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Guide Takes Out Snook Guesswork

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By FRANK SARGEANT | The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 22, 2008

Ever catch a 20-pound snook? Odds are that even if you have been so lucky as to get a huge fish in recent years, you're not actually sure of how much the lunker weighed. All snook longer than 33 inches (32 inches on the east coast) must now be released, and even weighing the fish is discouraged because weighing them requires suspending them from the jaw - a no-no for successful release.

Historically, anybody catching a 40-inch fish has claimed it to weigh 20 pounds. And some optimistically vow such fish weigh 30 pounds or more.

But now, thanks to biologists with the Florida Research Institute, anglers have an accurate guide on what snook weigh at a given length. The biologists weighed fish taken in both the Atlantic and Gulf and averaged the data; these are real numbers, not estimates based on girth calculations.

They recorded fish in summer and winter. Surprisingly, the fish on both coasts often averaged slightly heavier in winter, perhaps because the researchers caught numerous spawned-out fish in summer.

First, how much does a 28-inch keeper weigh?

For Gulf fish, the minimum winter weight was only 4.5 pounds, but the maximum was a remarkable 11.8 pounds, approaching three times as much, and the average was 6.7. For Atlantic fish, the minimum winter weight was 6.5 pounds and the max 8.4, but the average was 7.1.

For 30-inch Gulf fish, the winter average was 7.8 pounds. It was 8.8 for the Atlantic.

And for fish at the 33-inch maximum size on the west coast, the average in winter was 10.8 pounds. For 32-inch fish - the maximum legal size on the east coast - the winter average was 11.3.

Move up to fish a yard long and the weights increase considerably: Gulf winter average, 14.9 pounds; Atlantic 15.4.

And for that legendary 40-incher? There were few 40-inch fish caught on the west coast, but the ones that were averaged 22.6 pounds in winter. On the Atlantic, the average was 24.7. The least weight recorded on a 40-inch fish, on an Atlantic fish caught in summer, went 19.6 pounds. The most was a football-fat 28-pounder.

So, it's not unreasonable to say that you got a 20-pounder if you catch a 40-inch fish on either coast. Suggesting that 40-incher went 30 pounds, on the other hand, is likely a stretch, particularly on our coast where the snook weigh less at a given length.

How long is a true 30-pounder? Because sampling a fish this size is rare, the averages may be less useful, but the east coast average on all fish 42 inches and up exceeded 30 pounds. The largest Atlantic fish weighed, a 45-incher, went 35.4 pounds. Largest Gulf fish, 43 inches, went 28.0 pounds.

Why the coastal difference in average weights? Biologists say east coast snook are a slightly different strain than west coast fish. Plus, the deep beaches and passes on the Atlantic provide year-round feeding areas where the fish continue to grow, while west coast fish are near dormant in the coldest months.

Several anglers have caught and photographed fish to 50 inches long in recent years, but none was weighed on certified scales because of the maximum size limit. In any case, odds are there will continue to be more really huge snook in our waters each year, thanks to the very tight harvest limits and extensive closed seasons. Your chances of catching a true 20-pounder have probably never been better.

RULES: Pelicans have long been viewed as the cleanup crew at fish-cleaning tables around the state, but that will end due to a rule just passed by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission that bans feeding pelicans. The commission is "encouraging" piers and marinas to install waste tubes that will chute fish carcasses directly into the water for cleanup by crabs and catfish, rather than putting them within reach of the birds.

Biologist James Rodgers said the rule is not designed to penalize individuals giving a single scrap of fish to a pelican, but rather to eliminate large-scale incidental feeding that occurs around fish houses and cleaning tables. He said feeding large pieces of fish carcass to pelicans can cause the birds to choke; they try to eat much larger morsels than they would encounter naturally.

ETC.: Captain Randy Rochelle presents a free grouper/snapper seminar Wednesday at 7 p.m. at the Golden Triangle Fishing Club meeting at Bill Currie Ford, 5815 North Dale Mabry Hwy. in Tampa; (813) 935-3293. ... Tightlines Tackle hosts a free offshore trolling and bait-rigging seminar Thursday at 7 p.m. at 6924 N. Armenia Ave. in Tampa; (813) 932-4721.

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