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islander727

SGF article on the cold snap and snook

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Good write up. We had a pretty big fish kill up our way, some places 100's of dead snook reported. On the other hand, these tended to be places that were traditionally out of snook's normal range before climate change (don't start a political debate, but it is a simple fact that the snook has expanded its range much further north than normal along both coast in the past couple of years). They reported many dead in Suwannee and even some as far north as Steinhatchee in the past couple of weeks. This will probably just move their northern terminus back down to the Crystal River area where it normally is, at least for the time being. I haven't heard anything on the northern east coast in the Jax area so maybe they came out alright.

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Been following cold kills for snook and others down here in paradise for many, many years... I expect (and am rarely disappointed ) that we'll have a bad cold kill every seven to ten years here in Florida. Remember that some of our more cold sensitive fish (snook, tarpon, bonefish, permit) are at the extreme north end of their comfort zones when things are going just fine. This most recent cold snap did kill some snook - but mostly in the central Florida area and points north. Where I fish, the Everglades mostly, water temps didn't stay cold long enough to make much of an impression. I neither heard of or saw any kills at all.

 

String a few mild years together and snook will gradually increase their range to the north - but the first year with a serious cold spell will cut their numbers back dramatically. Just the way it goes, I guess. On really cold mornings in the 'Glades I have seen times when cold-stunned snook were floating upside down as they drifted with an outgoing tide down river from freshwater areas where they'd been holding. I've also seen those same fish as they drifted into areas with a bit warmer water simply turn over and seemingly come right back to life and swim away...

Mother nature has been surprising me for years now so I've pretty much quit making predictions about the weather and its effect on the fish.

'

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It's a shame . During our last crazy cold snap apparently a number Threshers lost their way up here on the Cape and hit

a cold pocket and died. A number of them have washed up on the beach . Too bad as they are such a beautiful and unique animal.

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What Bob said is exactly why we have closed winter season on snook. In the past people would simply go for a boat ride and fill their boats with stunned fish thinking they were dead or just taking advantage of the stunned fish. Sure hope we don't get any more freezes this year, for the fish and me. I hate the cold.

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