It depends on which coast, and the two don’t share a calendar. On the Gulf side, including Southwest Florida’s Charlotte Harbor and Southwest regions, snook harvest is closed December 1 through the end of February and again May 1 through September 30. On the Atlantic side, the closed dates and the slot limit are both different. Always check FWC’s snook page directly before keeping a fish, since these dates and the surrounding page update whenever the state changes them.
FWC states the Charlotte Harbor and Southwest Gulf regions, covering Lee, Collier and Charlotte counties, are closed to snook harvest December 1 through the end of February, and again May 1 through September 30. That leaves harvest open roughly March through April, then October through November. The slot limit is not less than 28 inches or more than 33 inches total length, with a bag limit of one fish per person per day. A snook permit is required in addition to a standard saltwater fishing license to harvest one.
The rest of the Gulf coast, north and south of the Charlotte Harbor/Southwest regions, runs a different closed window: December 1 through the end of February, and May 1 through August 31 rather than September 30. The slot limit and bag limit are the same as Southwest Florida’s, 28”–33” and one fish per person per day, but the closed-season end date in summer is a month earlier than it is in Lee, Collier and Charlotte counties. Fishing this stretch of coast on Southwest Florida dates will get the September window wrong.
The Atlantic side runs on its own calendar entirely: closed December 15 through January 31, and again June 1 through August 31. The slot limit is narrower too, not less than 28 inches or more than 32 inches total length, one inch tighter on the top end than the Gulf slot. Bag limit stays at one fish per person per day. Advice written for the Gulf side, including most of what circulates for Southwest Florida, will misstate both the dates and the slot if applied here.
Harvesting a snook on either coast requires a snook permit in addition to a recreational saltwater fishing license; the permit isn’t optional just because you already hold a license. This applies whether you’re targeting snook specifically or catch one incidentally while fishing for something else and want to keep it.
FWC’s snook page is the authority, not this post or any forum thread. Regulations and closed-season windows here can and do change, and the citation is written against whatever’s in effect that day. Bookmark FWC’s snook regulations page and check it before every trip where you might keep a fish, especially near a season boundary. Our own SWFL season and regulation calendar keeps the Southwest Florida figures in one place alongside redfish, tarpon, trout and snapper, and our snook species guide covers where and how to fish for them, catch-and-release or not.
None of the closed-season rules above stop you from fishing for snook when harvest isn’t legal; they only stop you from keeping one. Catch-and-release snook fishing is legal year-round on both coasts, permit or no permit, and most of the trips described across our Southwest Florida shore and pier guides happen during a closed season anyway. Handle any snook you release quickly, keep it wet, and let it go facing into current so it can recover before swimming off.
A Florida saltwater fishing license is required to target or land snook on either coast, whether you keep the fish or not, and the snook permit is a separate add-on to that license. See our fishing license guide for what residents and visitors need, and the regulations page for the complete current picture across every species you’re likely to catch alongside a snook.