FL Canals---> tarpon, snook, bass, etc.

[SoFLA34]

tried posting this in the freshwater forum but no one seems to read it so i am going to post the link here and hope that someone else out there fishes in the canals from time to time for tarpon and snook. In the link i have pictures of different peacock bass and tarpon I have caught. I am working on finding the pictures of the snook i have caught. Please I'd like to hear what others use in these canals. thanks in advance and here it is.

http://www.sportfishermen.com/board/...ass-69183.html

[Surfergirl]

When I was working on a private boat in Fla. I worked at Marina Bay and would watch the giant Tarpon rolling on top of the water... I was told to use a red/white buck tail.. I did not catch anything on it but I had alot of fun trying.

A friend of mine and a really great fisherman was working on a yacht across from me and put a ballyhoo ( i think that is what he used) on a hook and sent it to the bottom and just let it sit and put the rod in the rod holder and eventually a nice sized tarpon took the bait. I got to see the excitment from my dock...

I ate snook for the first time while I was there and it is a really great tasting fish. I would like to one day fish again for tarpon and snook. Maybe I can catch one.

[SoFLA34]

Those tarpon sure are fun to catch. I've caught my fair share on a red/white bucktail and they are a blast. Usually people use mullet or pinfish on the bottom for tarpon but quite honestly, they will eat anything so if your friend threw a ballyhoo over and let it sit, that wouldn't surprise me that he caught one that way. Those tarpon are like garbage disposals. Good luck catching one, they are one of the funnest to reel in!

[gulfstream2gulfcoast]

The canal tarpon around here love dolphin scraps... caught one close to 100lbs on a dolphin skin... it's funny how picky they are in open water but with limited food supply in the canals they eat just about everything

[SoFLA34]

The canal tarpon around here love dolphin scraps... caught one close to 100lbs on a dolphin skin... it's funny how picky they are in open water but with limited food supply in the canals they eat just about everything

100lbs. in the canals! I've never caught over 50lbs. in the canals. How close to the ocean are you when you fish there for them, like on the icw? And it is just the dolphin skin? Is there any special way you put it on the hook or just ball it up? Thanks I can't wait to try that out!

[BocaBandit]

The fish in florida canals are amazing at how big they can get. Yesterday, I was fishing in my backyard which is a canal a little bit off the intracostal, Caught a 35" at least Snook. Didn't have my net with me so I tried pulling it out of the water and the line just snapped.

[SoFLA34]

ya it's pretty impressive. Its also great you don't need to burn up a couple hundred bucks worth of fuel to catch big fish, just a short walk to the canals will do it. congrats on the snook, too bad you didn't have your net there. what were you using to catch it?

I noticed your new as well, welcome to SFC!

[BocaBandit]

Thank You I love this forum gives me alot of help. We were using a 10lb tackle outfit with a Mirr O' Lure Lipped Crankbait Black and White.

[SoFLA34]

This website is great with tons and tons of very knowledgeable fishermen. Anything you want to know about fishing and boating, you'll be able to find it here for sure!

A couple lures that work really well for me are the rapala x-raps, both the saltwater and freshwater ones. here are the pictures of them. Mostly blue and silver. The saltwater one is the mackerel. The one all the way on the left is the x-rap saltwater and the next two are freshwater lures but work well for catching the med. sized snook because they are a little smaller.

I'll have to get me a mirr and try it out.:

Do you catch anything else in the canal behind your house?

[BocaBandit]

Oh yeah we catch lots of fish Baby Tarpon, Jacks, Bluefish, etc. But the one thing we've been trying to catch is a shark. Theirs 3 blacktips near my canal. Theirs always one going under the bridge in my neighborhood at low tide, everyday we see it. But we have never even gotten a bite. We've tried everything bait, lures, fly fishing. Nothing has worked yet though. Though my friend caught a 20" Snook and the thing was getting chased like crazy by the shark. It put a big gash in its tail, so I might try to use snook as bait. But I have snag a huge stingray that was fun lol.