a year heads south to hunt these fish this excites me that I might within a few years be able to catch them somewhat regularly in my home waters. But it also scares me, if one of the most aggressive inshore fish is moving in the potential impact on our other fisheries here is astronomical. I appreciate all opinions, do you think they'll stay in their home range and just keep getting the few stragglers up here or are we possibly looking at a proper population of snook possibly being up here after a few more warm winters?


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## mwolaver (Feb 6, 2014)

I'm sure you are correct, their range appears to be sneaking north. As far as predation, you already have trout and tarpon and jacks...all eating the same food. Much the same as everywhere else in the snook's range. Largemouth have adapted to peacocks. Maybe similar.


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## TheDude (Dec 14, 2010)

Was talking to a biologist from University of Florida's Cedar Key lab last week about this. They're studying the huge increase in snook in that area of the west coast due to consistently warming average water temps. That area now has a healthy population of resident snook of all sizes that didn't exist 7-8 years ago, and they're seeing continued northward spread. Interestingly, he said that it appears that seatrout populations are down due to the abundance of snook - sounds like predation on smaller trout may be the issue, or maybe they are just displacing them otherwise. Up here in Charleston, while snook are still a rarity, you do hear about people catching snook more frequently these days.


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## southerncannuck (Jun 27, 2016)

I’ve seen more snook last year in Flagler County than I have in the previous 12 years. The winters have been mild for some time now. Of course, all it takes is one January cold front to put an end to it.


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## Smackdaddy53 (Dec 31, 2012)

The science has changed


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## Zika (Aug 6, 2015)

Yes, they are moving northward on the West Coast of Florida. I wrote an article for _Salt Water Sportsman_ a couple years ago detailing the migration. Snook are becoming more common north of Cedar Key and throughout the Big Bend. Warming water temperatures, mild winters and the abundant number of springs in the region are helping with the population shift. The springs provide sanctuary during the cold snaps. 

The numbers aren't there for specific targeting north of Steinhatchee/Keaton Beach, but they certainly are a bonus catch when fishing for trout and reds.


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## Redtail (May 25, 2021)

I haven't seen any but have heard of a few being caught in the St Marks area during the summer months. Did come upon an unusual site recently, a single small mangrove growing along a grass shoreline in the Panacea area. If the mangroves take hold and survive the winters, snook may have a chance.


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## sjrobin (Jul 13, 2015)

TheDude said:


> Was talking to a biologist from University of Florida's Cedar Key lab last week about this. They're studying the huge increase in snook in that area of the west coast due to consistently warming average water temps. That area now has a healthy population of resident snook of all sizes that didn't exist 7-8 years ago, and they're seeing continued northward spread. Interestingly, he said that it appears that seatrout populations are down due to the abundance of snook - sounds like predation on smaller trout may be the issue, or maybe they are just displacing them otherwise. Up here in Charleston, while snook are still a rarity, you do hear about people catching snook more frequently these days.


Seatrout are temperate species..snook are tropical ....seatrout populations will continue to decline in the GOM. There is no where for seatrout to migrate to. East coast seatrout will continue to move north, along with near shore/ocean warm water species like tarpon, cobia, dorado, bonito, mackerel, etc. Blue water fishermen in Rhode Island are landing species they have never seen in those waters.
Also extreme weather events are more frequent, but average water temps are higher through out the winter, allowing more tropical species to move to northern latitudes.


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## Smackdaddy53 (Dec 31, 2012)

sjrobin said:


> Seatrout are temperate species..snook are tropical ....seatrout populations will continue to decline in the GOM. They is no where to migrate to. East coast seatrout will continue to move north, along with near shore/ocean warm water species like tarpon, cobia, dorado, bonito, mackerel, etc. Blue water fishermen in Rhode Island are landing species they have never seen in those waters.


Why?


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## 17376 (May 5, 2017)

Jacksonville has held snook since I can remember. That's at least 25 years. You just have to know where to go and what to use. There are plenty of legal ones here. The cold winter we had in 2016 or 2017 killed a bunch and there were a lot of dead ones floating.


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## jglidden (Feb 13, 2014)

There have been smaller hard freezes in the last decade but nothing comparing to the winter of 2010 freeze. This freeze impacted the entire state, especially everywhere north of central Florida. I remember floating snook and even trout that didn't leave the flats in NSB. 
I am no scientist but I believe the northern snook populations are still recovering and moving north. Another hard freeze like 2010 will just restart the cycle and we will have this conversation all over again.


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## jonny (May 1, 2007)

Yep I think it’s in part from the freeze of 2010. But also just read where mangroves(black?) have started growing as far north into GA. Bonefish are starting to show up more in Charlotte Harbor all small so far.


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## Jason M (Aug 13, 2017)

Undoubtedly they are moving north but I recall as a kid seeing them in Crystal River and Weekie Watchee. The warm water discharge gave them a refugee and the child tolerant ones made it through and bred. 

I tell you what's not around anymore is the winter river run of trout.


