West Coast snook getting a break

West Coast anglers won't be dining on snook fillets anytime soon, despite the fact that the season is slated to re-open on the traditional date, Sept. 1, on the East Coast of Florida.

The Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission, acting on the advice of state biologists, agreed to keep the season closed for anglers fishing the Gulf Coast and the Everglades regions through August 31 of 2012, in a continuing effort to allow the snook to recover from the devastating freezes of 2009-2010. By some estimates, up to 70 percent of the population died in exposed bays of many areas along the Gulf Coast.

Though the Atlantic Coast also lost many of the cold-sensitive fish, the kill there was not as severe due to the warming effect of the deep ocean waters near shore, biologists say. Regulations there will remain as they have been, one fish daily between 28 and 32 inches.

So, while there will be no harvest in Bay area waters for over a year, catch and release snooking remains open as it has been every summer—and it's not all that bad according to reports from many anglers from Clearwater south.

Summer is typically prime time for catch and release action; in the heydays, top guides like Scott Moore and Van Hubbard often guided clients to 100-fish days from May through August as the fish stacked up in passes and sloughs to spawn.

There won't be any 100-fish days for anybody for a while, but both these old pros are reporting steady action on linesiders for those who want to exercise a few, and some of these fish are in excess of 30 inches.

Anglers who go after snook now are advised by the FFWCC to use all the usual cautions for catch-and-release fishing; stick to single hooks or single-hook lures with the barbs reduced for easy dehooking; make the fight short and sweet, take a quick photo at boatside, and get the fish immediately back into the water. With this treatment, 99 percent swim off undamaged to complete their spawning chores.

Some of the areas where snook gather at this time of year include the channels into Cockroach Bay, Bishops Harbor and Miguel Bay, as well as all the smaller passes from Clearwater to Naples; Captiva Pass is particularly famed at Pine Island Sound. The entry channels to Bull and Turtle Bay at Charlotte Harbor are also well-known, as is Stump Pass at Lemon Bay. The mouth of the Manatee and Little Manatee rivers are also productive.

By far the best bait is live scaled sardines, with a few extras used as live chum; the silvery baits are castnetted on the outside edge of the grass flats, and typically fished on spinning gear with 10-pound-test microfiber line and 1/0 short-shank hooks.

Permit also got a change in rulings at the last FWC meeting. The regulators agreed to create a "Special Permit Zone", which includes all state and federal waters south of a line running due east from Cape Florida and south of a line running due west from Cape Sable. The remainder of the state (north of these lines) makes up another management zone.

In the Special Permit Zone, the commercial harvest of permit will be prohibited, and the recreational fishery will have a minimum size limit of 22 inches fork length and a daily bag limit of one permit per person and two per vessel. Also, recreational anglers are allowed to use only hook-and-line gear, except that spearing for permit is allowed in federal waters in the zone. Additionally, a May, June and July harvest closure applies in this area.

Outside this zone, a recreational slot size for permit of 11-22 inches fork length and a daily bag limit of two fish per person applies, with an allowance for one permit over 22 inches in length. A vessel limit of two permit larger than 22 inches in length also applies. Also, recreational anglers are allowed to use only hook-and-line gear for permit, except that spearing for permit is allowed in federal waters. No commercial harvest for permit is allowed, however, commercial fishers who are targeting other species with nets outside of the Special Permit Zone are allowed an incidental bycatch trip limit of 250 fish.

Permit are currently being caught in the Bay area off the artificial reefs from 1 to 4 miles off the beaches of Anna Maria and Longboat Key, as well as around the passes into Tampa Bay. Live crabs are always the top bait for the species.

The new rules take effect Aug. 31. For more information, go to www.myfwc.com.