Snook-you know ‘em, you love ‘em, and perhaps you’ve even landed a few out on the water. They’re an integral species to Florida, known for being an exceptionally skittish and intelligent. These traits, coupled with the fact that they fight like hell when hooked, make snook a highly sought-after gamefish amongst anglers young and old.
From the very beginning, the AAF has always had a soft spot in our hearts for these beautiful fish. In fact, we were originally called the Snook & Gamefish Foundation. In our eyes, they hold immense value, enhanced by two main factors. Not only are snook a fundamental building block for Florida’s fishing culture- they are an important indicator species in many of the habitats we fight to protect as an organization (more on their role as an indicator species in an upcoming article, stay tuned!).
Since snook are so popular, misconceptions about them were bound to pop up at some point. Some of these inaccuracies still hold weight to this day. The only question is, do any of these myths carry any merit?
Thankfully, I was able to get some answers from a pair of bona fide snook researchers from the FWC. Both Alexis Trotter and Dr. Phil Stevens were kind enough to lend me their expertise on the subject.
Myth number one: Snook have become more resistant to rapid temperature drops over time
Reality: According to Dr. Stevens, our perception on this tidbit may be slightly skewed, but this may have little to do with the snook themselves. Cold snaps have become less and less frequent in recent years, and due to this you’re simply less likely to hear about widespread snook die-off due to cold temps. When the winters get milder, snook get to enjoy their biological sweet spot more consistently, helping them live a happy, full life. Trotter, conversely, tackled this question from a different perspective. According to her, several studies have shown that northern, range expanding snook populations (ones that travel through a larger geographic location than is considered normal for the species) actually ARE slightly more tolerant to colder temperatures than their less travelled, southern counterparts. Though not a species wide occurrence, I was shocked to learn this information. My biology background had me convinced that these types of changes would be hard to detect on a relatively short time scale. To be fair, the change likely occurred over a large period of time, but the infamous cold snap of 2010 provided the perfect opportunity for researchers to gather data on how different snook populations reacted to the event.
The verdict: Color me surprised, this one has some truth to it! I suppose it wouldn’t be right to call this one a myth, all things considered.
Myth number two: Snook are able to successfully spawn in fresh water.
Reality: This is a more popular belief amongst anglers. People from all walks of life have been adamant about the fact that they see juvenile snook swimming about in their local pond. This leads them to believe that these young were conceived in that very same body of water. Contrary to this notion, it’s almost certainly impossible (Dr. Stevens puts the odds at around 90%). Researchers have studied a number of these freshwater snooks, particularly in Mexico. There, reports circulated about snook popping up more than 200 miles upstream, with juveniles among those seen that far away. The large distance between the juvenile snook and the nearest body of salt water led researchers to believe that these immature snook originated from fresh water, but this was not the case. Trotter and Stevens both relayed to me that snook don’t even lay eggs below a salinity of 24 ppt (parts per thousand). For those unfamiliar, anything under 1 ppt is considered freshwater. Even if they did lay eggs in freshwater, they wouldn’t come to term, as those eggs need to then float in the water column in order to be fertilized. Salt makes water more dense, allowing for heavier items such as these eggs to float freely.
This begs the question, how are these juvenile snook cropping up in these seemingly isolated bodies of freshwater? One explanation could be the presence of unseen culverts or access to the salty/brackish water. The snook would have been born where they were supposed to, then snuck in and stayed in the prime real estate for as long as they want. These ponds and lakes provide quiet refuge from the larger saltwater predators that pose a threat to young snook. Through acoustic tagging, researchers such as Trotter and Dr. Stevens have confirmed that these juvenile snook are able to make it back to the saltwater once they are so inclined.
Additionally, storm surges can provide an avenue for snook to journey into previously isolated bodies of water. When the sea levels temporarily rise due to a large enough storm, the snook have a new way to venture to and from these fresh water enclosures. Storms big enough to cause this only happen sporadically, maybe once every couple of years, so this is a bit of a special scenario.
The verdict: This one is likely not true, until we find evidence supporting the contrary. 
Myth number three: snook get their color from the environment in which they spend the most time (i.e. snook that usually live in freshwater environments display that darker, more coppery tone while the ones that live primarily in salt water are found to be lighter and more silvery, with those distinct yellow fins).
Reality: This is a case where the truth may be even crazier than the misconception. Alexis Trotter educated me on the fact that the snooks coloration is not as rigid as one might think. Much like the diet version of a chameleon, the environment dictates the snooks color. Freshwater is more rich in tannin, which gives it that signature dark brown shade. The snook can take on that darker appearance by just swimming in it for a couple minutes. Once they get back out to the gulf, or ocean, it takes a couple minutes for them to return back to that beautiful, silvery shade that they’re known for. This means if you catch a snook in salt water and its much darker than normal, you have a pretty good idea of where it's been swimming around in for the past couple hours. Neat!
Verdict: While the snook do get their color from their environment, it happens much more quickly than most people think. This myth has been officially busted!
Snook are truly one of a kind fish, we hope you come to appreciate them in the same way that we do! Keep on feeding that curiosity by following the link included at the bottom of this page. If you click it, it’ll take you to a web page filled with interesting snook information.
https://academic.oup.com/mcf/pages/ecology-and-management