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## lemaymiami (Feb 9, 2007)

Got to rain on y'alls parade here... You can count on a killing cold every seven to ten years in my experience (came to south Florida in 1971, fresh back from my senior trip... and started fishing anywhere I was allowed - and a few places I wasn't...). Seriously here's the pattern to expect... In the years when it's mild the snook population will expand farther and farther to the north but all of that ends when we get another seriously killing cold (as noted above). That will pretty much wipe out the expansion and you'll have to wait a few years afterwards before everyone starts finding them again north of where you'd expect to find them - until the cycle repeats itself... 

Once again, this past winter was very mild and, who knows - maybe it will be mild again next winter - but I wouldn't count on it... Enjoy it while you can but don't expect it to last...


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## Newman (Jan 22, 2018)

lemaymiami said:


> Got to rain on y'alls parade here... You can count on a killing cold every seven to ten years in my experience (came to south Florida in 1971, fresh back from my senior trip... and started fishing anywhere I was allowed - and a few places I wasn't...). Seriously here's the pattern to expect... In the years when it's mild the snook population will expand farther and farther to the north but all of that ends when we get another seriously killing cold (as noted above). That will pretty much wipe out the expansion and you'll have to wait a few years afterwards before everyone starts finding them again north of where you'd expect to find them - until the cycle repeats itself...
> 
> Once again, this past winter was very mild and, who knows - maybe it will be mild again next winter - but I wouldn't count on it... Enjoy it while you can but don't expect it to last...


This is factual information.


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## SS06 (Apr 6, 2021)

Saw the biggest snook ever in my life at the entrance to Three Sisters Spring in Crystal River/ Kings Bay...that's saying something considering I grew up snook fishing Sebastian and Ft Pierce inlets


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## KyleCorey (Feb 3, 2018)

Conservation and regulation may be a key to this as well. The 2 year closure made a pretty big difference on the west coast. Could be too many snook in some areas where they migrate north to have less competition.


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## MRichardson (May 27, 2010)

Well, on the west coast over the past 2 decades it seems they weather the freezes better. That will occur as the very few that survive a freeze outside of a thermal refuge are the ones that produce the next generation, and so on. Something has definitely changed besides the warmer weather.


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## WilliamYoung (11 mo ago)

SMG said:


> Check in with the ministry of truth that's being co-run by a Kuwaiti incubator survivor.


Every one of your posts is some far right shit that has nothing to do with boats or fishing. Why are you even on this forum?


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## topnative2 (Feb 22, 2009)

Snook have been caught as far north as Oriental, NC.


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## m32825 (Jun 29, 2018)

SS06 said:


> Saw the biggest snook ever in my life at the entrance to Three Sisters Spring in Crystal River/ Kings Bay...that's saying something considering I grew up snook fishing Sebastian and Ft Pierce inlets


Hold on, is this legit or one of those social media posts calculated to distract everyone from the productive spots? Oh, wait, I mean... yeah, that's where I saw my biggest snook too! 🙂


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## SS06 (Apr 6, 2021)

m32825 said:


> Hold on, is this legit or one of those social media posts calculated to distract everyone from the productive spots? Oh, wait, I mean... yeah, that's where I saw my biggest snook too! 🙂


We were over there scalloping several years ago and swam up into the springs to cool off/rinse off. As we swam/ snorkeled back out towards the boat this snook swam right across the entrance to the spring....damn that was a huge fish...


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## Skram (Feb 8, 2019)

There were several snook caught in Alabama last year. I caught one that was about 4” long meaning it was born here. Not sure they survived the winter but our juvenile tarpon population is year round and they have learned to tolerate the colder water temps.

Permit are also now a fairly common catch in the surf, mostly small. diving our jetty I saw a school on about 30. Biggest I’ve seen was caught 8lbs.


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## skinny_fishing (Aug 30, 2021)

lemaymiami said:


> Got to rain on y'alls parade here... You can count on a killing cold every seven to ten years in my experience (came to south Florida in 1971, fresh back from my senior trip... and started fishing anywhere I was allowed - and a few places I wasn't...). Seriously here's the pattern to expect... In the years when it's mild the snook population will expand farther and farther to the north but all of that ends when we get another seriously killing cold (as noted above). That will pretty much wipe out the expansion and you'll have to wait a few years afterwards before everyone starts finding them again north of where you'd expect to find them - until the cycle repeats itself...


Same thing happens with the lizard population in my backyard. Right now they are flourishing, and there are a bunch of big males everywhere fighting over females and territory. That will all change once we get another cold snap, all it takes is a couple of days around 20 degrees and the lizards all die off, then after a few years they are back in full force, rinse and repeat.


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## Jason M (Aug 13, 2017)

For what it's worth I've been fishing in the big bend with a local captain up there and he said after every freeze the snook come back stronger. They are thick in the Suwannee now. My guess is they aren't going anywhere.


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## MRichardson (May 27, 2010)

Wvery time it happens the cold-tolerant genes are bolstered in the population. Happening with pythons too.


