If a couple of buddies and I were to plan a trip to Florida for some inshore/near shore fishing (specifically looking for some snook and/or permit, where would some of you more travelled fishing veterans go? This would be a DIY trip, no guide.
I’m not looking for GPS coordinates or secret spots. Aside from a chartered offshore trip out of Destin a few years ago, I’ve never done any fishing in Florida. Are we talking Jacksonville area, space coast, south Florida, pan handle, further down the Gulf coast…? What time of year?
Thanks in advance.
In the future, where every stranger poses a potential threat, knowing the predator mindset is the only safe haven.
HaHaHa!! I wish!! Just like the new boat, this will be something I plan/save for (plus my buddies are willing to split the cost for the fishing trip). I’m not very compulsive when it comes to spending. The wife had to talk me into buying the boat (even though I had been saving up for it for quite sometime) and then I thought I was going to throw up on the way to the dealer to make the purchase and on the way back home with the boat in tow. Lol!!!
In the future, where every stranger poses a potential threat, knowing the predator mindset is the only safe haven.
I don’t have a lot of experience fishing in FL, but for those two species I think you are going to be south of Jacksonville. I know there are giant snook in Sebastian inlet and they hang around in the canals in Ft. Lauderdale. I remember staying in Ft. Lauderdale for the orange bowl a couple years ago and seeing 40inch snook and 100lb tarpon cruising around docks with lights in those canals. Tampa offers a lot of good snook action as well as other regular inshore species. Finding a place where both permit and snook are in the same vicinity may be hard. Probably Miami or around the Everglades is your best bet. Find the snook hanging around the bridges or jetties and then hit Biscayne Bay for permit, bonefish, and tarpon. Flamingo key in the Everglades will also have these species too… Just to have a boat that can float in skinny water.
Grew up in s. Fl… Snook can be found year round, but harvest is split between spring and fall. Inshore and near shore of Sebastian is amazing for snook. The troughs along the beaches of Hope Sound, Jupiter inlet and Boynton beach hold a lot of snook, my favorite baits were greenbacks and pilchards. Gulf Coast is also loaded along the inshore waters, very rich in all inshore species.Favorite areas r Sanibel/captiva and Sarasota, have heard great things about the 10,000 islands area also. Spring and early summer r is my favorite time of year there. Hope u wreck it.
One of my traveling buddies just gave me a juicy nugget. His grand parents used to live in Cape Coral and he has fished that area before. That’s a pretty long drag though. Any of you travelled veterans have any experience down there?
In the future, where every stranger poses a potential threat, knowing the predator mindset is the only safe haven.
I sure ain’t no snook expert, but I’d probably go to the SW coast. Boca Grande, Marco, Everglades City. That’s where I know people who catch a lot of them anyway.
I am also planning a similar trip but the main things I am considering is what will be my main targets because the seasons and migratory patterns of many of south Florida species. As of now Grouper seasons closed for the SA and GOM, shallow water Grouper/Goliath Grouper fishing is high on my list but you have to go for Goliaths with a permitted guide, Tarpons are also high on my list. I will be camping for most of my trip in the everglades and the keys, in the keys the camp grounds book out early like 5 months in advance. Then I will also be diving in snorkeling, I heard Sombrero reef is great, so I will likely go in April or May to avoid certain things like heat, summer crowds. I was using the Florida fishing forums to get information and help from locals to plan my trip and be cost effective and efficient with my time.
I really appreciate the advise and insight gentlemen. I think we’re leaning towards a trip to Cape Coral and see if we can’t outsmart some Florida finned critters. I figured we’d take advantage of a little local knowledge for the first road trip. Probably wont be until late spring-ish but I’ll keep you all posted.
In the future, where every stranger poses a potential threat, knowing the predator mindset is the only safe haven.