Florida Snook fishing guide, Captain Ed Walkers

Florida Snook Fishing Charters

Snook fishing here in the Tampa Bay, Saint Petersburg, Clearwater, Tarpon Springs area rivals that of just about anywhere in the Florida or the world for that matter.

Each spring, schools of snook migrate out of the brackish rivers and backwaters and out onto the flats, mangrove islands, and beaches. Here they intermingle with a variety of other species such as redfish, speckled trout, cobia, mackerel, jack cravelle, and small tarpon. Not coincidentally, our primary live bait species, the scaled sardine also floods back into the area at this time. Flats snook fishing guides from all over the Florida West Coast anxiously await the return of both the bait and the snook fishing each spring. The early snook typically return from their winter hideaways in the backcountry and backwaters sometime in late February or early March. As the weather warms snook and more snook appear all over town. By mid March the entire snook population has reappeared and is holding up in specific spots along the mainland shoreline. At this time, try snook fishing around docks, under the mangroves, around oyster bars, grass flats, sandy beaches and small spoil islands.

Snook have a well earned reputation as one of the most challenging species you are likely to encounter while flats fishing. Snook can be finicky eaters, usually preferring to feed at particular stages of the tide in each particular inshore area. Some spots are better during the incoming tide, others only produce snook on the outgoing. In fact there are many snook fishing holes here in which the snook almost never feed. Schools of 25 to 100 may lie on the bottom and refuse any offerings regardless of bait, tide, or conditions. Understanding their habits and mannerisms is something that comes only with experience snook fishing guide, and even they can become frustrated. Perhaps the toughest thing about snook fishing is landing them. Snook are arguably the smartest fish on the flats. When snook strike you can rest assured that they are going to run as fast and hard as they can for the nearest cutoff such as a mangrove limb, dock piling, of rock pile.

During the summer months good portions of the snooks have moved out to the passes (inlets) and the beach. Walking a remote sandy beach and tossing live baits to snook cruising in 2 feet of gin clear water is about as close to fishing heaven as youll get. Pompano, permit, cobia, and tarpon also cruise the swash channels between the outside sandbars and the beach. It was here, during a tournament that the biggest snook Captain Ed Walker, florida snook guide, had ever seen cruised up and checked out his bait before sauntering off down the beach. It was easily a Florida state record snook but that particular linesider is still out there somewhere, haunting the florida snook guide Captain Ed Walker. Maybe you can catch (and release) him while on your Florida snook guided trip.

A commonly asked question asked by visiting guests is When is snook season? Well, that depends. Snook are caught almost all year, with the exception of the coldest winter months. Snook fishing is closed to harvest during the months of January, May, June, July, August, and Dec 1-15. Since snooks are primarily catch and release anyway, closed season do not really make much difference. If anything it reduces the snook fishing pressure, making it even better for catching snook!

Most of the snook caught here in Tampa Bay, Saint Petersburg, Clearwater, and Tarpon Springs area are in the 5 to 12 pound range with 15 pounders fairly common and a handful of true 20 pounders landed each season. A trip in the fall of 2001 even produced a new IGFA world record snook in the 12 lb line class.

Snook are so special, The florida snook guide, Captain Ed Walker, prefers not to kill any snook. Florida law allows one snook per person within the slot limit size of 26 to 34 inches to be kept during the open season. Florida also mandates that no snook may be retained for the snook fishing guide or mate while on a charter. Snook are good to eat, but if you are looking to load a cooler Captain Ed Walker probably is not the snook fishing guide you want to hire. Captain Ed Walker believes snook are far more valuable as live and exciting game fish than a couple of dead fillets in a freezer. If you are looking to battle with a truly amazing game fish such as the snook on light tackle in a beautiful and unique estuarine ecosystem. Then Captain Ed Walker would like to take you snook fishing.

If you would like to join us on a Snook fishing experience please drop us an email or give us a Call at (727) 944-FISH (3474) today to book your guided fishing trip for Snook.