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## LowReynolds# (Mar 23, 2021)

I think it was around early 2010 when we had some really cold days in Florida. Saw a dead crocodiles and few dead manatees in Lake Ingraham. Most of the dead fish on the beach were large snook. All I know is that the redfish population increased and we caught lots of redfish for the next 3 years or so until the snook numbers returned. Don't know if it was because the snook were eating the small redfish or that the redfish had less competition for food. If you have a snook and a redfish chasing your fly, the snook will 99% of the time eat it before the redfish can..seen it a number of times.


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## krash (Jan 9, 2007)

Its not only Snook... Peacock Bass, Snakeheads are further North and West than ever... like Lemay said nature has a way of executing a recall once in a while.


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## lemaymiami (Feb 9, 2007)

Wish it weren't so... I like snook enough that I wouldn't begrudge folks up at the northern part of their range the fun of tangling with them. I do like the idea of survivors of cold snaps being able to pass their genes along to their offspring but fear that mother nature moves in much much slower fashion.. 

By the way... those darned pythons have always been a lot more cold weather resistant than we'd want them to be.. I saw a video a few years back of an experiment that took Burmese Pythons up into the Carolinas and into a compound that kept them outdoors all winter long... They survived just fine... and that has implications that all of us here ought to consider..


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## MRichardson (May 27, 2010)

If only pythons were as fun as snook


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## Jason M (Aug 13, 2017)

I heard about something where they gene spliced glow in the dark DNA into some fish. Maybe we could do the same with pythons so they could be hunted at night. Lol


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## Drifter (Dec 13, 2018)

It seems weird, Im not from Florida but the last few weeks of January there were all kinds of posts about cold weather potentially killing snook off in South Florida and that it would be worse in north Florida/. I was in everglades city and it was like 40 degrees one day.


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## K3anderson (Jan 23, 2013)

LowReynolds# said:


> I think it was around early 2010 when we had some really cold days in Florida. Saw a dead crocodiles and few dead manatees in Lake Ingraham. Most of the dead fish on the beach were large snook. All I know is that the redfish population increased and we caught lots of redfish for the next 3 years or so until the snook numbers returned. Don't know if it was because the snook were eating the small redfish or that the redfish had less competition for food. If you have a snook and a redfish chasing your fly, the snook will 99% of the time eat it before the redfish can..seen it a number of times.


Same thing here. Snook were scarce and redfish everywhere. Now way fewer red's and trout and snook everywhere. Giants too.


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## BrandonFox (May 14, 2013)

lemaymiami said:


> Got to rain on y'alls parade here... You can count on a killing cold every seven to ten years in my experience (came to south Florida in 1971, fresh back from my senior trip... and started fishing anywhere I was allowed - and a few places I wasn't...). Seriously here's the pattern to expect... In the years when it's mild the snook population will expand farther and farther to the north but all of that ends when we get another seriously killing cold (as noted above). That will pretty much wipe out the expansion and you'll have to wait a few years afterwards before everyone starts finding them again north of where you'd expect to find them - until the cycle repeats itself...
> 
> Once again, this past winter was very mild and, who knows - maybe it will be mild again next winter - but I wouldn't count on it... Enjoy it while you can but don't expect it to last...



This is accurate. We see a very similar trend in Texas with snook and inshore juvenile tarpon.


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## windblows (May 21, 2014)

Yes, cold winters will kill off snook and there is clearly a cycle of hard freezes that prevents them from having a sustained population north of the Florida line. However, I do think there is a trend for more and more mild winters (no reason to bring politics into this), allowing them to sustain their populations a bit further north each year. Could we have a hard freeze that restarts it? Sure, but as these populations grow stronger and healthier up north, the hard freezes will still leave some stragglers, allowing them to come back quicker, while continuing the march northward.

Here are some recent North Florida (both coasts) snook from this spring.


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## SMG (Dec 4, 2021)

Pretty much any living creature with an IQ above room temperature is moving. Some to the right space others to wherever there is entertainment.


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## krash (Jan 9, 2007)

Nature just did a recall on some houses on the NC coast...


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## CayoTom (Jul 29, 2021)

krash said:


> Nature just did a recall on some houses on the NC coast...











Some of the remains


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## Hicatch (May 10, 2011)

Snook were a by-catch for us in Flagler with some of us knowing areas that consistently held fish. The 2010 freeze hammered the population, but we have had a steady increase of recruitment and the bio mass has grown to a point now where we catch far more Snook than Redfish or Trout. This could be due to several factors, but I believe when the bag limit increased to two Redfish north of Volusia we started to see catch rates go down, whereas Snook catches increased. Also, our trout fishery pales in comparison as well and many of us here believe it is due to issues with water quality and perhaps the rise of the Snook stock and maybe I theorize they are feeding on Trout. A random sampling of stomach contents by biologists could shed some light on that theory.


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## jasonh879 (Aug 5, 2014)

There’s a young guy who only fishes for snook in Georgia. He gets them fairly often but I haven’t seen any that are even close to slot. But as soon as we have a bad freeze that’s over


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## redchaser (Aug 24, 2015)

The snook are welcome to continue north and west till they get to Louisiana where they will be welcomed by my open arms...and flies...


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