# Help: Tampa bay area



## Geffellz18 (Dec 29, 2014)

Need some advice for this area. Heading down mid March to St. Pete beach for a few days with the hopes of marking snook off of my bucket list of species to catch. 

I plan on taking the yaks down and paddle around. What types of lures do they prefer. I typically use mirro-dines, soft swim baits/grubs/flukes and fresh shrimp.

Also, what areas can they be found? Do they like the flats like specks/reds? I know they can be found shallow because I saw a good sized one down in the keys in about 8-10" of water in a mangrove swamp cove while hiking. 

Anyways, any help would be greatly appreciative. Looking forward to the trip.


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## ssiredfish (Dec 30, 2014)

Geffellz18 said:


> Need some advice for this area. Heading down mid March to St. Pete beach for a few days with the hopes of marking snook off of my bucket list of species to catch.
> 
> I plan on taking the yaks down and paddle around. What types of lures do they prefer. I typically use mirro-dines, soft swim baits/grubs/flukes and fresh shrimp.
> 
> ...



PM sent


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## g0nef1sshn (Jan 1, 2015)

fish for snook just like you would a bass, Im not familiar with tampa, but in a kayak it will be fun. I would throw doa shrimps, or any topwater spook type lure around docks and pilings for artificials. You really cant be free lining live shrimp around same areas. If you get out at night, do the same thing around lighted docks also. They will be cruising mangroves too if there are banks lined with them. Try and find some Fl sportsman articles on the area. Snook is the best eating fish IMO, and a blast on fly rod.


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## redneck_billcollector (Jan 6, 2015)

I just got back from fishing down there in order to take snook off my bucket list.  I fished out of Ruskin and found the snook to be on a "winter pattern" ie, up the river, the Little Manattee in my case.  The first day we fished little cockroach bay, spent most of the time trying to figure out how to get back to the river.....my machine doesn't show channels off of the main bay and unless your boat drafts 5 or 6 inches, it can be interesting to say the least.  We did catch one snook that day and spooked tons of redfish along with hooking up with  couple.  The second day was wet, cold and gray....and we stopped counting snook after 15, pretty much from under the mangroves up the river on mirro-dines, any color as long as they were green.   No big ones, and none that would have been slot were the season open, but a bunch on light tackle and now one of my favorite fish to catch.  In the winter you fish structure like for bass up rivers, and they fight like a redfish that will jump and shake its head.  Most were around 18 to 24 or so inches, but we did not hire a guide, nor did we have anyone with us that had fished for snook before.....so it was completely "do it yourself".  The guides use live baits, "greenies" (hence the green mirro-dines) and chum with them to get the snook out from the mangroves. (Trying to insert a picture, for some reason I can't).  

In march, if it is still cool, they should still be on the winter patern, up the rivers in the mangroves, if not, they will be on the flats, in channels, etc...(that is what the locals told me, but I don't know first hand).  It is fun and very adictive, I now see what all the hype about snook is about.  I will be back in March myself, to see if I can't harvest a legal one, keep in mind, if you plan on keeping a snook it has to be between 28" and 33" on the gulf coast and you must have a snook stamp/tag.  Good luck.


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## redneck_billcollector (Jan 6, 2015)

I think a got a picture to post....I did, it is the only one I can get to post, that is the size or a wee bit smaller than most of the snook we caught.  I will see if I can get my buddy to post some, most are on his phone. That is the very first snook I ever caught, it ain't much, but he sure fought.  Hence me giving my buddy my phone to take a picture.


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## g0nef1sshn (Jan 6, 2015)

Nice report. Man I miss snook fishin. Ft Pierce to Stuart on the east coast used to be loaded with them from the inlets to the bridges. 5 1/2 hours south of Savannah.


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## Chris S. (Jan 6, 2015)

green albino  superflukes and  fluke juniors  texas rigged on a  superline offset hook or belly weighted offset hook with fluoro leader on braid........work them out from the mangroves/cover/industrial and dock pilings and kill them occasionally let them sink out of sight over deeper holes.

also try a 4"  bass assassin or keitech swimbait rigged on a light jig head with a good hook.........slow reel around/over  all cover .


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## Geffellz18 (Jan 9, 2015)

Thanks guys! I greatly appreciate your input.

 RBC.....cant argue with your catch. I'd be very happy with one that size. Thanks for sharing your experience.


