Night Fishing For Snook Near Tampa

[DanMarino]

We are on vacation near Tampa and last night my son went kayak fishing at night for snook. He and a buddy paddled the canals looking for snook hanging around dock lights. He hooked into 5 or 6 snook and eventually got a large one to the kayak. But the snook beast broke off before he could get it secured.

We are heading back the next couple of nights with a camera and will post if we land anything. Gulp shrimp on a jig was the successful combo. The snook beast broke off our 20 pound braid easily.

Any other tips for lures or techniques we should use? We aren't going to mess with live bait.

Thanks,

Tom

[Cowpokey]

Look forward to more reports! Thinking about moving to Tampa....

[Yak Fish]

Holy crap, that sounds awesome. I've got nothing to offer other than a fluoro leader may help if the breakage is coming from abrasion. I've never fished down there. Looking forward to some pics.

[J.A. Veil]

Nice report Tom. When I fished there in June, we used 12 Fathoms soft plastics -- primarily the Fat Sam mullet and the Slam-R -- rigged on Mission Fishin 1/8-oz or 1/16-oz jigheads. Here are some of the 8 small ones I got on Day 2. I had two larger ones on Day 3, but those photos do not show the lures.

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[DanMarino]

Any tips for leader material. The fish broke off the 20 pound mono leader.

[J.A. Veil]

My guide, Neil Taylor, uses fluorocarbon leader. I don't know what strength -- I guess it is 20-30 lb. Double check your knots, leave your drag looser than you would normally at home for LMBs, and don't try to horse them in quickly. Keep pressure on the line at all times and wear them down. Snook are very strong with quick bursts of power that break knots.

[Goody]

I've always used 20 and 30 lb Berkley big game mono as leaders with no problems. The snooks put up a good fight. I've tried other brands but this one worked the best.

Mobile

[Shady]

If you're night fishing the dock lights a top water should be a good choice. Sebile stick shadds worked well for me down there back in January fishing at night for specks and reds.

[DanMarino]

Fished tonight from 10PM until 12AM.
Plenty of big fish visible chasing little fish at the submerged dock lights.
1 redfish caught on a jig and Gulp shrimp.
My son saw a small shark cruising around too.
No action for me. We will be back again tomorrow night if it does not rain.

[Mark]

Tom,

Glad you're having lots of fun in Tampa.

Congrats on your catches so far.

When I was in Tampa in February with John, our guide, Neil Taylor, said that black tip sharks are frequent summer visitors to one of the areas we were fishing. Perhaps that's what your son saw.

They're the sharks in the main display in Baltimore's aquarium. I hope that's where you'll get your best look at them and you see no more in Tampa!

[Old Cajun]

Tom,

Glad you're having lots of fun in Tampa.

Congrats on your catches so far.

When I was in Tampa in February with John, our guide, Neil Taylor, said that black tip sharks are frequent summer visitors to one of the areas we were fishing. Perhaps that's what your son saw.

They're the sharks in the main display in Baltimore's aquarium. I hope that's where you'll get your best look at them and you see no more in Tampa!

Tom,

Great time to fish--soooooo much cooler! Snook use the docks to break you off. Oysters and barnacles help the fish as well. Try a bobber with a gulp shrimp. You should also notice the size of the minnows by the docks are--small. Bigger isn't always better. Take a small rod with some frozen shrimp and catch some pin fish when you are waiting for the Snook to hit your other bait. Life will really get exciting!

If you fish during the day, try getting out to the channel buoys in the bay. Cobia always check them out. They eat just about any thing you throw at them. Be prepared for a long fight and bring a Billy club. The rocks near the Gandy bridge near the Tampa side are holding mangrove snappers. They have some sharp teeth.

I noticed one of the kayaks had green lights or did that come from the docks? Would like to know more about the set up and if it helps get the fish around you. I have a place in Tampa and will be retiring down there at the end of August. I am planning on installing some. Nice to be lite up so others can see you.

Oh! Tampa Bay is full of big sharks to include bull's, hammer heads, and black tips. Biggest black tip is 6 ft. The other guys get bigger than your kayaks.

Best wishes,

Old Cajun

[DanMarino]

The green lights were mounted to the dock. It was very neat seeing the critters attracted to the lights. Shrimp, crabs, minnows, and big fish chasing them.
My son went out last night and fished the dock lights with no takers this time.
Yesterday, I saw a hammer head in the gulf as I was paddling around some deeper water. So that freaked me out a little. We leave tomorrow morning. We also saw a few rays.

[jhoss]

Hey there, funny to read this as I'm sitting at the Tampa airport. We are just heading back to bmore after a week down near bradenton beach. I caught a few small to medium snook in the early mornings this week. All on a topwater silver rapala skitterwalk. (same as a Zara spook) I lost one monster who also broke off my 20lb leader after making a few dramatic leaps. I changed up to 30 lb leader after that, but didn't get any hits on my last day out. Plenty of trout, ladyfish, and a few other species. Sure is fun to see those snook blow up on a topwater lure. They also like to hang along the edge of the mangroves. Hope you get a big one!

[Old Cajun]

The green lights were mounted to the dock. It was very neat seeing the critters attracted to the lights. Shrimp, crabs, minnows, and big fish chasing them.
My son went out last night and fished the dock lights with no takers this time.
Yesterday, I saw a hammer head in the gulf as I was paddling around some deeper water. So that freaked me out a little. We leave tomorrow morning. We also saw a few rays.

Thanks for the info! I will put some green LEDs on my yaks. It will also help others to see me on the water.

Next time I would suggest doing the live bait. Also, when/If you get back to Tampa, we can meet up and I'll take you to some great daytime mangrove fishing. Remember next time if you keep fish--don't put them on stringers! If you do, you become one of the worlds largest lures.

Travel safe!

Old Cajun

[FishHead]

Just seeing this thread for first time now. Was down in Anna Maria mid July with my family. Caught many snook from surf using a small Mirrolure 9MR twitch bait. The comment on size of bait made by another earlier post is spot on as this bait is only 2 1/4".

Also did a nighttime kayak charter trip in St Pete which started out great, but got delayed from some heavy storms. Tried the dock lights, but to no avail.

Good luck on your next trip down there.