Afternoon delight. Sunny 86 degrees and barely any wind on beautiful Tampa Bay. Regular readers and On The Mark Charters clients all know Captain Steven specializes in late afternoon into the evening charters. This trip turns a night snook trip into something special. Sunsets on the Gulf of Mexico are spectacular in our region.
A nice outgoing tide greeted my anglers. The St. Petersburg Beaches were void of jet skis, boats, swimmers leaving the snook to get nice and cozy. I am not sure any fish let alone snook ever get cozy but they definitely respond better to less pressure. The area we fished had a strong tide running right to leave which meant repeated casting was necessary to keep the pinfish in the attack zone. Nothing came of the first stop but a quick move of several hundred yards had us on the fish. Snook were now popping baits within 3' of the sand and baits that drifted further out had trout and even a redfish chasing the pinners. Check out this monster 44" Snook taken on the beach by Captain Jim Fesperman of Hook Setting Charters.
Again night time was the right time for snook on the ICW. Look for bridges and docks with lights and you will quickly find linesiders. For real sport I use the same rods and reels that were used on the beach I just beef up the fluorocarbon leader to 40 pounds. Be sure and check you leader after every snook even if the fish was not landed as they are famous for fraying leaders. The beach also allows for lighter drag settings due to the lack of structure, be sure tighten down the drags when fishing dicks and bridges.
Snook once again cooperated as did a handful of trout and redfish once again completing a Tampa Bat slam. Look for snook to move off the beaches and up into their back country homes in the near future. If you have not tried snooking on the beach get out before the chance slips away.
Capt. Steven