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## GASeminole (Feb 5, 2015)

Go with a guide when you first get there and tell them you just want to catch a snook

Then use what you learned on your yak the rest of the time


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## redneck_billcollector (Feb 5, 2015)

GASeminole said:


> Go with a guide when you first get there and tell them you just want to catch a snook
> 
> Then use what you learned on your yak the rest of the time



Most of the guides in that area fish for snook with live bait, and lots of it....they find greenies, load up and then throw then up next to the mangroves, chum them out. Then they will sling one on a hook where they are chumming on either a knocker rig or free line.  They catch a lot, but that method is useless for fishing out of a kayak.  If they are still on their winter pattern you will find the snook up the rivers in the mangroves, especially those with deeper water right next to them.  They also will be around dock lights at night.  Go to bed early, then get on the water around midnight and fish to sunrise, topwaters or jerk baits will work. If they are moving off the winter pattern, the locals told me they will start to hang out on the flats before they move to the cuts and beaches for their spawning pattern.


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## tbrown913 (Feb 26, 2015)

avoid a capt with the name homer.  booked the guy 13 years ago for my senior vacation from high school.  got down there and he was 4 hours late to the ramp because he was having a hard time finding bait that morning.  He said we would go after the reds, and then he would take us tarpon fishing that night since it was so bad that morning.  Turns out there was a red tide that had moved in two weeks earlier and had killed everything within about 15 miles of the beach.  we went out deep sea fishing with a guide that was at the marina we stayed at, and he said we couldnt leave until after sunrise since there were so many dead fish.


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## GASeminole (Feb 28, 2015)

redneck_billcollector said:


> Most of the guides in that area fish for snook with live bait, and lots of it....they find greenies, load up and then throw then up next to the mangroves, chum them out. Then they will sling one on a hook where they are chumming on either a knocker rig or free line.  They catch a lot, but that method is useless for fishing out of a kayak.  If they are still on their winter pattern you will find the snook up the rivers in the mangroves, especially those with deeper water right next to them.  They also will be around dock lights at night.  Go to bed early, then get on the water around midnight and fish to sunrise, topwaters or jerk baits will work. If they are moving off the winter pattern, the locals told me they will start to hang out on the flats before they move to the cuts and beaches for their spawning pattern.



You are right about how they fish, and it is not practical in a yak, but he can still get an idea of where the fish are (magroves near the beaches vs. mangroves deeper in tampa bay, etc.), docks, flats, which in my opinion is the primary factor. If you are not in the right area, it doesn't matter what bait you are using or how you are fishing. 

OP, I live in Tampa Bay, but I am an offshore guy, so I don't know enough about the cycles to tell you exactly where to look in March, which is why I think you should go with a guide. (It is on my to do list actually because alot of people who come to see us want to catch one.) I do luck into snook fairly regularly though, from my kayak, so I can tell you what I use.  Larger Zman paddlerz in a natural color (pinfish, redbone, etc.) or Larger Gulp Shrimp (new penny) on a 3/8 oz. jig head, and work them relatively slow, hopping of the bottom like a frog, pausing 3-4 seconds between. You may also catch flounder, gator trout, or redfish doing this as well, and of course the occasional sail cat or ladyfish. 

Let us know how you do, and if you go with guide, who it was. Good Luck and have fun.


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## FishingAddict (Mar 12, 2015)

I've done very well with jerk baits fished very erratically under bridges at dark, but that was during the summer. 

Of course, for the sure thing live bait near docks is the ticket, with fluorocarbon leader. The game is to use a leader that won't spook them, but will be strong enough to prevent them from running under the pilings. That being said, my largest snook (39 inches) came from fishing a 16 inch live ladyfish under a pier with an 80 pound leader...That wasn't much of a fair fight.


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## jimboknows (Mar 21, 2015)

All along the mangroves on both st Pete an Tampa side of the bay.
If you decide to go one day with a guide call capt. Greg.
He is the man with snook and redfish.


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## jimboknows (Mar 21, 2015)

I have fished with captain Greg several times...he knows where they are and after we had caught25-30 snook he asked if we wanted quantity of redfish or some bull redfish. and he put us on some nice overslot reds, then we caught 20-25 inch trout until almost dark.
And besides putting you on the fish, he is a heck of a nice guy. and he loves putting people on the fish.


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## jimboknows (Mar 21, 2015)

Nice trout and redfish from other trip


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## jimboknows (Mar 21, 2015)

Trout...sorry I thought I could put multiple pics...but my phone only lets me put one pic per


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## GASeminole (Mar 28, 2015)

Geffellz18 said:


> Thanks guys! I greatly appreciate your input.
> 
> RBC.....cant argue with your catch. I'd be very happy with one that size. Thanks for sharing your experience.



How did it go?

Did you get your snook?


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